Myofunctional Therapy and Lifelong Habit Changes: Wellness Through a New Lens

As a myofunctional therapist, the best part of my job is helping my clients live life to the fullest.  I know this is a bold statement, but understanding how myofunctional impairment drags you down, will help you understand how myofunctional therapy and lifelong habit changes can lead to wellness transformations for you.

Myofunctional therapy and lifelong habit changes can get you on the transformation highway.

Read the Ultimate Guide to Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

Myofunctional Therapy for Adults

Very often adults come to me for therapy with the mindset that I’m going to help them fix this one small thing.  What happens throughout the process is so beautiful to watch because my clients learn that everything is connected. Literally.  

I’m lucky enough to work with clients who look at wellness differently like I do.  I decline to work with folks who just want a band-aid on their bullet wound. Opting instead to help my clients make life-changing transformations.

Many of you wonder what those areas are, and how making lifelong habit changes can make a difference.  Let me share with you some golden nuggets…

Digestive Issues:

This is an area that many of you find fascinating as it relates to myofunctional impairment.  If you do not chew properly, this is where many digestive issues begin. It is important to chew bilaterally, and adequately, allowing the tongue to manipulate the chewed food (a bolus) and prepare it for swallowing.  When I work with someone who has a weak tongue, or perhaps a tongue that is tied down, chewing can be exhausting. For this reason, many people inadequately chew on one side and in a hurry to “stop the workout”. (I compare it to when you workout with resistance bands.)

This also tends to lead to rapid eating behaviors amongst most of my clients.  When you are in a hurry to chew it up and get it down the hatch, you are swallowing poorly chewed food and a bunch of air.  These rapid eating behaviors can wreak havoc on your tender tummy.

Rapid eating can be the cause of acid reflux as well. One of my biggest success stories was a 10-year-old girl who took an adult dose prescription medicine every day and ate a fistful of antacids as well to manage her miserable heartburn.  We started working together in July and by December she was completely off her medicine and antacids.  How?  I corrected her swallowing mechanics and this slowed her down.

So, how does this connect myofunctional therapy and lifelong habit changes?  Learning how to slow down, chew properly and adequately and swallow with the correct mechanics will help you make drastic improvements to how you feel overall. 

“I love living with a gut ache,” said no one ever. Right? 

Sleep Quality Issues:

If you ever start your sentences with “I can get by on (insert whatever a pathetic number of sleep hours here)” and you wear it like a badge of honor…you have work to do.  

Short sleep = short life.  There. How do’ ya like that?  It is a fact. If you dive into the book I’m reading right now, Why We Sleep, you will learn that “adequate sleep is intimately tied to the fitness of our cardiovascular system, lowering blood pressure while keeping our hearts in fine condition.” (Matt Walker, pg 8)

Sleep is the single best thing you can do for yourself every day.  It helps your brain. It helps your heart. It helps your immune system.  It helps your mood. And so much more.

Sleep Hygiene Issues:

I feel like this is an area that we all know about yet we don’t implement until someone is alongside us, holding our hand.  Sleep hygiene is an area that I coach my clients to make lifelong habit changes.  

Without getting all technical and scientific on you, your body will get ready to sleep a lot easier if it “gets the memo” that you’re thinking about bedtime.  

Creating and implementing a bedtime routine tells your body that it is time to start winding down and to start moving towards being sleepy.  For me, this means a hot shower or watching my face. Once my “deliciously comfy” jammies hit my body, it signals that I’m in the home stretch of my day.  ( I just wrote an article on sleep hygiene last week, you should check it out!)

Breathing Issues:

When you make lifelong habit changes to your breathing, you help every single cell in your body.  When you are nasal breathing, along with diaphragmatic breathing you are helping your cells get more oxygen, they get nitric oxide, they get nice, clean humidified air and the intestines get a nice massage with every belly breath.

Anxiety & Depression Issues:

When you make lifelong habit changes to breathe correctly, you also make changes to your mood and anxiety or depression level.  When you mouth breathe, you are constantly running from that saber-toothed tiger. You are in sympathetic overdrive. You can’t rest and digest like your parasympathetic system desires because you’re in constant freak out mode.  When you learn how to nasal breathe properly, you will balance out the sympathetic and parasympathetic responses.

Motivation:

Let’s be real here.  It is hard to be a motivated superhero in your life if you have no motivation.  The lifelong habit changes that I mention above should improve your motivation tenfold.  When you are sleeping good, eating right (both nutritiously and mechanically), and breathing right, you will have an immense impact on anxiety and depression, as well as motivation.  It truly is a win-win.

Myofunctional Therapy for Children

When it comes to myofunctional therapy for children, much of the same stuff above applies, but your child may not have many symptoms of impairment yet due to age.  Give it time and your child will have some ingrained habits to correct, not to mention poor oral function. This is an excellent reason why you want to get your kiddo started with therapy as soon as he or she is old enough to comprehend, comply and cooperate with therapy.

Even though your child may be young completion of myofunctional therapy and lifelong habit changes will have a drastic impact on your child years down the road.

About Carmen

Carmen found her path of passion years ago as a dental hygienist.  After a stint in graduate school to earn her M.B.A., she left clinical hygiene practice to start her business, Integrative Myofunctional Therapy.  In addition to seeing clients in her private online practice, she also teaches the craft of myofunctional therapy in her Myo Mastery Program, coaches dental offices on how to implement myofunctional screening into the daily practice, and speaks frequently in various settings.

Carmen is a provider for the Foundation of Airway Health, where she works diligently for the recognition, diagnosis, and treatment of airway related disorders.

In addition, she is a proud member of several professional associations that afford her the opportunity to learn so that she can help her clients.  Her professional memberships include:

• American Academy of Physiological Medicine and Dentistry
• International Affiliation of Tongue-tie Professionals
• International Consortium of Oral Ankylofrenula Professionals

How To Work With Carmen