Your Invisalign® ProviderMyofunctional Therapy
What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Think of myofunctional therapy as physiotherapy for the tongue and face. This type of therapy aims to re-educate the tongue and facial muscles to correct disordered movement. Our goal is for you to breathe better, sleep better, and have less pain.
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Tongue Position & Your Health
Your tongue's resting position can impact everything from chewing and swallowing to your oral health, and your speech.
When your tongue is at rest, the tip of your tongue should touch the roof of your mouth, just behind your front teeth. However, structural abnormalities in the facial muscles, upper airway obstruction or other issues can cause the tongue, lips, or jaw to move out of their natural positions. This is called an orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD).
The good news is, myofunctional therapy may help. Raluca, our myofunctional therapist, can design a combination of exercises to change your bite, breathing and facial posture to help move your tongue and facial muscles into better positions.
How Does Myofunctional Therapy Work?
During your initial consultation at our North York dental office, our registered restorative dental hygienist and myofunctional therapist, Raluca Monica, will assess your specific issue. She will then work with you to create an individualized treatment plan.
This plan will be designed to retrain your orofacial muscles and correct dysfunction. Other goals of your training may include normalizing the resting posture of your lips and tongue, establishing nasal breathing patterns, or eliminating harmful habits such as sucking your thumb.
As you work on reforming these patterns, you will become more aware of how your mouth and facial muscles move.
Raluca will recommend at-home exercises to help you focus on ideal breathing, swallowing, and resting patterns. These exercises can also increase your muscle strength and coordination.
Signs of Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders
Your registered dental hygienist can help identify the common symptoms of OMDs. These include:
- Misaligned teeth
- Tongue thrusting
- Teeth-grinding
- Facial pain
- Speech problems
- Mouth breathing
- Sleep apnea
- Stomachaches
If you notice any of these symptoms, contact your clinic to book an appointment with Raluca.
Raluca offers in-person myofunctional therapy at York Lanes Dental.
She understands that the way we breathe, swallow, and practice oral habits contribute to our sleep health, growth, and facial development.
By taking a relaxed and non-judgmental approach to treatment, Raluca can help you retrain habits that may interfere with the proper function of your tongue, lips, and jaw.
Raluca is passionate about helping patients achieve optimal overall health and can address any questions or concerns you may have with myofunctional therapy.
Hours
- Monday:08:00 am - 06:00 pm
- Tuesday:08:00 am - 08:00 pm
- Wednesday:08:00 am - 06:30 pm
- Thursday:08:00 am - 08:00 pm
- Friday:08:00 am - 06:00 pm
- Saturday:08:00 am - 04:00 pm
- Sunday:Closed