Myofunctional

Therapy
2023 Capstone Presentation by Alexandra Lau
 Introduction
● My name is Alexandra Lau and I am a
Senior Dental Hygiene student at Seattle
Central College
● I was born and raised in Seattle, WA
● I have 2 years of dental assisting
experience
● I am a big foodie and love to travel to find
new food spots
● I chose to do my capstone on
Myofunctional Therapy
 What is Myofunctional Therapy?
“The study and treatment of oral and facial muscles as they relate to speech, dentition,
chewing, swallowing, and overall health.”
- International Association of Orofacial Myology
 The 4 Pillars of Oral Function
Palatal Tongue Proper Swallow
Nasal Breathing Lip Seal
Posture Pattern

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 How to become licensed
● Anyone with a professional healthcare license (RDH, DDS, SLP, OT,
MD, RN, PT, etc.) may become a myofunctional therapist
● Certification is not currently required, however, licensure distinguishes
the professional as obtaining a higher level of education,
understanding, and competency in their area of expertise
● Clinicians may be self-employed or employed by speech therapists,
ENTs, dentists, orthodontists, and pediatric dentists, or physical
therapist
Why did I choose Myofunctional
Therapy?
● Never heard of this type of therapy before
● Opportunity to learn about new fields of practices
that I could potentially incorporate in the future
● Expand knowledge on orofacial structures and
disorders
● New information learned could be used in
everyday practice as a dental hygienist
 Is there a need?
What conditions would make a good candidate?
● Mouth breathing ● Forward head posture
● Tongue tie ● Difficulty breastfeeding
● Tongue thrust ● Speech and articulation difficulty
● Allergies ● Thumb and finger sucking habits
● Constant stuffy nose ● Braces/Orthodontic treatment/relapse
● TMJ Disorder ● Obstructive sleep apnea
● Jaw pain ● Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
● Headaches, migraines ● Heavy audible breathing
● Neck and shoulder pain
● Snoring
 Primary Mentor
RDH and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist

● Graduated from Shoreline College - Class of 1992

● Worked in salivary diagnostics at Fidalab
● Training Programs
● International Academy of Oral Medicine and
Toxicology
● Myo Mentor/ Breathe Institute
● Established her private practice M.I. Myo, on Mercer
Island
● Current member of multiple associations such as
WDHA, ADHA, AAOSH, IAOM, and AAMS
Dee Mullins
 M.I. MYO sessions
Assessment Therapy
Starter Myo Kit
● Small spray bottle - used for swallow exercises
● Lip Tape sample - used for day/night time lip taping
● Toothbrush - Used in a variety of ways but mainly to
stimulate nerve sensation
● Chopsticks - used to guide the tongue and strengthen lips
● Stickers - used in awareness exercises to help patients
remember to self check what is being worked on
● Ortho elastics - used in tongue elevation & stabilization
exercises
● Bite Block - used to stabilize jaw to gain tongue tone and
dissociation
● Rubber tubes - Used for chewing exercises, lip
strengthening, and deactivation of muscles of the lips
● Buttons on a string - Used in lip strength exercises
● Straw - used in various exercises for suctioning and blowing
● Yellow sponge - used for sensitizing and sometime in post
frenum release oral hygiene
Additional Myo Kit ● Froggy Mouth - helps correct the swallow
pattern
● MyoMunchee - used for a variety of reasons
Tools related to lip seal, chewing, nasal breathing,
tongue posture, lip strength etc.
● Myo Spots - a candy used for tongue elevation
● Boom Boom sticks - Helps with nasal breathing
● Kazoos - For nasal breathing and breathing
exercises/lung function
● Face roller - sensitization of facial and neck
nerves/muscles
● MyoTape - a more expensive lip tape, especially
great on kids
● REMPlenish - special drinking straw that helps
with toning of posterior portion of mouth, also
elevates posterior portion of tongue
 My Assessment
● Pre-Appointment Questionnaire
○ Background information
○ Sleep habits
○ Health history
○ Oral habits
● Intra/Extraoral photos and examination
○ Images of posture and how far the tongue can stick out
and to the incisive papilla
○ Measurements of open mouth, tongue
expansion/retraction
● Examination of drinking and chewing
● Examination of tongue posture, lip seal and tongue
suction
 My Assessment Findings
● Tongue posture appeared to be “in palate”. Tone and control showed no significant findings
● Mainly nasal breathing with a relaxed lip seal
● Lingual frenum seemed to restrict mid-tongue during palatal suction
○ Lingual frenum inserts in the anterior ⅓ of tongue- indicating restriction
○ Although limitations, able to correct/compensate with guidance
● Ventral side of tongue pulled down and was unable to form complete palate contact
● Lateral borders were scalloped- lateral dysfunction
● During swallow, drinking, and eating tests- slight anterior and lateral tongue push
● Borderline open occlusion by left pre-molars
● Arch width 40mm (ideal 45mm) - open occlusion can be related to tongue push

