Myofunctional Therapy

Mineral Wells, Texas

You do a lot with your mouth: talk, chew, breathe, and more. At Dickerson Family Dental, we want to make sure that you are able to do all of this with a mouth that is as healthy as it could be. That is why we go beyond just looking at your teeth.

Introducing Myofunctional Therapy

Like most of our body, our mouths have a set of muscles that, just like other muscles, may need to be worked out and strengthened.

Myofunctional Therapy is a specialized therapy that works with your tongue, cheeks, or lips so that any abnormal movement patterns that can affect your breathing, chewing, swallowing, or talking can be corrected.

This therapy is also known as orofacial myofunctional therapy, or OMT, and the disorders it treats are called orofacial myofunctional disorders or OMDs.

Who Is a Candidate for Myofunctional Therapy?

Myofunctional Therapy is beneficial for those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, mouth breathing, open mouth posture, clenching or grinding their teeth, TMJ disorders, and more.

It can also be beneficial for children who tend to have speech issues due to tongue thrust.

Due to the need to understand and follow instructions, this therapy is not for babies, but is beneficial for children and adults.

What Are the Benefits of Myofunctional Therapy?

Here are some of the many benefits of myofunctional therapy:

Relief from headaches and jaw pain: If you suffer from headaches or jaw pain due to clenching or grinding your teeth, then this therapy can help manage that pain.
Support recovery from surgery: If you have had surgery for your jaw or to release a tongue tie, then this therapy can help in your recovery.
Improve speech problems: Some speech issues are caused by the mouth's muscle patterns being irregular or some muscles needing to be strengthened, so rather than speech therapy, myofunctional therapy could be enough to improve your speech.
Improvement in breathing: Myofunctional therapy can help improve your ability to breathe through your nose.
No known risks: Since this therapy focuses on strengthening muscles and doesn't involve surgery or heavy weights that might be used to strengthen other muscles, there are no known risks. If there are any drawbacks in your specific situation, they will be fully discussed with you before any treatment begins.