As a parent, you want the best for your child’s health, including their oral development. But there’s one area of children’s health that often goes unnoticed until problems become harder to fix: orofacial myofunctional disorders. If your child breathes through their mouth, has a tongue thrust, struggles with speech, or snores at night, myofunctional therapy for kids might be exactly what they need.
At Owl Dentistry, we provide pediatric myofunctional therapy in Bloomingdale, IL, helping children build the strong oral muscle habits that support healthy teeth, clear speech, restful sleep, and confident smiles. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know.
What Is Myofunctional Therapy?
Myofunctional therapy is a specialized exercise-based program that trains the muscles of the face, tongue, lips, and jaw to function correctly. Think of it like physical therapy, but for your mouth.
The therapy focuses on correcting orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs), patterns of muscle dysfunction that affect how a child breathes, swallows, speaks, and holds their tongue at rest. When these muscles don’t work properly, the consequences ripple outward into dental alignment, airway health, sleep quality, and even facial development.
Orofacial myofunctional therapy for kids involves a series of targeted exercises performed daily, guided by a trained therapist over several weeks or months. The exercises are simple, engaging, and designed to be child-friendly. Many kids actually enjoy them.
Why Do Children Need Myofunctional Therapy?
Children’s oral muscles are still developing, which makes early intervention incredibly powerful. Bad oral habits like mouth breathing, thumb sucking, or incorrect tongue posture don’t just affect teeth. Over time, they can reshape facial structure, disrupt airways, and interfere with proper growth.
Here’s the core problem: muscles direct bone growth. When a child’s tongue rests on the floor of the mouth instead of the roof, the upper jaw doesn’t receive the gentle pressure it needs to develop properly. The result can be a narrow palate, crowded teeth, and an underdeveloped airway, all of which become much harder to correct later in life.
Pediatric myofunctional therapy addresses these issues at the root, training muscles to work correctly so the body can develop the way it’s designed to.
Signs Your Child May Need Myofunctional Therapy
Many parents in Bloomingdale don’t realize their child has a myofunctional disorder because the signs can seem unrelated to oral health. Here are the most common red flags to watch for:
Breathing & Airway
- Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose during the day or while sleeping
- Snoring, restless sleep, or waking up tired
- Open mouth posture at rest (lips apart)
- Frequent congestion or allergies
Tongue & Swallowing
- Tongue pushing forward against or between teeth when swallowing (tongue thrust)
- Tongue tie (restricted tongue movement)
- Drooling beyond toddler age
- Difficulty swallowing certain foods
Speech & Development
- Lisp or difficulty pronouncing certain sounds (s, z, sh, ch)
- Speech delay
- Late or unusual tooth eruption patterns
- Teeth that are crowded, gapped, or misaligned despite no family history
Habits
- Thumb sucking or finger sucking past age 3-4
- Prolonged pacifier use
- Nail biting or chewing on objects
- Teeth grinding at night (bruxism)
If your child shows several of these signs, it’s worth scheduling a consultation with our team at Owl Dentistry to evaluate whether myofunctional therapy is appropriate.
How Does Myofunctional Therapy Work for Children?
Children’s oral muscle therapy works by retraining the neuromuscular patterns and communication between the brain and muscle that control how the tongue, lips, and jaw move and rest.
Here’s what the process typically looks like:
Step 1: Comprehensive Evaluation
Your child’s journey begins with a thorough assessment. Our team evaluates tongue function and mobility, breathing patterns, swallowing habits, resting posture, speech patterns, and dental development. This gives us a complete picture of what’s happening and what needs to be addressed.
Step 2: Personalized Therapy Plan
Based on the evaluation, we design a customized myofunctional therapy program specific to your child’s needs and age. No two children are the same, and neither are their treatment plans.
Step 3: Guided Exercise Sessions
Therapy sessions involve a series of targeted myofunctional exercises for children’s movements that strengthen and retrain the tongue, lips, and facial muscles. These include tongue placement exercises, lip seal training, nasal breathing exercises, and correct swallowing pattern practice.
Sessions are typically held once a week or every two weeks, with daily home exercises in between. Our therapists make sessions fun and interactive, so children stay engaged and motivated.
Step 4: Progress Monitoring
We track your child’s progress at every visit, adjusting exercises as they master each stage. Parents receive guidance on supporting their child’s practice at home.
