Understanding Oral-Facial Myofunctional Therapy
The interactions between your oral-facial structural growth and muscle activity begin in early development. Also, the physiological functions of mastication, swallowing, suction, and breathing during infancy stimulate subsequent growth.
Behaviors we develop at an early age translate to habits we have later in life. Therefore, training our facial muscles to act in their proper biological way enhances muscle memory and reduces the need for myofunctional therapies later. If not so, you are likely to develop myofunctional disorders that affect your jaw alignment and teeth as well as your oral functions.
What Are Oral-Facial Myofunctional Disorders?
Oral myofunctional disorders affect the functionalities of our mouths and faces. Myofunctional disorders can lead to several effects, either directly or indirectly. Such problems include difficulties in breastfeeding, chewing, swallowing, stunted growth of the facial-skeletal, speech impediments, and malocclusion.
Some of the other problems that oral-facial myofunctional disorders can cause include poor oral hygiene, instability during orthodontic treatments, temporomandibular joint movement disorders, and affect your facial aesthetics.
With oral-facial myofunctional therapy, your doctor can help you enjoy eating, breathing, speaking, soundly sleeping, and speaking without any difficulties. Apart from enhancing your oral functions, the procedures can boost your facial aesthetics.
Some of the myofunctional disorders include:
- Mouth or lips being open in a resting posture
- Tongue thrusting while swallowing or speaking
- Tongue, lip, or finger sucking
- Nail-biting
- Restricted frenum or tongue-tying
Who Can Enjoy the Benefits of Myofunctional Therapy?
When performing a myofunctional therapy in Frisco, TX, your specialist aims to help those with the following:
- Undergoing temporomandibular disorder treatments
- Orthodontic patients
- Patients whose mouths are open even when resting
- People who clench or grind their teeth
- Those with altered facial symmetry
- Sleep apnea patients
- People with oral habits such as thumb-sucking, lip-sucking, and nail-biting
- Tongue restrictions
What the Oral-Facial Myofunctional Therapy Involves
The therapeutic procedure involves a series of non-invasive techniques that your doctor, dentist, or orthodontist uses to treat problems associated with oral-facial myofunctional disorders.
When receiving myofunctional therapy in Frisco, your specialist will provide you with a kit with materials and aides for your treatment. The specialist will demonstrate how to use the treatment materials and how you should use them at home. For the desired outcomes, your specialist might advise 30 minutes of exercise and incorporation of some to your daily oral routines.
The treatments will help you learn proper tongue placements, develop harmonious facial muscle patterns, treat sleep apnea, and prevent bad oral habits such as tooth clenching grinding, and thumb-sucking. Also, the treatment helps you practice good oral hygiene without any restrictions.
How Long Is the Myofunctional Therapy?
To get the desired outcomes when receiving myofunctional therapy near you, the number of therapy sessions depends on your condition. Some patients will require only eight therapy sessions, while others will need a few months to get satisfactory results.
Therapy is also dependent on other factors such as patient or parent participation and commitments. While receiving treatments, your doctor will create an individualized program to help you achieve lip and tone strength, jaw stabilization, tongue tone, and a correct swallowing pattern.
If you experience sleep apneas, the doctor will work to develop a palate, uvula, and oropharyngeal muscles that help to keep your airway open during sleep. During the process, your specialist can work to eliminate jaw shifting and mouth breathing.