Humans swallow over 500 times a day. The effects of improper use of the facial muscles during swallowing can be cumulative.
Long-term, untreated orofacial muscle dysfunction could cause a number of issues, including dental malocclusions, collapse of dental arches, facial asymmetry, downward facial growth, TMJ pain, and obstructive sleep apnea.
By improving posturing of the tongue, lips, and head through myofunctional therapy earlier, it is possible to obviate the need for further extensive interventions in the future.
These are some of the goals of myofunctional therapy:
- Promote orofacial muscle harmony and eliminate muscle imbalances
- Improve lip & tongue muscle tone
- Improve tongue mobility
- Reduce and/or eliminate symptoms of TMD related to orofacial muscle dysfunction
- Habituate resting posture of lips, tongue, jaw and head (this reduces the lingual pressure against the teeth, which is often associated with malocclusions)
- Promote lip seal & nasal breathing
- Improve mastication, deglutition, and digestion
- Eliminate parafunctional habits, like bruxism, thumb sucking, etc.