Myofunctional therapy provides exercises for you or your child to encourage proper breathing, speaking, chewing, and swallowing.
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDS) are disorders of the muscles and functions of the face and mouth. OMDS may affect, directly and/or indirectly, breastfeeding, facial skeletal growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech, occlusion, temporomandibular joint movement, oral hygiene, stability of the orthodontic treatment, facial esthetics, and more. (Academy of Oral Facial Myofunctional Therapy)
Fallon Giles, RDH, OMT is a trained oral myofunctional therapist and has helped countless infants, kids, and adults regain proper airway and oral function.
Our state-of-the-art Deka CO2 laser dissolves tethered tissue instantly, which reduces overall discomfort, swelling, and bleeding. Sutures are not necessary after using the laser, since it properly sterilizes and seals the area with complete precision.
The tongue achieves adult size by age 8.
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Myofunctional therapy treatment can alleviate snoring, and increase your ability to breathe and swallow food with ease.
The risk of issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and memory problems can all significantly decrease with a properly functioning airway system, thanks to myofunctional therapy.
By learning to properly close your lips and teeth with your tongue resting against the top of your mouth, your appearance and posture will begin to change into optimal alignment.
First, you or your child will have a consultation with our dentist. After taking a look at the tongue, mouth, and airway areas, the dentist will determine if you or your child may benefit from myofunctional therapy treatment.
Next, our in-house Myofunctional therapist will provide you or your child with a variety of exercises to train the tongue, lips, and mouth. These will help realign the facial features, and over time, the mouth will strengthen and adopt this new and improved condition. Myofunctional therapy is a treatment and time commitment. You will be seen several times over the course of treatment.
To adopt new habits and see long-lasting results, it’s important to continue the exercises recommended by your dentist. You’ll stop by our office to ensure that you or your child are keeping up with exercises and developing on track.
Myofunctional therapy can help address some abnormal movement patterns of the face or mouth, which can be caused by:
- Unusual tongue position- Prolonged sucking or chewing habits
- Blocked nasal passagesThe exercises used are designed to re-train the muscles, nerves, and brain on how to properly move.
Often, it can be an effective strategy to treat:
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Speech disorders
- Improper eating functions
- Tongue thrust
Think of myofunctional therapy as physical therapy for the face. It’s provided by a trained professional on our team who evaluates you or your child’s condition and creates a custom treatment plan designed to retrain the face muscles and improve their function.The treatment will depend on the condition of the patient, but some exercises used can include:
- Tongue touches - Pushing the tip of the tongue against the hard palate.
- Teeth touching - Putting the back of the tongue against the roof while keeping the tip pressing against the bottom front teeth
- Party horn
- Blowing through a party horn for a few times to help control these facial movements
- Balloon inflation
- Breathing in through the nose, and breathing out through the mouth to inflate a balloon
- Sucking through a straw
- Using a narrow straw to suck on a more dense liquid, such as a smoothie or yogurt, etc.
Myofunctional therapy is not painful or dangerous. It’s only meant to help you or your child learn how to use facial and oral muscles properly!
Signs that you or your child may need myofunctional therapy can include:
- Facial pain
- Mouth breathing
- Teeth-grinding
- Tongue thrusting
- Stomach issues (caused by improper chewing)
- Speech difficulties
- Sleep apnea
Before the procedure, she had trouble staying asleep and would move from room to room. She now sleeps through the night in her own bed.
He feeds and sleeps so much better! Nursing no longer feels like such a chore!
"Releasing tethered oral tissues can have a significant effect on one's overall health!"
— Dr. Nicole
Monday - Thursday: 8am - 5pm
Friday: 8am - 12pm
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