Relearning to breathe, chew and speak can relieve many ailments

Orofacial myofunctional therapy is a profoundly helpful treatment that can help treat the symptoms of many health conditions, from an open airway to headaches, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, poor digestion, to name a few.

It is perhaps the most effective therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate sleep apnea, which is a pervasive problem that affects many people.

What is orofacial myofunctional therapy?

Therapy includes facial and tongue exercises and behavior modification techniques to promote proper tongue position, better breathing, chewing and swallowing. Proper head and neck postures are also covered.

Numerous studies prove that this therapy can solve jaw problems and orthodontic relapses.

It can also be an alternative or adjunctive treatment to facial plastic surgery, to help get rid of sagging facial lines and muscles.

How does functional therapy work?

Myofunctional therapy isn't just about your oral cavity and tongue – it's about all of the facial muscles; head and neck.

She teaches you to breathe through your nose and rest your tongue against the roof of your mouth. You also exercise all of your facial muscles and work on functional posture and chewing.

You have to look at the function, the way the body works. If you don't chew your food enough, your body is working overtime trying to digest it.

This can lead to poor digestion, poor nutritional absorption, and other related health issues.

A major goal of myofunctional therapy is to implement exercises that train your tongue to spontaneously rest on the palate.

Many mistakenly believe that the tongue is a muscle, but it is actually an organ that contains very strong muscles. It contains one of the strongest muscle groups in your body.

The job of the tongue is to protect the airways, encourage normal forward facial growth when properly positioned, aid in speech, and move food when chewing.

The tongue is also connected to the hyoid bone which is found in your neck. So if your tongue isn't working properly, it can lead to forward head posture.

In this position, your tongue rests down and forward, and it's just enough to pull your whole head forward, throwing you off balance.

Many medical professionals are beginning to see the benefits of myofunctional therapy

Orofacial myofunctional therapy can be used in a number of areas to treat a wide range of issues. This is an obvious choice for speech therapists, for example.

More and more dentists are advocating oral muscle rehabilitation, as mouth breathing is one of the main causes of periodontal disease, malocclusion and caries.

Bacteria in your mouth need air to live, so when you breathe through your mouth or just rest with your mouth open; you provide them with much-needed oxygen.

Also, if a person breathes through their mouth, the tongue falls out and the arches can collapse, resulting in crooked teeth.

Ultimately, you can have better health or have a good diet, but if you don't sleep, breathe, and chew well, it's physically impossible to be healthy.

Fortunately, it is never too late. Regardless of your age, you can retrain your oral, facial and cervical muscles to help you sleep better, breathe and digest properly.