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Supporting healthier oral function through personalized care.

Myofunctional Therapy

in Brantford, Ontario

The way your tongue, lips, jaw, and facial muscles work together can play an important role in everyday functions such as breathing, chewing, and swallowing.

At Heirloom Dental, myofunctional therapy uses targeted exercises and techniques to help improve oral muscle function, coordination, and habits for children, teens, and adults.
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What Is
Myofunctional Therapy?

Myofunctional therapy focuses on the muscles and patterns involved in functions such as breathing, chewing, swallowing, speaking, and resting tongue posture.
Certain habits or muscle patterns can affect the way the mouth functions. Myofunctional therapy uses a series of personalized exercises to help improve awareness, coordination, and control of the tongue, lips, jaw, and facial muscles.
Treatment is tailored to the individual. Before therapy begins, we assess oral function, existing habits, and specific concerns to determine whether myofunctional therapy may be appropriate.

What Can Myofunctional Therapy Address?

Myofunctional therapy may be recommended when the position, movement, or function of the tongue and surrounding muscles is contributing to an oral habit or functional concern.
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Tongue Posture

Exercises can help patients develop greater awareness of where the tongue rests and establish more appropriate resting patterns.

Swallowing Patterns

Therapy can address atypical swallowing patterns, including tongue thrust, by working on the coordination of the tongue and surrounding muscles.

Lip & Facial Muscle Function

Targeted exercises can help improve awareness and coordination of the muscles surrounding the mouth.

Oral Habits

Myofunctional therapy may be used to address certain persistent oral habits and functional patterns that can influence oral health over time.

Who May Benefit From Myofunctional Therapy?

Myofunctional concerns can present differently from one patient to another. An assessment can help determine whether therapy may be appropriate based on your individual oral function, habits, and concerns.

Myofunctional therapy may be considered for children, teens, or adults experiencing:

Tongue thrust or atypical swallowing patterns
Difficulty maintaining appropriate resting tongue posture results
Tongue resting against or between the teeth
Mouth breathing or difficulty maintaining a comfortable lip seal
Certain persistent oral habits
Concerns involving chewing or oral muscle coordination
Oral habits or functional patterns that may be relevant to orthodontic treatment

Not everyone experiencing these concerns will require myofunctional therapy. A personalized assessment allows our team to better understand what’s happening and recommend an appropriate next step.

BENEFITS

Benefits of Myofunctional Therapy

The goals of myofunctional therapy depend on each patient’s individual needs. By improving awareness and coordination of oral and facial muscles, therapy can support healthier patterns of oral function.

Improved Oral Muscle Coordination

Develop greater awareness and control of the tongue, lips, and surrounding muscles.

Healthier Tongue Posture

Work toward establishing appropriate resting tongue posture and oral habits.

Improved Swallowing Patterns

Targeted exercises can help retrain atypical swallowing patterns and improve coordination.

Support for Other Dental Care

When appropriate, myofunctional therapy may complement orthodontic or other dental treatment by addressing relevant oral habits and functional patterns.

our Process

What to Expect From Myofunctional Therapy

Myofunctional therapy is an active process that involves both guided appointments and consistent practice between visits. Your treatment plan will be tailored to your individual needs and progress.

01.

Assessment

We begin by discussing your concerns and evaluating oral function, muscle patterns, tongue posture, swallowing habits, and other relevant factors.

02.

Personalized Therapy Plan

If myofunctional therapy is appropriate, we’ll develop a plan based on your specific needs and goals.

03.

Guided Exercises

You’ll learn targeted exercises designed to improve awareness, coordination, and function of the tongue and surrounding muscles.

04.

At-Home Practice

Consistent practice between appointments is an important part of reinforcing new patterns and progressing through therapy.

05.

Progress & Reassessment

We’ll monitor your progress over time and adjust exercises or recommendations as your needs change.

Why us

Personalized Care That Looks at the Bigger Picture

At Heirloom Dental, we believe exceptional dental care begins with understanding the individual – not simply treating a single concern.

Our approach to myofunctional therapy considers your oral function, habits, dental health, and treatment goals as part of the bigger picture. When appropriate, therapy can also be coordinated with other aspects of your dental or orthodontic care.

Individualized Assessments

We take the time to understand your unique oral function and concerns.

Personalized Therapy

Exercises and recommendations are tailored to your individual needs and progress.

Patient Education

We help you understand the purpose behind your exercises so you can take an active role in your care.

Comprehensive Approach

When appropriate, myofunctional therapy can complement other dental or orthodontic treatment.

Dare to have the smile

you’ve always wanted.

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Take the First Step Toward Healthier Oral Function

If you have concerns about tongue posture, swallowing patterns, oral habits, or the way the muscles of your mouth are functioning, we’re here to help.

Schedule an appointment with Heirloom Dental to learn more about myofunctional therapy and whether it may be appropriate for you or your child.
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FAQs

Myofunctional Therapy FAQs

What is myofunctional therapy?
Myofunctional therapy uses targeted exercises and techniques to improve the awareness, coordination, and function of the tongue, lips, jaw, and facial muscles.
No. Depending on the concern and individual needs, myofunctional therapy may be appropriate for children, teenagers, and adults.
The length of therapy varies from patient to patient. It can depend on the concerns being addressed, individual progress, treatment goals, and consistency with recommended exercises.
Yes. Regular practice is an important part of myofunctional therapy. Exercises performed between appointments help reinforce the patterns and techniques introduced during your visits.
Tongue thrust generally refers to a swallowing pattern where the tongue moves forward against or between the teeth. An assessment can help determine whether an atypical swallowing pattern is present and whether therapy may be appropriate.
In some cases, yes. Myofunctional therapy and orthodontics serve different purposes, but therapy may complement orthodontic care when oral habits or functional patterns are relevant to a patient’s treatment.
The best place to start is with an assessment. Our team can evaluate your oral function and concerns and discuss whether myofunctional therapy or another approach may be appropriate.

Find Us

Myofunctional Therapy in Brantford

Heirloom Dental provides myofunctional therapy in Brantford for children, teens, and adults. Our personalized approach focuses on oral muscle function, tongue posture, swallowing patterns, and healthy oral habits as part of comprehensive dental care.

We proudly welcome patients from Brantford and surrounding communities, including Paris, St. George, Burford, Waterford, Simcoe, and beyond.

128 King George Road

Brantford, Ontario

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Dare to have the
smile you’ve always wanted.

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