Maintaining oral health in an optimal condition sometimes requires more attention than mere brushing, flossing, and frequent dental checkups. In some cases, more treatments are necessary, like surgery, implants, or myofunctional therapy. However, the term may confuse you if you don’t understand what it means. This article describes what the word means and how it can impact your daily life.
Suppose you have developed orofacial myofunctional disorders because the natural development of the muscles and bones in your face and mouth was hindered somehow. In that case, you may experience problems with eating, swallowing, and breathing. Children are also affected by this disorder, but many overcome the challenge by themselves. If you are affected by this condition, it helps if you consider oral myofunctional therapy.
If you have orofacial myofunctional disorders, you undoubtedly have weakened and underdeveloped facial, mouth, and throat muscles. Myofunctional therapy focuses on strengthening and retraining the oropharynx muscles using repeated and straightforward exercises. During the treatment, the muscles of your face, mouth, and throat become stable to cause a decrease in the effects of disordered breathing and other symptoms of orofacial myofunctional disorders.
Before starting this treatment from any therapist, it helps to know the five crucial things of this therapy to derive the best benefits from the treatment. There are:
1. The Treatment Is Convenient
Myofunctional treatment is similar to having a personal trainer for all your muscles below the eyes and above the shoulders. The trainers work to strengthen and coordinate the orofacial and oropharyngeal muscles for correct oral resting posture. You learn various exercises and activities regularly until new neuromuscular patterns occur to establish different habits. The therapy requires more time than working with a therapist besides a commitment from you to adhere to it.
2. Myofunctional Treatment Can Shorten Orthodontic treatment
Many adults looking for teeth straightening remedies fear getting braces because of the perceived social stigma of having them. Myofunctional therapy exercises help people reduce the time they spend wearing braces or avoid them altogether. In addition, the treatment strengthens the muscles in your cheeks and jaw, making it easier for you to select removable orthodontic treatments to achieve your goal of having straighter teeth and a beautiful smile.
3. Myofunctional Treatment Helps Relieve Sleep Apnea
Obstructive sleep apnea affects 22 million Americans and is a severe sleep-related disorder. People with untreated sleep apnea eventually confront an elevated risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and depression. A course of myofunctional exercises helps people strengthen their mouth, tongue, and neck muscles to prevent soft tissue collapse occurring when sleeping. The strengthening of the muscles makes it easier to keep the airway open when sleeping.
4. Your Appearance Improves by Myofunctional Treatment
If you frequently breathe through your mouth, the habit can alter your appearance. Open mouth breathing narrows your dental arches while lengthening the facial structure. Myofunctional treatment addresses the root cause of mouth breathing, encouraging optimal oral test posture with your teeth and lips closed and the tongue resting against the roof of your mouth. The optimal posture encourages nasal breathing, which over time reshapes your face. However, the changes are most significant in younger patients than older adults.
5. Everyone Benefits from Myofunctional Treatment
Myofunctional treatment undoubtedly works better on children and adolescents. However, it doesn’t indicate adults will not derive the benefits of this therapy. The body is constantly changing and remodeling itself. Myofunctional therapy understands the reality that your jawbones are the most dynamic bones in the entire body. Therefore, these bones are more receptive to the forces released when performing myofunctional therapy exercises.
Having understood how the therapy benefits you, it also helps if you realize this treatment is a natural remedy for various eating, breathing, and sleeping problems. However, the treatment is hardly the only one used when treating the disorders.
The goals desired from the treatment are achieved by a team of medical and dental health professionals who often work together to accomplish your objective. In addition, your myofunctional therapist has various methodologies to increase the efficiency or enable goals to achieve within their program. Therefore you may need more than just myofunctional treatment and must plan accordingly.
Myofunctional treatment is not invasive or painful but is merely a method of strengthening your facial muscles using exercises repeatedly as directed by your therapist.
