Orthodontics Preparation
The Importance of Preparing for Orthodontics
Proper muscle function is essential for long-term orthodontic success. Pre-orthodontic myofunctional therapy helps establish healthy muscle patterns before braces or expansion to improve treatment efficiency and long-term stability. Treatment may focus on tongue posture, nasal breathing, lip strength/closure, swallowing patterns, oral resting posture, and jaw stability. By correcting dysfunctional muscle habits, therapy helps support orthodontic results long after treatment is complete.
Treatment Focuses On:
Tongue Posture
Inhaling and exhaling through the mouth instead of the nose, can cause problems like dental decay, sleep issues, and changes to facial structure.
Nasal Breathing
Proper posture is when the tongue rests on the roof of the mouth, with lips closed and teeth slightly apart. Disrupted posture affects the whole body.
Swallowing Patterns
Harmful sleep breathing habits includes conditions where your breathing can repeatedly stop, slow down, and/or become obstructed during sleep.
Lip Strength & Closure
Improper tongue posture, like tongue thrust, has the tongue pushing forward, against and/or between the front teeth, disrupting swallowing, speech, or rest.
Jaw Stability
Airway concerns are the main causes of orofacial myofunctional disorders. Obstructed airways can alter the tongue, jaw, and muscle function.
Oral Resting Posture
Though common, severe and disruptive snoring can be a warning sign of obstructive sleep apnea, where breathing routinely stops and starts.
What Is The Goal of Orthodontic Preparation?
Orthodontic preparation therapy focuses on retraining the tongue, lips, and facial muscles to create a balanced environment before braces or aligners are applied. In the initial screening and evaluation our certified orofacial myologist may analyze your breathing, swallowing, chewing, and resting posture. It is important for the patient’s mouth to achieve proper tongue posture and swallowing patterns, with the tongue gently against the roof of the mouth.
Your Child’s Treatment Steps:
1
Get a comprehensive evaluation. Our certified orofacial myology therapists may perform assesments that involve taking clinical photographs and videos to document facial structure and track subtle muscle adaptations over time. As well as anatomical measurements of the jaw, teeth spacing, and the natural gap between the upper and lower teeth to observe progress.
2
Follow your pre-orthodontic therapy plan. Therapy is customized depending on the patient's individual needs. Consistency is critical to retraining the neuromuscular pathways and establishing healthy muscle patterns for orthodontics. The final progression of preparation is to make sure the patient’s muscles work together with future orthodontic treatments.
3
Start your orthodontics journey on the right foot! The ultimate goal of pre-orthodontic myofunctional therapy is to address the underlying causes of misalignment and create a stable oral base for orthodontic treatment to be short, efficient, and permanent. Contact East Texas Orofacial Myology to ensure you get quality care and effective orthodontic preparation treatment.
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Not Sure Where To Start?
We Can Help Make Orthodontics Preparation Easy!
Finding reliable care can be frustrating, especially when you don’t know where to start, but we help make it simple!
If you’re a concerned parent looking for easy and effective orthodontics preparation, our clinic can help!
At East Texas Orofacial Myology, we prioritize the overall health and happiness of our patients, big and small. Let us know your concerns and we’ll walk you through your next steps. You can get an in-person or telehealth appointment through our contact form or calling our office at 903-504-8586.
