Myofunctional therapy is a treatment that involves a series of exercises designed to neurologically retrain the muscles of the face and mouth to improve breathing, chewing, swallowing, and speech functions. The therapy includes tongue, lips, facial muscles, posture, nasal breathing, and other exercises.
For proper development of the face, dental arches, and airways, we want the child to maintain nasal breathing most of the time, closed lips, and the tongue resting on the palate when at rest. Myofunctional disorders can interfere with this and lead to imbalances and problems that may affect the growth of the orofacial complex.
Many scientific studies have found that one of the leading causes of bite problems is dysfunction of the soft tissues, such as the tongue and facial muscles.
Some of the most common myofunctional disorders include immature swallowing, mouth breathing, open lips, low tongue posture, and habits like thumb sucking, blanket chewing, nail biting, pacifier use, etc. These bad habits can be caused by thumb or pacifier sucking, as well as respiratory issues, enlarged tonsils, restrictive tongue ties, and more.
The consequences of myofunctional issues can vary, including improper facial growth such as a long face, a gummy smile, bite problems, preference for soft foods, mouth breathing, poor posture, speech difficulties, and more.
Our office offers myofunctional therapy services along with myofunctional appliances such as the Myobrace system, Healthy Start, Myomunchee, among others, which support proper development of the orofacial complex by eliminating harmful habits that can interfere with a child’s optimal growth. An accurate diagnosis is essential to address the root cause and effectively treat the issues.
Myofunctional orthodontics is a pre-orthodontic treatment focused on correcting the causes of malocclusion. Early treatment during the optimal developmental stage can support proper orofacial development and help children grow healthier with better habits. It offers a unique benefit that traditional orthodontics cannot—patients grow healthier without the negative impact of poor habits. In the long term, it can also make future orthodontic treatment easier and more stable.
Dr. Luna is certified as a COM (Certified Orofacial Myologist) and FOM (Fellowship in Orofacial Myology) by the IAOM (International Association of Orofacial Myology), a pioneering organization in the field of myofunctional disorders.
In the following photo, we see an example where the tongue has negatively impacted dental alignment. The images show the before and after results of myofunctional treatment using Myobrace appliances.