Orofacial Myo Flow

08/02/2024

Repost Dr Steven Lin

If you or a family member breathes through the mouth you can likely spot postural giveaways.

As a patient walks into our surgery, we can often tell if there is a breathing problem just by a quick once over.

The side neck muscle or sternocleidomastoid muscle pictured above is responsible for the mechanical action in the majority of the head movements. It's also an accessory muscle for respiration.

When the muscle is overactive, it's a sign the patient uses shallow breathes as the muscle can be used to life the upper chest.

Poor breathing means poor posture and inability to recruit primary respiratory muscles.

Forward head posture is another giveraway and is comon. Cell phones don't help, but real cause is poor breathing.

The anterior throat muscles (Supra- & Infrahyoid group) assist in balancing the jaw against the muscles of mastication, as well as flexing the neck when rising from a supine position.

In a forward head posture, these muscles, along with the longus colli tend to be stretched out and weak (see the picture), which leads to increased load on the SCM muscles.

In turn, this stretching causes mandibular depression which then forces the the mandibular elevator muscle group to create a sustained contraction in order to keep the mouth closed.

You can often observe this with overactive chin muscles due to the lower lip pursing to seal the motuh.

Overall, this leads to altered TMJ Joint mechanics, trigger points in the involved muscle groups, and painful guarding all leading to what is commonly referred to as TMJ Dysfunction.

If your SCM bothers you try this exercise:

1) Sit or stand facing forward.
2) Exhale as you slowly tilt your right ear down toward your shoulder.
3) Use your right hand to apply gentle pressure to your head to deepen the stretch.
4) Hold for a few breaths, feeling the stretch on the side of your neck down to your collarbone.

To follow these mouth body tips you can listen to my podcast on Itunes and Spotify.

Do suffer from forward head posture or mouth breathing?

07/28/2024

Please read about the importance of mouth breathing! Thank you, Dr Steven Lin
If you notice you tend to use the mouth, instead of the nose to breathe, a Myofunctional Therapist can help change your breathing and low resting tongue posture. OroMyo Flo

Mouth breathing is a habit you need to overcome to improve your health.

Most people don't know where to start.

Mouth breathing stunts the shape of your jaw, and can contribute to the development of crooked teeth.

This occurs both in children who mouth breathe, as their jaws are developing, their adult teeth then don't have enough space to fit into their dental arch.

The result is at the age of 12 or 13, they have crooked teeth, and are require orthodontic braces to correct them.

In adults, teeth can drift with or without orthodontic treatment, if you breathe through the mouth.

So, how do we stop a mouth breathing habit?

Breathing is a subconscious process run by your autonomic nervous system. Mouth breathers will feel uncomfortable when breathing through the nose.

The reason is that nasal breathing slower, carbon dioxide gas makes a slow rise in the body that allows the transfer of oxygen in cells.

Mouth breathing is short inefficient exchange of gases.

Changing this perception of breathing in your body is important, but it's not easy.

One strategy to remind yourself to breathe through the nose is to strengthen the tongue to seal to the roof of the mouth.

Oral posture involves sealing the tongue to the roof of the mouth.

If you learn this posture as a child, your palate widens due to the pressure of the tongue, which better develops a jaw that fits adult teeth.

The really important thing about tongue posture is that it makes it impossible to breathe through the mouth

Try it.

Seal your tongue upwards like a table to the your palate.

Now try breathe through the mouth.

See?

This is how you build a postural reminder to breathe through the nose.

The added advantage is that when you strengthen the tongue, it strengthens the muscles that support the throat that hold your airway open.

It's especially important at night when you sleep. Teaching your tongue to seal to the roof of the mouth during sleep can both, change the shape of the dental arch, and prevent breathing associated issues like snoring.

In children if you correct this habit, teeth will straighten to an extent themselves, its remarkable to watch!

Do you struggle with mouth breathing?

07/07/2024

Thank you, Airway Circle !!

06/16/2023

Did you know low tongue posture can cause and ‘open-bite?’

The tongue is one of the most undervalued muscles in the body.

