What Is Myofunctional Orthodontics?

Let’s first define the word occlusion.

The way your teeth in the lower and upper jaw meet and contact each other when you close your mouth.

A normal “bite” occurs if the teeth in the upper jaw fit slightly in front of the lower teeth and the back teeth fit correctly.

Malocclusion or poor bite occurs if the teeth in the lower and upper jaw are not appropriately positioned when the mouth is closed, resulting in misaligned or crooked teeth.

Malocclusion is a common dental issue and may cause different tooth misalignment issues like:

• crowded teeth
• open bite
• overbite
• underbite
• Crossbite

Well, the most apparent cause of crooked teeth is malocclusion or having misaligned teeth.

However, crooked teeth can have a variety of underlying causes, including:

Poor oral habits, aka incorrect myofunctional habits, can negatively impact a child’s jaw growth and development.

Incorrect myofunctional habits include mouth breathing, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, reverse swallowing, and prolonged pacifier or bottle use.

Correcting poor oral habits is necessary since they can result in orthodontic problems such as crooked teeth.

Early treatment of poor myofunctional habits will encourage the jaws to find the proper shape and size.

Parents with misaligned teeth will likely pass on the problem to their children.

Children can inherit their parents’ size of jaws and teeth and also their orthodontic problems, such as having crooked teeth.

Trauma or injury to the face can lead to tooth loss, affect a child’s teeth alignment, and eventually result in orthodontic problems.

Facial injuries can lead to having crooked teeth in that they can cause tooth displacement. It can also cause the child’s jaws to shift from their original position and pose bite and misalignment problems.

Your child will typically begin to lose their primary teeth and get their permanent teeth (adult teeth) at around age six.

Regular dental visits are of utmost importance for your children to ensure their good teeth and jaw development.

If your child loses their teeth earlier than expected, they may develop orthodontic problems in the future.

A child’s baby teeth or primary teeth play a crucial role in their dental development in that they keep the space for the proper growth of permanent teeth.

Losing baby teeth prematurely can cause other teeth to shift in the empty spaces, interfere with the proper development of permanent teeth, and lead to crooked or crowded teeth.

Parents and caregivers are supposed to encourage good oral habits in their children at an early age.

Practising proper dental hygiene such as teeth flossing and brushing will prevent oral health issues like tooth decay, cavities, infection, gum disease, and tooth loss.

As mentioned earlier, tooth loss can cause the neighbouring teeth to shift into empty spaces and interfere with proper teeth alignment.

Receiving sufficient nutrients is vital for your child’s overall health and development and a significant part of growing straight teeth. Children require enough nutrients for proper growth of their facial muscles, proper teeth alignment, and jaw development.

Malnutrition can affect children’s proper dental development and may increase the risk of poor jaw development and crooked teeth.

Myobrace was established by Myofunctional Research Co. in 1989. MRC developed a series of intra-oral appliances that could address the underlying causes of the airway and soft tissue dysfunction to provide a solution for poor jaw development, sleep-disordered breathing, and malocclusion.

Myobrace system refers to a preventative orthodontic treatment aimed at correcting myofunctional habits, unlocking natural growth, and addressing the underlying causes of teeth misalignment.

Myobrace treatment involves wearing a series of intra-oral appliances for one to two hours daily and also overnight during sleeping.

Myobrace treatment will help expand the arch-form of the mouth using light forces on your child’s jaws and teeth. This will create sufficient space for the teeth to grow straight.

Myobrace system helps correct poor muscular habits by teaching a child to swallow properly, breathe through their nose, and rest their tongue in their upper jaws.

The orthodontist will also teach the child some exercises on breathing and swallowing, resting the tongue in a correct position, and lip and cheek exercises. These exercises are also aimed at correcting myofunctional habits and should be performed every day to achieve the desired result.

Based on the child’s age and the type of orthodontic problems they have, separate appliances will be used.

Correcting poor oral habits such as mouth breathing, thumb sucking, and tongue thrusting will help broaden the jaws and prevent incorrect jaw development.

Myofunctional orthodontics can also be an effective treatment to address temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction, headache, snoring, and sleep apnea.

Chances are that you or anyone you know suffers from a myofunctional problem if you have sleep apnea, sleep-disordered breathing, snoring, or a poor bite.

Myofunctional orthodontics is a preventative orthodontic treatment aimed at straightening teeth without the constant pressure of fixed teeth braces. The system applies myofunctional techniques to address the poor muscular habits and provide the patient with straighter teeth.

• myofunctional orthodontics helps straight teeth without teeth braces
• myobrace system promotes facial development
• myobrace treatment prevents facial muscle activity during swallowing
• myobrace system will align the jaws and encourage correct swallowing
• myobrace treatment will promote healthy eating habits
• myobrace treatment process involves educating the child to breathe through the nose
• myofunctional appliances will help correct the tongue’s resting position
• myobrace treatment helps keep the lips together

Children can receive myobrace treatment after their permanent teeth start to grow. Generally, children between the age of 5 to 15 years old can receive myofunctional orthodontics to avoid poor oral habits and poor jaw development and have straight teeth.