What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Myofunctional Therapy is essentially fitness training for the muscles in your lips, tongue, and mouth. If you frequently resort to mouth breathing due to challenges with nasal breathing, experience snoring or disrupted sleep patterns, encounter difficulties articulating certain sounds, or struggle with digestive issues, Myofunctional Therapy offers targeted assistance. By addressing these issues through specialized exercises and techniques, Myofunctional Therapy aims to optimize oral function, improve breathing patterns, and enhance overall well-being.
Our Expertise
Mouth Breathing
Many people breathe through their mouths without realizing. While occasional mouth breathing can occur during exhaustive exercise or congestion, chronic mouth breathing can have a surprising number of negative health consequences. At Myofunctional Therapy Dubai, we help patients achieve optimal health through nasal breathing with this powerful therapy.
Why is Nasal Breathing better for you?
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Natural Air Filtration: Your nose filters dust, allergens, and pollutants from the air before they enter your body passing the adenoids, tonsils and into the lungs. Mouth breathing bypasses this natural defense system.
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Humidification: The nasal passages add moisture to the air you breathe, which keeps your lungs and respiratory system healthy. Dry air from mouth breathing can irritate and inflame tissues.
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Nitric Oxide Production: Your nose produces this amazing substance called nitric oxide, a gas that helps relax blood vessels and improve blood flow and oxygen flow throughout the body. It also plays a vital role during sleep.
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Facial & Cranial Development: In children, proper nasal breathing with correct tongue position contributes to healthy cranial development, jaw expansion and tooth alignment.
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What is wrong with Mouth Breathing:
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Increased Risk of Infection: Mouth breathing exposes your lungs to more airborne particles, virus' and bacteria that should have been filtered by your lymph tissue in the adenoids and tonsils. This increases our risk of getting sick more often.
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Sleep Disruption: Mouth breathing can contribute to snoring and sleep apnea, leading to daytime fatigue and other health problems.
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Dry Mouth and Throat: Dryness can lead to bad breath, discomfort, and increased risk of dental disease such as cavities and/or periodontal disease.
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Poor Facial & Cranial Development: In children, chronic mouth breathing can affect facial development and growth, leading to a long, narrow face, narrow jaws which cannot accommodate the adult teeth leading to tooth extraction and braces to align the teeth.
Tongue Thrust
Does your child or loved one push their tongue forward when swallowing?
This common habit is called tongue thrust. It can affect speech, facial development, and even sleep.
Myofunctional therapy uses gentle exercises to retrain the tongue and lips for proper breathing and swallowing. If this is not corrected it can lead to splaying of the teeth as the forces of the tongue are huge and the tongue is there 24/7.
Once this happens there is a need for orthodontic treatment but if the tongue thrust is not corrected the newly positioned teeth will be at risk of moving again.
Thumb sucking
Does your child struggle with thumb sucking or sucking or clothes/hair?
These habits can impact facial development, speech, and even sleep. These habits can continue into adulthood and if you are still struggling with these habits we can help. Thumb sucking therapy and myofunctional therapy offer gentle, natural solutions. When a person sucks their thumb they are looking to self soothe or to calm. The tongue should be doing this job but due to many different factors in life and development the tongue may
not be doing it's job therefore the person opts for a finger, thumb, hair or piece of clothing to help. This is something we can help your child with as a parent or even as an adult. This Therapy helps with habit elimination in many forms such as nail biting, pen chewing, hair sucking and non nutritive sucking. We are here to help.
Snoring
Do you or your partner battle the nightly symphony of snores?
Snoring disrupts sleep for everyone in the bed, leading to fatigue, irritability, and even health concerns. But there's hope! Snoring occurs when the airway becomes partially blocked during sleep. This disrupts airflow, causing the vibration that produces the snoring sound. Snoring is not normal and needs to be addressed. It's our bodies telling us that there is a problem with our airway.