Made up of groups of muscles and like the heart it is always working. It helps in the mixing process of foods. It binds and contorts itself to form letters. The tongue contains linguinal tonsils that filter out germs.

Even when a person sleeps, the tongue is constantly pushing saliva down the throat.

The tongue is so strong, improper use of the tongue deforms the dental arch.

Open bites, as pictured above are a product of a ‘tongue-thrust’ swallow. The tongue should press up to the palate and seal right to the back of the throat.

When this happens the roof of the mouth is wide, and the teeth are proper proportion.

Where is your tongue usually situated? Is it pressing against your front teeth or lying passively on the floor of your mouth?

• While monitoring your tongue’s position, also take note of your breathing. Are your lips frequently open? If so, you’re probably breathing through your mouth, and this is often a sign of poor tongue posture.

• Remember to keep an eye out for any other symptoms like teeth grinding, which potentially causes headaches, neck pain, and jaw issues. It’s often due to using the chewing muscles to posture the jaw instead of the tongue!

• Begin by identifying the correct spot on the roof of your mouth where the tip of your tongue should make contact. It’s located just behind the upper front teeth. Once you’ve found it, practice touching this spot several times with the tip of your tongue.

• Next, suction your tongue onto the roof of your mouth, smile, and then pop it off again. You should hear the sharp snap of your tongue as it releases. Try not to move your jaw during this exercise.

• Lastly, raise your tongue to the roof of your mouth and suction it against your hard palate. Hold in place for five seconds, then release. Repeat several times.

• Breath deeply into the belly with the tongue firmly against the mouth. Feel the extra space behind your tongue that is due to the tongue muscles opening the airway in the neck.

Are you mindful of your tongue posture?

06/16/2023

Myofunctional Therapy works with your muscle habituations that lead to dysfunctional use & poor tongue posture. In children, it is critical to have correct tongue posture to guide bone growth for teeth, face development & airway space. Contact me if you see open mouth posture, forward head posture, or jaw tension.

Correcting your tongue posture is an important step for better health.

The roof the mouth is innervated with parasympathetic cranial nerves, proper tongue posture pressing to the palate, activates these calming nerves.

Tongue to the roof of the mouth also activates the muscles in the throat and neck to keep the airway behind the mouth open.

During sleep it’s critical this airway stays open.

There are a number of issues associated with improper tongue placement, including:
• Snoring and sleep apnea
• Bite dysfunction
• Improper swallowing
• Crowded teeth or front gaps
• Muscular pain in the mouth
• Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
• Neck pain/tension (due to joint dysfunction)
• Developmental problems relating to the jaw and other areas
• Headaches

Most of us have received little or no instruction on proper tongue placement, but mewing is easy as long as you follow these steps:
• Instead of allowing your tongue to lie at the base of your mouth, place the tip against your hard palate (located behind the upper front teeth).
• Flatten the rest of your tongue until it’s fully pressed up against the roof of your mouth.
• Seal your lips and keep your teeth slightly apart.

Couldn’t find the spot? Try this exercise.
Start by making a big, cheezy grin and raising your eyebrows. Now, try to swallow while keeping your teeth clenched. This may be difficult, but if you can do it successfully, you will feel the back of your tongue pressing against the roof of your mouth–This is where you want it to be.

When correcting tongue posture remember that awareness is key; try to get a better sense of your oral posture throughout the day. Where is your tongue usually situated?

Is it pressing against your front teeth or lying passively on the floor of your mouth?

While monitoring your tongue’s position, also take note of your breathing. Are your lips frequently open?

If so, you’re probably breathing through your mouth, and this is often a sign of poor tongue posture.

06/16/2023

06/16/2023

Airway Circle has amazing speakers to share information every Thursday at 5pmPT

06/16/2023

Don't ignore snoring & mouth breathing!

Snoring, that sweet little flutter, or is it the freight train roaring through your night? Either way, it's a problem. Don't ignore the snore.

