How Does Myofunctional Orthodontics Work?

Are you noticing crowding in your child’s teeth?
Or perhaps your child breathes through their mouth, snores, or has a deep bite?

Did you know that by age 12, nearly 90% of jaw growth is complete?
That means waiting until the teenage years for traditional orthodontics may be too late to guide proper jaw and airway development.

 The Good News

There are natural, science-based options available before traditional orthodontics.

Myofunctional Orthodontics uses gentle appliances and exercises to help guide your child’s teeth and jaws into better alignment — while improving breathing, posture, and overall facial growth.

You can get started as early as age 2–15!

What Is Myofunctional Orthodontics?

Myofunctional Orthodontics focuses on the root causes of crooked teeth and jaw imbalance — not just the symptoms.

Instead of “waiting for braces,” we address the habits that shape your child’s face and airway while they’re still developing.

These habits include:

• Mouth breathing
• Low tongue posture
• Thumb sucking or extended pacifier use
• Incorrect swallowing patterns

By retraining these muscles and habits early, we help your child develop:

• Healthier airways
• Proper tongue position and lip seal
• Well-aligned jaws
• Naturally straighter teeth

How Treatment Works

Your child wears a Myofunctional appliance for:

• 1 hour during the day, and
• Overnight while sleeping

This gentle appliance works alongside a series of fun, guided exercises that strengthen the muscles of the tongue, lips, and cheeks — creating balance between breathing, swallowing, and facial growth.

Treatment Goals

✅ Breathing through the nose
✅ Lips closed at rest
✅ Tongue resting on the palate
✅ Correct swallowing pattern
✅ Strong facial growth and jaw development
✅ Healthy, confident smile!

Why Start Early?

Research shows that 3 out of 4 children show early signs of crowded teeth, underdeveloped jaws, or airway issues — sometimes as young as age 2–5.

Traditionally, orthodontic care started only after all permanent teeth had erupted.
However, modern research and clinical results show that guiding growth early can:

• Reduce or eliminate the need for braces later
• Support better airway development and sleep
• Encourage balanced facial symmetry
• Improve long-term oral and overall health

 Why Do Kids Develop Crowded Teeth?

Crowding isn’t caused by “big teeth in small jaws” — it’s caused by poor oral habits and airway dysfunction during growth.
When a child mouth breathes, keeps their tongue low, or swallows incorrectly, the jaw doesn’t develop to its full potential.

By correcting these myofunctional habits, we help the jaws grow properly — leading to:

• Better breathing
• Healthier sleep
• Straighter teeth
• Happier, more confident smiles

Give Your Child a Head Start

Healthy growth begins with healthy function.
Myofunctional Orthodontics is a gentle, research-backed way to help your child breathe better, sleep better, and grow with a confident smile — from the inside out.