The Dangers Of Tongue-Tie And Mouth Breathing
Your oral structures, especially your tongue, are built to function in a specific way, allowing you to eat and chew, swallow, breathe, and speak comfortably. However, if you or your child are living with tongue-tie, it’s common to struggle with these basic everyday activities. When an infant is born with tongue-tie, he or she can develop problems from an early age, the most common of which is mouth breathing. Patients who constantly breathe through their mouths can develop troubling and long-term health problems such as sleep apnea and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
Uniquely qualified through advanced and specialized training, our dentist, Dr. Strouth & Dr. Amin, and our team of qualified clinicians offer laser frenectomies and myofunctional therapy in Lexington Park, Maryland to treat tongue-tie, lip-tie, and mouth breathing in both children and adults. With personalized evaluation and treatment that targets the root issue of your individual symptoms, we can help return you to a life of health, comfort, and function!
Long-Term Effects of Myofunctional Problems
- Chronic snoring
- Airway issues
- Sleep apnea
- TMJ disorder
- Speech difficulties
- Trouble swallowing
- Headaches
- Crowded teeth
- Poor posture
- Digestive issues
- Narrow palate
- Long face syndrome
Specialized Treatment with Dramatic Results
Myofunctional therapy is beneficial for both children and adults, though pediatric treatment can help prevent negative habits from fully developing as well as improve latching and feeding. For adults, myofunctional therapy can help correct life-long issues with breathing, swallowing, and other health problems associated with tongue-ties and mouth breathing. Myofunctional therapy is a series of personalized exercises designed to help a patient use his or her tongue properly (including proper resting position and a closed mouth) as well as how to nasal breathe, chew, talk, and swallow correctly.
These exercises may begin before tongue-tie surgery and will continue for generally six or more months after. Laser frenectomy surgery is a seconds-long procedure that releases the tissue causing restriction of the tongue. Once released, a proper range of motion is restored and myofunctional exercises will begin to show positive results in compliant patients. Over time, repeating these exercises until they become habits, can actually change facial appearance as the bones and muscles adapt to new movements and positions, in addition to dramatically improving oral health and function.
Amazing Benefits of Myofunctional Therapy
Myofunctional therapy helps retrain the tongue muscles for proper function and restore the correct resting posture of the tongue, intending to reinstate nasal breathing as the primary way the body receives oxygen. These exercises have dramatic and life-changing results, including:
- Reduced snoring and sleep apnea
- Improved facial structure and appearance
- Restored tongue position and movement
- Improved breathing, chewing, and swallowing
- Reduced jaw joint, muscle, and neck pain
- Less risk for cavities and other dental problems