11/02/2022

Changes to the function of the tongue, oral & facial muscles through Myofunctional Therapy is retraining old, unhealthy neural pathways. It IS working!😶

⏰ ⏰ ⏰

11/02/2022

Baby steps are part of the Myofunctional journey to regain healthy muscular habituations

❤

09/20/2022

Another support for good tongue posture- Vagus nerve & swallowing

Low vagal tone has many vague and hard to pinpoint symptoms.

Good vagal tone keeps calm resting heart rate, well-functioning digestion, breathing rate, and resting autonomic tone to many organs around the body.

Many people try direct vagal toning exercises, but often miss the most powerful one.

Tongue strenghtening!

Your tongue has an incredibly complex web of tongue muscles. A vast network that act as a kind of ‘tent’ or ‘parachute’ when all tensed, hold the tongue upwards and in three dimensions.

They are the conscious instrument of speech, making sounds with seal against the palate and front teeth. Together they create the deeply rooted swallow response that is one of the first cranial nerve exercises a child receives.

The entire web of muscles is activated by the XII cranial nerve (hypoglossal). However, there is one hidden obscure muscle at the back of the tongue that is controlled by the vagus nerve.

Through swallowing, the tongue should create a hermetic seal against the roof of the mouth controlling all crushed food down the throat.

The palatoglossus muscle, which hangs at the back of the tongue up to the soft palate, should elevate during the final process of swallowing, when the back of the throat is sealed out.

Why is it controlled by the vagus? Because all of the soft palate muscles behind are controlled by the unconscious vagus cranial nerve. So it provides a bridge between the two.

The ever so crucial set of muscles that control airway tone, deep swallowing and actions like peristalsis that moves food through the digestive system, without you thinking about it.

TONGUE or hypoglossal tone is your conscious way of tuning the vagus nerve.

It crosses by partnership with the vagus nerve to activate the throat muscles, which you can also activate through gargling, chanting, and cold showers.

Good tongue strengthening exercises? Tongue clicks!

Loud, strong tongue clicks, like a plunger coming off the bathroom wall, is a powerful tongue and vagal strengthener.

Do you think you have low vagal tone?

09/11/2022

07/12/2022

Addressing mouth breathing & tongue posture is important to posture and health. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy works to retrain oral, tongue posture. Myo Flow. Repost from Dr Steven Lin

Oral posture guides head, neck, and spinal posture.

To say it simply, you’re not supposed to breathe through the mouth.

The incorrect use of our airway depletes the respiratory immune system, and at the same time imbalances the oral and gut microbiome.

However, many people suffer from symptoms of mouth breathing, and they don’t know it starts with their breath.

Today, crooked teeth are a functional consequence of mouth breathing. Nasal breathing allows the upper jaw to expand and fit the upper teeth, and create a wide patent airway.

Your skeletal system moulds around your breathing patterns.

The tongue, is the rudder of oral posture, and should seal to the roof of the mouth. The muscles that connect to the back of the tongue, connect to the back of the throat and base of the skull.

When the tongue is pressed up to the palate, and the back of the tongue is up to fully engage the throat, the cervical spine is engaged.

When the tongue is down, we mouth breath, and the head falls forward due to lack of support.

Exercise tolerance and respiratory muscle strength in relation to forward head posture (FHP) and respiratory mode in children, is far better in kids who nasal breathe, compared to mouth breathers.

Abnormal swallowing patterns and facial characteristics, postural problems may also be present in those who habitually breathe through their mouth.

Mouth breathers tend to assume a characteristic posture, carrying their heads forward in order to compensate for the restriction to their airways and make breathing possible.

Exercise capacity is negatively affected by mouth breathing; and that the presence of moderate forward head posture acted as a compensatory mechanism in order to improve respiratory muscle function.

This forward head posture often leads to muscle fatigue, neck pain, TMJ pain, and headaches.

If you suffer from jaw pain, neck pain, teeth grinding then reconnecting to tongue posture and nasal breathing is a long term solution.

Imagine creating space at the back of the through by sealing the tongue up to the roof of the mouth.

Do you suffer from any of these problems?

06/24/2022

Tongue posture elevated in its natural state for wellness. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy