Four Goals of Myofunctional Therapy
Nasal Breathing
One of the main goals of myofunctional therapy is to establish nasal breathing. Nasal breathing is the most efficient way to breathe. Correct nasal breathing can improve a whole host of health conditions. You can breathe through your mouth and survive but you can not breathe through your mouth and thrive. Your nose was made from breathing. The air that passes through the nasal cavity is warmed, filtered and humidified, playing a big role in your immune function. The nose is a big producer of Nitric Oxide(NO), which is a signaling molecule. Producing sufficient nitric oxide enables blood flow to be directed effortlessly throughout the body, ensuring vital organs receive sufficient oxygenation and nutrients. NO relaxes vascular smooth muscle and allows blood vessels to dilate which is very important for maintaining blood pressure. NO is also, anti-fungal, antiviral, anti-parasitic, and antibacterial, helping the immune system fight infections.
Promote Lip Seal
Our lips should rest comfortably and naturally together. A proper lip seal ensures we are breathing through our nose all day and all night. Lip seals allow us to sleep better at night and decreases our risks of tooth decay and gum disease. When the lips are not sealed mouth breathing ensues. Mouth breathing can change how your entire body develops as well as the condition of your health for the rest of your life. Mouth breathing can affect your immune system, your posture, your ability to pay attention, your mood, and even your facial growth and development.
Promote Proper Tongue Posture
Proper tongue posture is the tongue lightly suctioned to the roof of the mouth at rest. These light forces applied throughout the day and night have the biggest impact on the development of the jaws and subsequently the entire cranium. The shape of our jaws is directly linked to how we breathe and the position of the tongue. Proper tongue posture can help prevent dental crowding by acting as a natural palate expander, having crooked teeth is the most obvious 1st sign of poor jaw development. When the tongue rests on the floor of the mouth the muscles of the cheeks have to work harder and as these cheek muscles work harder they put more pressure on the upper and lower jaws. Eventually, this can narrow the shape of the face and dental arches. A narrower face and dental arches mean there is less room in the mouth for the tongue, sinuses, and airway. Children with poor tongue posture are more likely to develop facial structures that are long, and narrow, have less prominent jaws and a retracted chin gummy smile, flatter facial features, a “beaked” nose, dark circles under the eyes, and more.
Chewing and Swallowing.
Correct swallowing and chewing depend on a proper relationship between the muscles of the face, mouth, and throat. To swallow properly, muscles and nerves in the tongue, cheeks, and throat must work together in harmony. Because a person swallows 500-1000 times a day improper swallowing can cause a variety of problems. With abnormal swallowing patterns, a person is more likely to swallow excess air resulting in digestive issues. This might include increased burping, gas, stomach aches, and/or acid reflux. Often an abnormal swallowing pattern will involve the use of muscles that should not be used for swallowing. Excess lip, cheek, face, and neck movement during the swallow may be evident. This can result in pain and tension in various parts of the head and neck area. Myofunctional therapy identifies compensation behaviors during chewing and swallowing to alleviate dysfunction and alleviate pain.
