Many people live their lives with symptoms that they have adapted to. If you have any of the symptoms noted below you do not need to suffer anymore. Myofunctional therapy may be able to help you optimize your health and overall well being. Myofunctional therapy is a unique program that uses specific exercises that are individualized to target mouth and face muscles used to chew, swallow, talk and most importantly breathe. It is similar to physical therapy to treat symptoms and conditions related to the face, mouth and jaws. Myofunctional Therapy can benefit people of all ages, however, if a child is suffering do not wait. Jaw and facial development are almost complete by age 7. Getting started early will help prevent many problem that arise later in life.
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If You Have Any of These Symptoms or Procedures Myofunctional Therapy is Right For You
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Low Tongue Posture (tongue rests against teeth), Atypical Swallowing, Tongue Thrust
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Mouth Breathing, Lips Parted at Rest, Dry Mouth, Dry or Cracked Lips, Bad Breath, Gingivitis, Periodontal Disease, Gum Recession
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Sleep Apnea, Sleep Issues in General, Snoring, Drooling
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Enlarged Tonsils/Addenoids, Ear Aches or Tubes Placed in Ears
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Ankyloglossia (tongue tie), Lip Tie, Speech Issues
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Digestive Issues, Gas, GERD/Acid Reflux
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ADD or ADHD diagnosis
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Headaches, Neck Tension, TMJ issues/Pain , Forward Head Posture
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Sensitive Palate or Gag Reflex
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Open bite, Spacing Between Teeth, Loose Teeth, Crooked or Crowded Teeth
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Narrow Palate, Orthodontic Relapse (teeth move after braces are off)
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Palatal Expander, Jaw Surgery, Nasal surgery
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Clenching/Grinding Teeth, Oral Habits/Parafunctional Habits, Finger, Thumb or Material Sucking
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs) are abnormal patterns of muscles that inhibit normal functions of the face, mouth and jaws and contribute to many symptoms. OMDs may affect, directly and/or indirectly, breastfeeding, facial skeletal growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech, occlusion, temporomandibular joint movement, oral hygiene, stability of orthodontic treatment, facial esthetics, and more. The younger treated less compensatory patterns and health issues arise as adults.
Many things can wait. Children cannot. Today their bones are being formed, their blood is being made, their senses are being developed. To them we cannot say "tomorrow." Their name is today. ~Gabriel Mistral
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Mouth breathing is a form of sleep disordered breathing and is not an efficient way to absorb oxygen. We lose approximately 20% oxygen when it's inhaled through the mouth. When air enters the nasal cavity a gas called nitric oxide is formed and it filters the air we breathe in reducing inflammation in the whole body which also protects our immune system. This allows more oxygen to enter the bloodstream for endurance, recovery and restorative sleep. Air entering through our mouth causes inflammation in the throat and tonsil area as well as inflammation in the rest of the body. It also makes the PH more acidic contributing to higher bacterial loads. It dries out teeth and gums causing a higher risk for decay and gum irritation or infection and can lead to bone loss around the teeth. The brain will sense that oxygen is inefficient and restorative sleep will not happen. During restorative sleep there are growth and repair hormones released that help restore our systems and recover from each day. It allows the digestive and urinary system to work properly and stabilizes metabolism function. When we don't get enough restorative sleep our brain and body are worn out and disease will settle.
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Tongue ties do not only affect babies and breastfeeding. Modern medicine and dentistry are discovering that problems associated with a tongue tie can affect anyone at any age.
A tongue tie is having the string or band under the tongue that connects to the floor of the mouth too tight or too short restricting the tongue's range of motion. The tongue plays an important role in speech, swallowing, breathing and sleep. Adequate tongue mobility is essential for optimal growth and development of the upper and lower jaws. When the tongue is restricted often times a speech impediment is experienced as well as irregular swallowing and the tongue is not able to rest in the correct place which inhibits jaw growth and how teeth erupt. Many people adapt to compensatory patterns that contribute to TMJ issues, headaches, facial pain, clenching/grinding, snoring and sleep apnea.
Why not just clip the tongue?
