The Myobrace®, The Healthy Start®, and The MyoMunchee®
We utilize a number of habit trainers and may recommend one of them as a valuable tool to help develop proper tongue and lip position, as well as jaw growth. With these appliances and appropriate myofunctional exercises, we can help your child grow and develop properly so that they avoid malocclusion and incorrect facial development. This may also help them avoid the need for extensive orthodontic care in the future.
Recent studies show that 75 percent of growing children have malocclusion and incorrect facial development. Soft tissue dysfunction is the major cause. By age 3 to 5, crooked teeth and abnormal face and jaw development can already be noted. These changes are often blamed on genetics, but incorrect mouth posture, prolonged thumb/pacifier habits, and reverse swallow are the real causes of poor cranio-facial growth.
If a child breathes through his/her mouth at night, the tongue drops to the floor of the mouth and no longer holds and spreads the upper jaw into a healthy and aesthetically pleasing position. The restricted development limits the space for erupting teeth and prevents them from emerging into their ideal natural position.
The Myobrace and Healthy Start habit trainers are myofunctional orthodontic appliances that teach children to breathe through their nose, put their tongue on the roof of their mouth in the resting position, keep their lips together and swallow correctly for optimal facial and jaw development AND early alignment of erupting teeth.
The habit trainer is worn actively for 1 to 2 hours per day and passively at night. It is an excellent myofunctional trainer and also serves to identify children with an obstruction or other issue needing medical intervention to establish nasal breathing.
- Habit trainers and special exercises can be used to train a child to breathe through his or her nose and maintain proper tongue and lip position.
- Habit trainers may confirm an obstruction and a child’s INABILITY to nasal breathe and indicate the need for medical intervention to establish nasal patency.
For more information and to schedule a consultation, please contact us today!