San Francisco and Marin CA
Take a second to focus on how you are breathing at the moment. Are you breathing through your nose or your mouth? As much as 80% of the population breathes through his or her mouth, which poses serious health concerns, specifically for children during their developmental years.
Chronic mouth breathing can lead to the following:
- Poor oral and facial development
- Narrow upper arch
- Crooked, protruding or gapped teeth
- Sleep apnea
- Unattractive facial development
- Inability to hold mouth closed
- Increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease
- Dry mouth
Because of these health concerns, treating mouth breathing is crucial to your health. One way that your Bay Area dentists at Glen Park Dental help to combat this negative oral habit is by way of myofunctional therapy, which uses exercises to retrain the oral and facial muscles to function properly when at rest or when swallowing, and breathing.
For instance, many people who mouth breathe have weak oral muscles, which causes them to have their mouth open all of the time. Myofunctional therapy helps to strengthen these muscles, and facilitates proper oral posture when the mouth is closed, and aids in nasal breathing.
Why orthodontics won’t work
Many people who have an unfavorable facial appearance or for those who have protruding or gapped upper teeth may receive orthodontic treatment in efforts to correctly position their teeth. The problem with this treatment, although it certainly corrects the alignment issue, is that it does nothing to prevent it from occurring again. In other words, there is more to the picture than what meets the eye.
If you are an adult who has suffered a relapse in the alignment of their teeth, it could be due to chronic mouth breathing. Orthodontics may have fixed your teeth the first time, but your mouth resorted back to the negative oral habits that got you needing braces to begin with. Instead, your oral and facial muscles have to be strengthened and retrained. Myofunctional therapy can achieve the desired results, all without the need for surgery.
Do I need myofunctional therapy for my mouth breathing?
If you are a mouth breather or you notice that your child is, treatment should be sought right away. You may not even realize the effects it has on one’s body and health. Myofunctional therapy can help you breathe better, and live the life you always wanted by helping you rest better at night, and feel more energetic as a result of getting the right amount of oxygen in your body.
Myofunctional therapy should only be prescribed by a certified myofunctional therapist in the Bay Area such as the ones on staff at Glen Park Dental. While these exercises and stretches can be done in the comfort of your own home, our myofunctional therapist will periodically evaluate you to measure your progress. It is possible, however, that additional dental or orthodontic treatments may be necessary to achieve desired aesthetic results.
Myofunctional Therapy in the Bay Area
To learn more about proper breathing techniques or to schedule a consultation for myofunctional therapy, please contact Glen Park Dental by calling (415) 585-1500.
Glen Park Dental provides comprehensive, compassionate, quality oral health care for patients in the areas of Marin and San Francisco, California.