If snoring is not addressed, these people often then suffer from: Sleep Apnea: A serious condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. Daytime Fatigue: Disrupted sleep leads to exhaustion and difficulty concentrating.
Studies link snoring to high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Myofunctional therapy addresses the underlying causes of snoring by retraining the muscles. Benefits include:
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Reduced Snoring
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Improved Sleep Quality
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Increased energy and sharper focus.
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Enhanced Overall Health
Sleep Disordered Breathing
Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is a common health problem that affects both adults and children. It occurs when your breathing is interrupted during sleep, leading to decreased oxygen levels and fragmented sleep.
There are two main types of SDB: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA): The most common type, where the airway becomes blocked during sleep, causing you to stop breathing for short periods.
Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) : is a sleep disorder similar to sleep apnea, but milder.
During sleep, the soft tissue in your throat narrows, making it harder to breathe. This can cause frequent sleep disruptions and leave you feeling tired during the day, even if you slept for a full night. Unlike sleep apnea, UARS doesn't cause complete pauses in breathing, but it can still significantly disrupt your sleep quality.
Symptoms of SDB in Adults and Children:
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Loud snoring
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Gasping or choking during sleep
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Restless sleep
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Daytime fatigue
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Difficulty concentrating
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Morning headaches
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Irritability
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Bedwetting (in children)
Health Risks of Untreated SDB:
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Left untreated, SDB can increase the risk of serious health problems, including:
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High blood pressure
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Heart disease
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Stroke
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Diabetes
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Depression
Myofunctional Therapy is a Natural Approach to Improve SDB
Myofunctional therapy is a non-invasive treatment that focuses on retraining the muscles involved in breathing and swallowing. It can be a valuable tool in managing SDB, especially for mild to moderate cases, and often complements other treatments like CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines. Myofunctional therapy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it can be a valuable tool in managing SDB. If you suspect you or your child might have SDB, consult with a doctor or sleep specialist. They can diagnose the condition and recommend the best course of treatment, which may include myofunctional therapy alongside other therapies.
Bruxism
Commonly known as teeth grinding or clenching, can be a real pain (literally!). While stress and anxiety are common triggers, a less considered factor is imbalanced oral muscles and blockages in the airway. This can effect both adults and children and is a warning sign from the body that it needs help. This is also a sign that the body is not in "rest and digest" therefore the person will most likely awaken feeling unrested. This then has a knock on effect in that person's day in relation to their focus, irritability, energy, relationships, learning etc. By addressing these imbalances, it can help reduce bruxism.
ADHD
Do you or your child experience restless sleep or attention issues? There might be a connection! Sleep-disordered breathing can disrupt sleep and mimic ADHD symptoms. Myofunctional therapy can help!
The Breath-Brain Connection: Poor sleep quality due to mouth breathing can lead to daytime fatigue, inattentiveness, and hyperactivity – symptoms that overlap with ADHD.
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Checking for Myofunctional disorders such as tongue tie, low tongue posture and addressing issues with sleep can be a natural support for those with ADHD symptoms.
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Gut Health
It is all connected. In traditional medicine we look at the body so seperately but really it is all connected so it won’t come as a surprise that your oral health, tongue function and gut health is all connected too.
Recent research reveals a two-way street between your gut health & oral health. We always thought bacteria was one directional but actually it is bi-directional meaning the bacteria from your gut and mouth and vice versa communicate. So if you have any issues in your gut these can manifest in your mouth and if you issues in your mouth these can manifest in your gut. Therefore a happy gut = a happy mouth.
A healthy gut microbiome, teeming with good bacteria, can benefit your oral health by keeping bad bacteria in check. On the flip side, poor gut health can contribute to gum disease and tooth decay.
Likewise, poor oral hygiene can allow harmful bacteria to enter your digestive system, disrupting your gut flora.
Myofunctional disorders such as incorrect swallowing or tongue tie, can impact both gut and oral health. Addressing these disorder via Myofunctional Therapy can help and resolve symptoms of bloating, gas, acid reflux or tummy pain.