The tongue is comprised of 8 muscles and those muscles have been tied down causing them to be weak and non functioning. For example, if you have lived your life with your shoe laces tying both feet together you would be able to finish a race by compensation. When the laces are untied and both feet are free all the muscles need to be strengthened, slowly built up and you must learn how to use both feet. Myofunctional therapy is necessary before and after to restore proper function and strengthen muscles to ensure the ligament doesn't reattach and optimal function is achieved. Myofunctional therapy determines whether or not the tongue tie needs to be released. Surgery is not necessary for every tongue tie. Most cases that have a release without therapy end up worse than they started due to scar tissue. The tongue muscles need to be retrained and conditioned so the ligament doesn't reattach. Post therapy ensures minimal to no scar tissue at all. Copy and paste the links below in web browser to view evidence based research regarding functional frenulum releases. Also see Dr. Seroush Zaghi, MD at The Breathe Institute (Harvard Univ ENT specialized in sleep apnea and functional releases)
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https://www.zaghimd.com/frenuloplasty-how-we-do-it
https://www.lightscalpel.com/publications/functional-frenectomy-osteopathically-guided/
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Jaw Pain
Did you know that the tongue plays a critical role in jaw stability? Imagine the jaw joints and tongue being a three legged table. If we lose one leg the table is going to fall over. Approximately 20-30% of the adult population suffer from symptoms involving the TMJ such as joint pain and headaches. When the tongue is not properly functioning or is in the wrong position the jaw joint can unhinge and cause compensatory muscle patterns, pain and inflammation. There are many ways to alleviate symptoms that stem from the jaw joint, however, myofunctional therapy is a non-invasive modality that does not require dental appliances and stabilizes all muscles of mastication that support the TMJ and allow the jaw to move. Myofunctional therapy exercises have been shown to decrease jaw pain and headaches significantly.
Sleep Disordered Breathing
Sleep apnea, sleep disordered breathing, and upper airway resistance have one thing in common, BREATHING. Breathing is EVERYTHING. If our whole body systems and brain are not getting enough oxygen our regenerative sleep is impaired. Restorative sleep is imperative to release repair and growth hormones. If our body is not getting enough restorative sleep it stresses the whole body system which contributes to elevated blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, some strains of cancer, autoimmune diseases, adhd and add in children and much more. The nasal cavity, tongue, soft palate, uvula, and pharynx are the main factors in breathing. If there is a dysfunction of the tongue, soft palate or pharynx, breathing is impaired. Scientists, doctors, dentists and specialists have realized that anatomy, physiology and muscle function play a huge role in sleep related breathing disorders. Myofunctional therapy is an adjunctive treatment program to re-pattern and strengthen all of these areas for better breathing and reduced symptoms.
Symptoms in Children:
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Hyperactivity
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Inability to Sit Still or Focus
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Often Interrupts/Aggressive Behavior
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Difficulty Falling Asleep
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Excessive Sweating While Asleep
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Nightmares, Restless Sleep
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Sleep Walking or Talking
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Irritability
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Crooked Teeth
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Arrested Growth
What Causes Mouth Breathing?
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Allergies or food sensitivities
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Deviated septum
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Enlarged tonsils and addenoids
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Lip ties/Tongue Ties
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Habit
Mouth breathing is one of the most common OMD 's
Mouth Breathing Contributes to:
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Small lower jaw development
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Long narrow face, flat facial prominence, droopy eyes
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Crooked nose
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Bad breath, dental decay, gum disease
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Stomach pain, gas and digestive issues
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Snoring and sleep disordered breathing, Poor sleep
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Longer time in braces, orthodontic relapse after braces
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Sore throat or cold symptoms
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Hyperactivity or inability to focus in children
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Chronic fatigue and daytime sleepiness in adults.
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The Tongue is Key For Jaw Growth and Development
Mouth breathing changes the tongues position and the way it functions in the mouth. Your tongue should naturally rest in the top of your mouth. When your mouth is open it rests in the bottom. This leads to underdeveloped oral musculature, and can cause problems with speech, swallowing, breathing and chewing. When the tongue rests low in the mouth, it pushes forward to swallow which is a tongue thrust. Tongue to palate contact releases serotonin and plays a role in reaching the restorative sleep phase. We will compensate by clenching/grinding teeth, engaging facial and neck muscles to find the stability we are lacking which contributes pain, TMJ issues and more!
