It is perfectly natural to breathe through your mouth at certain times, such as when lifting a heavy load or exercising. Breathing through the mouth most of the time, however, can cause health problems.
Mouth breathing starts when we can’t get enough air through the nose, so the mouth takes over. This forces us to breathe through the mouth out of sheer necessity, and this can become a life-long habit if not corrected.
The most common causes of mouth breathing are:
- Allergies and/or food sensitivities
- Enlarged tonsils or adenoids
- Chronic nasal congestion
- Respiratory infection
- Asthma
- Deviated septum
- Nasal polyps
The average age to begin therapy for most disorders is between ages 5 & 6. An evaluation will determine if therapy is needed and when a therapy regime should begin. There is NO age limit.
As you well know, Myofunctional therapy require a team to keep us healthy and functioning well. This team might include your primary care doctor, General Dentist, Pediatric Dentist, Periodontist, Orthodontist ,ENT, Speech Therapist and any other doctor speciality you might require.
Practicing diligently daily, is critical to the success of this exercise-based program. Being committed at home to the daily exercises can not be stressed enough in retraining the muscles for the rest of your life.
Phase One is the most critical and intensive part of the program.
Establishing a habit forming foundation to ensure the muscles are retrained with new muscle memory ensures the success of this therapy.
Appointments are scheduled weekly. Each week there are new exercises to learn and practice which reinforce the specific muscle groups and oral functions.
Phase Two emphasizes developing the new habit of retraining the muscle memory for oral function success. New exercises are introduced to reinforce awareness and habit formation. Our meetings are less often to challenge your habit formation and awareness.
Phase3 At this point, the therapy should be in a more comfortable phase. The muscle memory should be becoming second nature. We will meet on a monthly basis or as needed. I re-evaluate that awareness & habits are formed for the rest of your life.
If thumb, finger sucking or any oral sucking is involved, the therapy format is slightly different. Usually a four-week program.
If tongue-tie surgery is recommended, then the therapy format will be slightly different. Each of these situations calls for additional treatment before the start of Phase One.
Initial evaluation /consultation is 11/2h. Each appointment after that is 20-30 minutes. I conduct my therapy in office, FaceTime or SKYPE
If left untreated, habits such as tongue thrust ,thumb sucking can cause damage to the placement of teeth, development of the palatal arch, can create an abnormal tongue pattern along with a abnormal thrusting of the tongue upon swallowing, and alter both facial growth and respiratory patterns. Other types of Orofacial myofunctional disorders can cause changes in lip and tongue movements, as well as rest positions. This can lead to dental malocclusions, periodontal issues, and can even influence the growth of jaws.
There needs to be cooperation from the client and family members along with commitment to the therapy regime. Changing habits is difficult and will take time but it is obtainable. The therapy program is tailored to each client. Every effort is made to make therapy as positive, fun and concise as possible. An emphasis on long term awareness is critical to the success of the therapy program.
Testimonials
My son, Ryan, is a 16 year old who suffers from Autism as well as a syndrome that causes some dysmorphic facial features. Due to structural anomalies Ryan has a hard time closing his mouth, is a mouth breather, drools , has trouble forming certain sounds and his tongue pressing against his teeth is causing his teeth to push outward despite braces. Ann started doing myofacial therapy with Ryan and I cannot believe the change. It is so different from what his Speech therapist is doing. He is better able to control his mouth, his mouth is not hanging open as much and the drooling has decreased drastically. She is very patient with him because he has a hard time with body awareness, which causes us to have to do everything over and over, but I cannot believe the change in him. She is dedicated to helping in ways I didn’t even know possible. No one tells us these services are available. Now that I see what she is able to accomplish, all I can see is the amount of children that would benefit from her services. Not only is she a therapist, but a teacher as well. She patiently explains everything to me so that I can continue to work with Ryan at home. I am excited to see all the improvements that are yet to come.
I first started in orthodontic treatment at twelve years old, and now at twenty years old I have completed two full length rounds of standard braces, and one major double jaw surgery. All of these treatments have failed to one degree or another due to my persistent tongue thrust as soon as my treatment was complete. I then began a final course of Invisalign, and decided to give Myofunctional therapy a try in conjunction so that I had a chance at no relapsing after my correction. In less than three months I had a ninety percent fix of my tongue thrust, and my only regret is that I didn’t start when I was twelve. Ann worked with me on my schedule (extremely busy as an undergraduate student), and even over FaceTime to save me long trips to an office. With a little persistence and discipline in keeping up with exercises, I’ve been able to correct a problem that has cost thousands of dollars in orthodontia and years of my life in braces. I recommend myofunctional therapy to anyone who is experiencing problems with their corrective treatment. It was an absolute game changer for me, and I recommend jumping on with treatment as soon as possible!
Because of the exercises you nave shown me and because of your help. I am no longer choking on my tongue at night. My tongue stays at the top ot my mouth so that I am not mouth breathing, which means I am sleeping so much better.. You are so knowledgeable , and have been immensely helpful and I truly appreciate you! –
Doing Myofunctional Therapy has been a game changer, especially for someone who never realized a tongue thrust was a real thing I had to worry about. I have always questioned why my top front teeth were becoming buck and ended up going through 2 rounds of braces before we caught onto the real problem that I had a tongue thrust. Working with you was great! We took time to improve the problem doing various exercises and really dug deep into the situation. Exercises were effective and got the job done in a non-frustrating way. You were very flexible, especially for someone like myself who has a busy schedule. The platform we used to do sessions online was great, so you can do everything from the comfort of your home. Lots of times, people find it hard to drive to an appointment. I would give you a 10 out of 10 rating for these reasons. Thank you for all your help!
My experience with Myofunctional Therapy as amazing. Ann always went out of her way to make appointments work to fit my schedule. The results truly changed my smile with strengthening exercises and practice. My future and smile both seem brighter because of what Myofunctional Therapy has done to me.
Thanks a ton!
I feel like it really helped me. It really helped me remember to put my tongue to spot and I improved my /r/ sound.