*learned that lingual frenum restriction can potentially cause strain on neck and shoulders
 Secondary Mentor
RDH and Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist

● Educator for the Myomentor Institute

● Breathe Institute Ambassador
● Sought after speaker and presenter on topics of
airway and myofunctional disorders/therapy
● Established his private practice KenmoreMyo, in
Bothell and Mountlake Terrace
● Current member of multiple associations such as
ADHA, IAAH, AAPMD, AAOSH, and AAMS

Dave Henrichsen
 KenmoreMyo
● Virtual therapy and follow up appointments
○ Zoom, Skype and FaceTime
● Demonstrated exercises and then had patient demonstrate back
● Roughly 30 mins per therapy session
● Assigned a few exercises to practice and follow up on at next
appointment

● In-person new patient assessment appointments

● Roughly 1.5 hour session
● Patient interview
○ Questionnaire
○ Taking pictures of posture and intraoral
○ Measurements of how tall and wide the mouth can open
○ Measurements of how long the tongue can reach to the top of the
mouth, and lingual frenum
● Myo kit distributed to patient
 Contributions
● I didn’t contribute much to the sessions, considering i was just
there to observe but I did get along with each patient that
allowed me to observe.
● There was one instance where I needed to occupy one of the
patients who was a 7 year old boy while Dee talked to his father
about his treatment so I sat outside of the office and played
games with him
● I helped breakdown and set up Dee’s room before and after
patients
 Qualities Developed
Appreciation for orofacial Critical thinking for when
functions that may seem easy working clinically and
to some but are difficult for looking for potential
others OMDs

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Knowledge about a Admiration for the profession and the
different aspect of importance and emphasis on
dental hygiene interprofessional patient care
 Interested in this role in the future?
Further research on With the new
Orofacial knowledge, I can
myofunctional look for signs of
disorders and their OMD’s while
relation to oral health working clinically as
Yes! an RDH

Great way to work Potential alternate

interprofessionally route in case of injury
or post retirement

“Current literature demonstrates that myofunctional therapy decreases AHI by approximately

50% in adults and 62% in children. Lowest oxygen saturation, snoring, and sleepiness outcomes
improve in adults” (Camacho et al., 2015).
If I were to do it again, what would I
change?
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Take Possibly sit next to Continue with at Shadow more
more Dee so I could see least one session myofunctional
pictures how the patients of myofunctional therapists to see
demonstrated the therapy different
exercises back to approaches
her
 References
Camacho, M., Certal, V., Abdullatif, J., Zaghi, S., Ruoff, C. M., Capasso, R., & Kushida, C. A.
(2015). Myofunctional therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea: A systematic review and meta-
analysis. Sleep, 38(5), 669–675. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4652

Henrichsen, D. (n.d.). Oral Myofunctional Therapy. Kenmore Myo.

https://www.kenmoremyo.com/

International Association of Orofacial Myology. (2022, May 10). Certified Orofacial Myologist.
IAOM. https://www.iaom.com/certification/

Mullins, D. (n.d.). Myofunctional Therapy. MI Myo. https://mimyotherapy.com/

Veer, V. (2019). What is Myofunctional Therapy? YouTube. Retrieved May 23, 2023, from
https://youtu.be/ePhVEdyuUzw.
Thank you!
Questions?