Myofunctional therapy
Emphasis on myofunctional therapy
Myofunctional disorders present themselves as malfunctions of muscles in the face and mouth area and damaged muscle tone. As a result, incorrect habits will be formed: the mouth is constantly open, the tongue is in the wrong position when at rest, or an atypical swallowing pattern emerges. These can also be accompanied by breathing and bite problems, as well as problems with pronunciation.
One of the most common causes of myofunctional disorders is mouth breathing. Even if an obstacle was removed from the nasopharynx during childhood, mouth breathing may continue, as the body is used to breathing the wrong way. This may result in breathing disorders during sleep in addition to bite problems. The mouth dryness that develops as a result of mouth breathing makes teeth more susceptible to tooth decay. Incorrect breathing also has an impact on a person’s posture – shoulders sag, the head tilts backwards, and the neck and shoulder area becomes tense.
Read more about why mouth breathing is dangerous.
Meliva employs the most experienced therapists in Estonia.
Speech therapy and physiotherapy specialists who have received special training provide myofunctional therapy in Meliva. Our myofunctional therapists use various methods of therapy to improve the work of muscles in the face and mouth area, normalise disturbed muscle tone, and eliminate bad oral habits such as sucking on the thumb, tongue or lip, biting nails, etc. The therapy helps to maintain the correct bite by correcting the resting position of the tongue and the swallowing pattern. The specialists often collaborate with otorhinolaryngologists, orthodontists, and other specialists to ensure that patients receive comprehensive and high-quality treatment.
Primarily, children and adults with one of the following problems should refer to a speech therapist:
- speech and communication issues, e.g. delayed or underdeveloped speech, stutter, pronunciation disorder;
- aphasia, i.e. language disorder caused by organic brain damage, such as stroke;
- dysarthria is a motor speech disorder caused by one-off neurological issues (e.g. brain damage, stroke), degenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson’s disease), or infections;
- voice disorder, e.g., hoarse or breaking voice or vocal fatigue;
- issues with swallowing, e.g., due to a trauma or ischemic stroke;
- myofunctional disorder, e.g., mouth breathing;
- infantile swallowing, i.e. incorrect swallowing pattern and tongue position at rest.
You should refer to a myofunctional therapist’s appointment if you have one of the following issues:
- habitual mouth breathing;
- infantile swallowing, i.e. incorrect swallowing pattern;
- pain and tenderness around the masseter muscles (cheeks and temples);
- pain and tenderness in the neck area;
- muscle fatigue in the face area during eating/mastication;
- tooth grinding, abnormal wearing of teeth;
- need to learn nose breathing after the removal of adenoids or tonsils;
- improvement of tongue mobility after a frenotomy.
Successful treatment requires consistency
To ensure successful therapy, it is essential that the patient consistently shapes new habits at home. The therapy requires a joint effort and motivation from the patient and their family members.
