How Myo Works
Myofunctional therapy uses exercises and practice to strengthen and re-train the muscles of the tongue and face into healthy postures and habits. Myo specifically targets the muscular movements that affect breathing, swallowing, chewing, speech, skull and facial development, and oral resting posture.
What Myo Can Help With
Incorrect tongue posture and function alter the proper formation of the facial structure, increase risk of orthodontic problems and relapse, and increase risk for sleep apnea, upper respiratory issues, digestive issues, TMJ pain, headaches, and many other common problems.
Some of the foundational issues that myofunctional therapy works to correct are:
- Tongue thrust swallow
- Low tongue posture
- Open-mouth breathing
- Low intra-oral suction
- Thumb sucking and other “oral fixation” habits
- Teeth grinding
- Poor chewing
- Difficulty swallowing
Common Signs that Myo Can Help
You or your child may benefit from myofunctional therapy if you deal with:
- Difficulty breastfeeding (painful or ineffective latch, baby getting tired before getting a full feed, insufficient milk transfer, low supply, unwillingness to feed on a particular side)
- Picky eating (especially issues with specific food textures)
- Mouth breathing
- Crowded and/or crooked teeth
- Chronic ear infections
- Acid reflux
- Tooth grinding/clenching
- TMJ pain
- Tension headaches
- Snoring (see sleep disordered breathing, below)
Sleep disordered breathing is also a very common and life-impacting result of incorrect oral function, and deserves a list of signs all by itself:
- Bed wetting
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Snoring
- Sleep apnea
- Frequently waking during the night
- Scalloped tongue
- Chronic fatigue
- Feeling overly tired during the day
- High blood pressure
- Insomnia
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic depression
Goals of Myo
The overall goals of myofunctional therapy are to:
- Achieve lip closure day and night
- Establish proper nasal breathing
- Improve lip & tongue strength
- Achieve full range of tongue movement, control, and function
- Establish a physiological resting tongue posture that supports airway and orthodontic health
- Establish a physiological swallow
- Keep jaw stable
- Keep teeth resting apart
- Achieve proper chewing, food control in the mouth, and swallowing
- Establish correct eating and drinking techniques
- Establish good sleeping techniques (lips closed, nasal breathing, tongue in the palate)
- Correct poor habit patterns (biting/sucking thumb/fingers/lip/cheek/tongue/hair/fingernails/etc, facial/smile mannerisms, poor body posture)