Step 5: Maintenance
Once active therapy is complete, we provide a maintenance plan to ensure the new muscle habits stick long-term. This is especially important if orthodontic treatment is planned or underway.
You can learn more about the approach our team takes at Owl Dentistry’s myofunctional therapy page.
What Are the Benefits of Myofunctional Therapy for Children?
The benefits of pediatric myofunctional therapy extend far beyond straight teeth. When oral muscles work correctly, children experience improvements across multiple areas of health and development:
Better Breathing
Correcting mouth breathing and establishing nasal breathing improves oxygen intake, reduces nighttime breathing disruptions, and supports proper facial development. Nasal breathing also filters, warms, and humidifies air, protecting airways from irritants.
Improved Sleep Quality
Many children with myofunctional disorders are poor sleepers; they toss and turn, snore, or wake frequently. Myofunctional therapy addresses the muscular root of these issues, often dramatically improving sleep quality. Better sleep means better focus, behavior, and mood during the day.
Straighter Teeth Naturally
When the tongue rests correctly and the lips seal properly, teeth are guided into better alignment by natural forces. For many children, myofunctional therapy reduces the complexity of future orthodontic treatment and, in some cases, reduces the need for tooth extractions or expanders.
Clearer Speech
Tongue thrust and incorrect tongue placement are among the leading causes of lisps and articulation difficulties in children. Correcting the underlying muscle pattern often resolves speech issues that haven’t responded fully to traditional speech therapy alone.
Healthier Jaw Development
Proper tongue posture stimulates the upper jaw (maxilla) to develop wider and more forward, creating space for teeth to erupt correctly and supporting open airways. This is foundational for lifelong dental and airway health.
Reduced Teeth Grinding
Many children who grind their teeth at night are doing so because of airway stress. By improving breathing patterns and tongue posture, myofunctional therapy often reduces or eliminates bruxism.
At What Age Should Kids Start Myofunctional Therapy?
This is one of the most common questions parents in Bloomingdale ask, and the answer is: the earlier, the better.
Children as young as 4 to 5 years old can begin age-appropriate myofunctional exercises, particularly if habits like thumb sucking, mouth breathing, or tongue thrust are already established. Early intervention takes advantage of the rapid growth and neuroplasticity of young children, making it easier to establish correct patterns before they become deeply ingrained.
The ideal window for myofunctional therapy is typically between ages 6 and 12, when children are cooperative enough to follow instructions and the jaw and facial bones are still actively developing. Addressing issues during this window often prevents the need for more complex orthodontic treatment later.
That said, myofunctional therapy is effective at any age. Teenagers and adults benefit significantly from treatment, but results simply take longer to achieve since growth is less active. It’s never too late to start.
Myofunctional Therapy and Orthodontic Treatment
One of the most important nd underappreciated connectionsin children’s dentistry is the relationship between myofunctional therapy and orthodontics.
Braces and aligners move teeth. But if the underlying muscle habits that pushed teeth out of alignment in the first place aren’t corrected, teeth will often shift back after orthodontic treatment ends. This is one of the primary reasons orthodontic relapse occurs.
Myofunctional therapy before braces helps create an oral environment where teeth can move more efficiently and stay in their corrected positions longer. Many orthodontists now recommend myofunctional therapy as part of a comprehensive treatment plan, not just an add-on.
At Owl Dentistry, we integrate myofunctional therapy with our orthodontic services to deliver lasting results for children and teens.
Myofunctional Therapy vs. Speech Therapy: What’s the Difference?
Parents sometimes wonder whether their child needs myofunctional therapy, speech therapy, or both. Here’s a simple breakdown:
Speech therapy focuses on the sounds, language, and communication patterns a child produces. It addresses what the child is saying and how they’re forming words.
Myofunctional therapy focuses on the underlying muscle function and oral posture that affects speech. It addresses why incorrect sounds are being produced, the structural and muscular root cause.
In many cases, children benefit from both therapies working together. A child with a lisp caused by tongue thrust, for example, may make limited progress with speech therapy alone until the tongue thrust pattern itself is corrected through myofunctional therapy.
Our team at Owl Dentistry works collaboratively with speech therapists to ensure your child receives coordinated, comprehensive care.
