Discover Myofunctional Therapy

Many men, women and children suffer from some form of sleep apnea or sleep disordered breathing. Strengthening the tongue and facial muscles and learning to keep your mouth closed can help reduce or many times eliminate night time breathing issues.  Children who grind their teeth at night may have an underlying breathing disorder that can also be helped with Myofunctional Therapy.

Mouth breathing can cause a host of issues, for children and adults alike.  We are innate nasal breathers but due several environmental factors we begin to develop allergies or get sinus infections and begin the journey of mouth breathing. Not only does the nose filter the air, breathing through it provides the necessary gases we need to distribute oxygen to all our organs and cells.  Mouth breathing also promotes a long and narrow facial growth pattern along with crowding of the teeth.

Have you noticed your child’s teeth separating in the front or unable to swallow without their tongue protruding?  Tongue thrusting will not go away unless the tongue is retrained in proper position and function. Make no mistake, braces alone will not correct this issue.  We’ve all been told, the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body; it will not be held back by braces.

TMJ Discomfort can be due to several factors.  If you’ve tried other treatment that didn’t seem to work or want to try something non-invasive first, let’s talk.

Noxious habits, such as nail biting, thumb sucking and use of the pacifier, can cause growth and development issues.  These habits distort the teeth and bones of the mouth and can have damaging affects as the child grows if not eliminated as soon as possible.

Ever wonder why you can’t chew or swallow properly or have difficulty keeping your mouth closed while doing so? Simply retraining the tongue and strengthening the muscles will allow this to improve greatly.  We can also evaluate for tongue and lip restrictions that can also prohibit proper function.