A tongue thrust and mouth breathing go hand in hand. If you’re mouth breathing, you also have a tongue thrust which is an irregular swallowing pattern. Tongue thrust can put force on the teeth causing them to move. Mouth breathing may seem like an easy habit to change. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. The body doesn’t know how to breathe normally. There are neuromuscular pathways that haven't developed that connect the brain to the muscles that are responsible for nasal breathing. The muscles of the face and mouth have compensated and are not in harmony. All compensations lead to negative outcomes. As a well trained orofacial myofunctional therapist, I will help retrain and restore normal muscle function and neuromuscular pathways to help you stop breathing through your mouth. Nasal breathing restores oxygen levels and positive changes to overall health and quality of life will occur.
Tongue Ties
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Chronic nasal congestion
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Asthma
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Nasal Polyps
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Respiratory issues
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Mouth breathing is NOT NORMAL
Meet Summor
I graduated dental hygiene school in 2007 and have been practicing in a dental office full time ever since. Learning is something that consumes most of my free time. My passion revolves primarily around airway health, growth, and development. I stumbled upon myofunctional therapy while taking a sleep related breathing disorder course in 2015. I was eager to get answers for my little one who had many of the symptoms we were learning about. As soon as I got home I reached out to one of the founders of myofunctional therapy and signed up for the course. I was ecstatic to have completed the myofunctional therapy course in August 2016 with The Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy. Orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) as stated above is like physical therapy for oral and facial muscles. OMT retrains muscle patterns to restore normal muscle function and eliminate habits that come along with compensation. These disorders negatively impact overall health, contribute to accelerated aging and are crucial to treat as soon as possible.
My first priority was to treat my daughter. She was born with an extensive lip tie that interfered with breast feeding. She wasn't able to seal her lips due to the restriction. Not only was it extremely painful but she was very gassy and fussy due to sucking air and her feedings were noisy. I thought this was normal so I continued in misery for 6 weeks. She was not growing like she should have so I stopped breast feeding. The nurses and lactation consultants told me everything looked normal during feeding.
The lip restriction contributed to mouth breathing, drooling while sleeping and also contributes to texture issues . She had most of her baby molars capped due to dental decay as a result of breathing through her mouth. Her tonsils were swollen and almost touching from unfiltered air. Not only did she have extensive dental treatment at a young age but also suffered from night terrors a couple times per week, frequent waking, kicking and tossing fiercely enough to fall out of her bed. She presented with dark circles under her eyes. No one was sleeping in our household. This behavior is NOT "normal." Fortunately, the dentist I was working for did home sleep tests and she tested positive for sleep apnea. She was suffering from sleep disordered breathing that most likely stemmed from the lip tie. Who would have thought!
The lip tie constricted the muscles around her mouth that attach to some of the muscles used to chew food . The lip restriction contributed to a natural open mouth posture. This restriction will inhibit forward growth of the upper jaw called the maxilla. The oral and facial muscles need to work simultaneously in order to breathe through the nose, chew, swallow, talk and grow optimally. The muscles need to be retrained or conditioned and the compensatory habits need to be corrected.
I started myofunctional therapy treatment as soon as I completed the course work. During phase 2 of treatment my daughter started to sleep all night and was able to sit still at the dinner table. Her tonsils went down to give her airway more room and her chronic sore throat and dry cough diminished. Her smarter balance test scores have been in the 95-100 percentile. She showed me what my purpose in life was. I want to create awareness and help more people like her. I strive to give you or your child the best possible outcome myofunctional therapy can give. I have taken extended courses with Dr. Seroush Zaghi and I am a breathe ambassador with The Breathe Institute. My priority for every treatment plan is to help create an open airway while restoring normal muscle function being assertive to individual goals. I utilize the latest and greatest techniques to assure my patient's are receiving the best possible treatment for optimal results. I am competent making appropriate referrals to specialty providers when needed. With my experience and extensive training you will see and feel positive results. Technology has made it possible to meet with patients via skype or facetime which is convenient after business hours. Please contact me for a free consult to see if I can help you or your child.
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Wakes up at Night
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Bed Wetting
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Circles Under Eyes
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Headaches
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Mouth Breathes While Sleeping
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Mouth Breathes During Day
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Headaches
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Low grades in Math and Spelling
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Swollen Tonsils/addenoids
Your Health Starts Here
Contact Info
Phone
406-291-0634
The information on this website is in no way considered to be medical advice, it is in no way intended to treat, cure, or prevent any disease, symptom or condition. Medical advice should be obtained from an appropriately qualified and licensed medical professional. Please consult with your doctor before you begin any fitness, exercise, nutrition, weight loss program, or any other changes in lifestyle.