Training for a Healthier Smile
What is Myofunctional Therapy?
Think of it as "physical therapy" for your mouth and face. It involves a series of simple, repetitive exercises designed to retrain the muscles of the lips, tongue, and cheeks.
By correcting habits like tongue thrust or mouth breathing, we can improve how you breathe, eat, and sleep while ensuring your orthodontic treatment stays stable for a lifetime.
Myofunctional Therapy Penticton, West Kelowna, and the South Okanagan
At Beam Orthodontics, we offer specialized Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy to help our patients achieve better breathing, stable orthodontic results, and improved overall well-being.
There's More to Your Smile
While we often focus on the position of the teeth, the muscles of your face, tongue, and lips play an important role in your oral health. Imbalances in how these muscles behave - especially how your tongue rests when you aren't speaking or eating - can actually cause orthodontic shifts and breathing issues.
About Myofunctional Therapy
Do I need a referral?
We provide Myofunctional Therapy for patients across the entire Okanagan. You do not need a referral to get started - simply contact us to schedule your evaluation.
Who can access this?
We welcome existing Beam Orthodontics patients and new patients from the community alike.
Where is it offered?
While we serve West Kelowna and South Okanagan regions, all therapy sessions are conducted exclusively at our Penticton location.
What We Treat
Addressing open bites and preventing teeth from shifting after braces.
Correcting habitual mouth breathing, often linked to snoring and sleep apnea.
Fixing "tongue thrust" (where the tongue pushes forward against the teeth).
Helping muscles coordinate for clearer speech.
Reducing tension related to clenching and TMJ issues.
Supporting frenectomy (tie release) procedures with pre- and post-op care.
Goals of Treatment
The objective is to create a harmonious balance between your facial muscles and your teeth. Our therapist works with you on:
- Proper Tongue Posture: Training the tongue to rest naturally against the roof of the mouth.
- Lip Seal: Ensuring the lips stay comfortably closed at rest.
- Nasal Breathing: Encouraging healthy, filtered breathing through the nose rather than the mouth.
- Mature Swallowing: Developing a swallow that doesn't put pressure on your teeth.
How it Works
We treat children (typically ages 4+), adolescents, and adults.
We often work alongside Speech-Language Pathologists, ENTs (Otolaryngologists), and your general dentist.
Success comes through re-patterning. With daily practice of these exercises, we build new muscle memory over several months to a year.
Start Your Journey to a Healthier Smile
Our myofunctional therapy program is open to patients from our West Kelowna and Penticton locations, and we are happy to accept referrals from other clinics across the South Okanagan.