OROFACIAL MYOFUNCTIONAL THERAPY - HOW IT WORKS

These four pillars serve as our guidelines for therapy, ensuring we achieve lasting function without compensations:

1. Nasal Breathing: Consistent breathing through the nose, day and night.
2. Lip Seal: Maintaining a closed-mouth posture, day and night.
3. Tongue Posture: The tongue resting fully on the roof of the mouth.
4. Correct Swallowing: Correct swallowing pattern.

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy is a structured program of neuromuscular training for the mouth, face, head, and neck. Working with patients aged 4 and up, we help build a lasting foundation for better orofacial function. 

This is a physiological truth: in a war between muscle and bone, muscle always wins.

Every journey needs a map, and your first stop is a dedicated 60–90 minute structural and muscular evaluation. This is where we explore the mechanics of your mouth, airway, and facial/neck muscles through three core lenses:

• Function: Analyzing your breathing, posture, speaking, chewing, and swallowing patterns.
• Origin: Uncovering the root causes, limitations, and muscle compensations behind your symptoms.
• Vision: Detailing your primary functional concerns and setting your personal therapy goals.

We present our findings immediately following your evaluation. This allows you to ask questions in real time, review therapy recommendations, and choose the pathway that best fits your lifestyle and goals.

While myofunctional therapy focuses closely on muscle function and behavior, we collaborate with outside specialists for structural or complementary muscular needs. We will discuss these trusted referrals with you as the need arises.

We hit the road with regular therapy sessions while you build muscle memory at home. For maximum convenience, most therapy sessions are conducted via telehealth unless your therapist requests an in-person session. Sessions are scheduled at approximately 2–3 week intervals during the first two stages, with longer intervals stretching into the later stages, depending on consistency and compliance. 

Because teamwork, daily exercise tracking, and physical awareness are essential to your progress, therapy is delivered across four distinct stages:

•  1 — Awareness: Focusing on neurological awareness, re-patterning oral behaviors, and early muscle strengthening. This stage includes pre- and post-frenectomy support when indicated.
• 2 — Integration: Transitioning your foundational habits—like oral rest posture and nasal breathing—into complex everyday functions like chewing and speaking.
• 3 — Stabilization: Spacing sessions farther apart to lock the new muscle movements into place, allowing your baseline to shift from conscious thought to automatic, lifelong autopilot.
• 4 — Maintenance: Protecting your long-term success and hard work with follow-up check-ins at 3 and 6 months post-program completion.
  • Note: These long-term maintenance check-ins are included on us with our therapy packages.

If you ever need to pause therapy for surgery, orthodontics, or personal events, we will work with you to reach a stable plateau to protect your progress. As your circumstances change over time due to stress or aging, we can always revisit previous stages or design a targeted tune-up program to support your evolving needs. Because consistency is the true engine of muscle memory, any extended pauses will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis before we jump back on the road together.

If you're not sure if therapy is for you or have questions, we offer a courtesy 15 minute phone chat to discuss if myofunctional therapy is right for you.