Tongue Tie and Myofunctional Therapy in Children
Tongue tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition where the band of tissue connecting the tongue to the floor of the mouth is too short or tight, restricting tongue movement. It’s more common than many parents realize, and it’s a frequent underlying cause of myofunctional disorders.
A child with a tongue tie often can’t achieve correct tongue posture, struggles to breastfeed as an infant, and may develop compensatory swallowing and breathing patterns that persist for years.
When tongue tie is identified, a simple procedure called a frenectomy (frenum release) is often recommended to release the restriction. However, frenectomy alone is rarely sufficient; the muscles need to be retrained afterward to adopt correct patterns. This is where myofunctional therapy becomes essential: it prepares the muscles before the procedure and retrains them after, maximizing outcomes.
How Long Does Myofunctional Therapy Take for Children?
Most children complete their active myofunctional therapy program within 6 to 12 months, though this varies depending on the complexity of their needs, their age, and how consistently they practice at home.
Factors that influence treatment duration include the severity of the myofunctional disorder, the presence of tongue tie or other structural issues, the child’s age and cooperation level, consistency with home exercises, and whether orthodontic treatment is happening simultaneously.
Progress is typically visible within the first few months. Parents often notice improvements in breathing, sleep, and posture before the formal program is complete.
Is Myofunctional Therapy Safe for Kids?
Absolutely. Myofunctional therapy for children is entirely non-invasive and carries no risks. It consists purely of gentle exercises; there are no medications, devices, or procedures involved in the therapy itself.
In fact, one of the greatest advantages of myofunctional therapy is that it works with a child’s natural development rather than forcing structural change artificially. By establishing correct muscle patterns early, it supports the body in growing the way it’s designed to.
Why Choose Owl Dentistry for Myofunctional Therapy in Bloomingdale?
At Owl Dentistry in Bloomingdale, IL, we understand that children’s dental health is about so much more than teeth. Our team takes a whole-child, airway-focused approach, looking at how breathing, muscle function, sleep, and development all connect.
Our experienced team, which you can meet at our Meet Our Doctors page, brings specialized training in pediatric myofunctional therapy and integrates it seamlessly with our broader orthodontic and dental services. We use the latest diagnostic tools to evaluate your child’s needs accurately, and we create treatment plans that fit your child’s age, personality, and goals.
We also invite families to tour our offices before their first visit because we believe a comfortable, welcoming environment makes all the difference for children. Explore our advanced dental technologies to see how we deliver precise, modern care.
Frequently Asked Questions About Myofunctional Therapy for Kids
Q: Can myofunctional therapy help my child avoid braces?
In some cases, yes, particularly when treatment begins early. By guiding proper jaw development and tooth eruption, myofunctional therapy can reduce the complexity of future orthodontic treatment. However, many children will still benefit from orthodontics; myofunctional therapy helps those results last.
Q: Will my child’s insurance cover myofunctional therapy?
Coverage varies by plan. Our team is happy to help you navigate your insurance options. Contact us for guidance.
Q: How do I know if my child has tongue thrust?
Signs include a lisp, teeth that don’t come together properly, and a habit of pushing the tongue forward when swallowing. A professional evaluation is the most reliable way to confirm tongue thrust.
Q: What if my child doesn’t cooperate with exercises?
Our therapists are experienced at working with children of all temperaments. We make exercises engaging and fun, and we involve parents so that practice at home feels like a game rather than a chore.
Q: Do I need a referral to start myofunctional therapy?
No referral is needed. You can book an appointment directly through our online scheduling system.
Take the First Step Toward Better Health for Your Child
If you’ve noticed signs of mouth breathing, tongue thrust, speech difficulties, or poor sleep in your child, don’t wait to seek help. The earlier myofunctional disorders are addressed, the simpler and more effective the treatment becomes.
Owl Dentistry is proud to serve families across Bloomingdale, IL, with compassionate, expert pediatric myofunctional therapy that supports your child’s health from the inside out.
📅 Book an appointment today and take the first step toward a healthier, happier smile for your child.
📞 Have questions? Contact our team, we’d love to help.
Want to learn more about how we care for your child’s smile? Explore our full range of dental technologies, meet our doctors, ortake a virtual tour of our office to see what makes Owl Dentistry Bloomingdale’s trusted choice for children’s dental care.