In a traditional orthodontic treatment, you are required to use the assistance of metal braces to help straighten your teeth. Myofunctional orthodontics is considered to be an alternative treatment that focuses on poor muscular habits to address the underlying cause of misaligned teeth.
February 14, 2020
This treatment involves the use of myofunctional appliances and exercises that address poor habits that cause oral issues such as crooked teeth, without the use of straightening products.
Below, we have outlined what myofunctional orthodontics is and how it may benefit you.
Myofunction orthodontics can especially help correct malocclusion in young children. Malocclusion means you have crooked teeth or a poor bite. In many cases, this stems from poor muscle strength in your face and mouth.
Malocclusion can easily occur in children as they develop bad dysfunctional habits at a young age such as:
Due to these bad habits, the muscles in their mouth and jaw begin to develop and function differently to what they should. This can then increase the likelihood of malocclusion.
The effects of bad habits such as thumb sucking can be corrected over time. This treatment is generally for children aged between 4 and 10 but can be used for all ages.
There are three common appliances we use to straighten and strengthen your facial muscles without the use of braces.
At Gold Coast Holistic Dental Care, we offer Myospots. Myospots are small, biodegradable round pads that are made from natural polymers. Moreover, it has a strong adhesive power which enables the pad to stick to the surface of your palate. Myospots are available in a variety of flavours and are vegan friendly.
The main purpose of a myospot pad is to increase the strength of your tongue. While the pad is attached to your palate, it will entice you to elevate your tongue to touch it.
Eventually, the repetitive motion of these movements will dissolve the pad. However, this provides your tongue with a good exercise to strengthen and tone its muscles.
In addition, if you use myospots daily for several months you can help change the posture of your tongue to rest against your palate.
Myospots can also help to improve other facial muscles and improve oral conditions such as:
Myobrace is an intra-oral appliance that is shaped like a mouthguard. The design fits seamlessly into your mouth. Over time, Myobrace aims to teach you how to properly:
The treatment requires you to insert a series of intra-oral appliances into your mouth over a period of 12 to 24 months. Myobrace must be worn 1-2 hours a day and while you or your child sleeps, to enable the treatment to work effectively.
Myomunchee is like Myobrace but serves more as an oral trainer rather than an orthodontic device. It is a soft silicone mouthguard which encourages you to chew more. By chewing more, it enables you to:
There are several benefits to myofunctional treatments.
By using an intra-oral device such as the Myobrace, you will learn how to breathe through your nose more frequently rather than your mouth. Mouth breathing affects the position and function of our facial muscles and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide we intake into our bodies.
Myofunctional breathing techniques enable you or your child to develop a healthy breathing technique. The nose acts as a filter and allows you to consume quality oxygen whilst preventing dryness in the lungs and bronchial tubes.
In some cases, myofunctional treatment techniques can help adults who suffer from a tooth loss or late jaw growth. It can also be an effective treatment for sleep apnea as it has no major risks.
Myofunctional orthodontics may also benefit people who suffer from:
For more information about our myofunctional orthodontic treatments please ask your dentist at your next visit. You can book an appointment online 24/7 or contact our friendly team today.
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