Myobrace® Preventive Pre-Orthodontic Treatment
So, what is Myobrace®??? Let’s break down the word: myo =”relating to muscles” and brace= “to give support.” Our Myobrace® system is an alternative to braces that addresses airway issues from sleep disordered breathing to tongue tie while also straightening teeth. The Myobrace® program helps to create healthy oral muscle habits for life. This means that we work to prevent and correct disorders that involve the facial muscles, also known as Orofacial Myofuncional Disorders. Crowded teeth do not just happen, they are a symptom, as well as a warning sign, that your child’s jaws and face are not developing correctly. With more than 25 years of extensive research, Myofunctional Research Co. (MRC) has proven why so many children have crowded teeth. The main culprits causing crowded teeth are poor oral habits, such as mouth breathing, incorrect swallowing and food choices combined with the forces of the tongue, cheeks, and lips. In order to prevent more serious problems developing in later years these bad habits can be treated as early as possible. Early intervention also achieves results that are not possible once the face and jaws have stopped growing.
Creating healthy oral habits helps to prevent the relapse of orthodontic treatment, preventing the need for lifelong retainer wear. The muscles in our face are very strong and can produce several hundred grams of force on the bones and teeth of our jaws. It takes minimal force to move a tooth, about 2 grams. While the tongue puts out 500g of force and the lips/cheeks put more than 100g of force on the teeth! When these muscles are contracting in the wrong way, they can adversely affect how your child develops their jaw, bite, and airway. Do you know where your tongue should rest in your mouth for proper breathing and sleep? The kids in our program can tell you exactly where the tongue should rest so the jaw can grow sufficiently wide and strong.
Myofunctional Orthodontics is gaining popularity, and quickly becoming a leading orthodontic treatment in the United States, Europe and Australia. Children and adults prefer the flexibility of removable appliances and marked progress of daily exercises. Myobrace® typically does not require extractions and encourages the jaw to grow to its full potential. This treatment is easier for the patient to maintain than traditional braces.
The Myobrace® program also offers a fun interactive app to engage the patient in oral exercises. Our patients enjoy learning the new exercises and accepting the challenge each month to master a new exercise.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!
Crowding in an 11-year-old patient: After 18-months of Myobrace® treatment, this patient has avoided the need for extractions and reduced time with braces. Correcting the poor oral habits that cause crooked teeth and improving overall jaw and facial development has created a significantly healthier oral environment.
Open bite in a 7-year-old patient: After three years of Myobrace® treatment, this child achieved a straightened dentition. The completion of Myobrace® treatment was reached before an age when traditional orthodontic treatment begins AND extractions of healthy adult teeth were avoided.
Underbite in a 7-year-old patient: This patient was initially advised that jaw surgery would be the only option. After doing some research, the parents discovered Myobrace® treatment and decided to start early orthodontics. After 3 years of treatment, this child has a straightened dentition and has avoided jaw surgery.
Crossbite in a 12-year-old patient: The traditional treatment for a cross bite like the one pictured below includes jaw expanders or surgery. Through using Myobrace® appliances over 3 years, the patient avoided jaw expanders and surgery. The permanent teeth are moving naturally into the correct bite by age 15!
Deep bite in a 13-year-old patient: This patient had underdeveloped upper and lower jaws. This patient and his parents had concerns about the severity of his deep bite and decided to try treatment with Myobrace®. Within 5 months the bite was almost completely corrected!
Myobrace® not only helps straighten teeth, patients experiencing sleep disordered breathing can benefit from Myobrace® Myofunctional Therapy program. Training the oral facial muscles properly can open up the airway for better quality sleep and life!
Children with airway issues will resort to mouth breathing, which can permanently affect the structure of their orofacial muscles, as well as their tongue placement. A lack of sleep and difficulty performing everyday tasks can lead to a host of subsequent problems such as difficulty concentrating in school, irritability, and low grades. If your child is experiencing breathing problems, sleep apnea, snoring, improper bite, poor sleep or any other reason to believe there might be a myofunctional problem, please schedule a screening at our office to identify exactly what is happening in your case.
