Myobrace
Braces are no longer an almost expected part of growing up. Holistic Dental Centers Cornelius, North Carolina may recommend Myobrace as an alternative to traditional braces.
The Myobrace difference
Straightening traditionally began between ages 12 to 15, after permanent teeth erupted. Extractions often accompany braces and even teeth with the best results can still “relapse” or shift back without long term retainers.
Myobrace can help by possibly avoiding the need for braces, extractions, and retainers. Treatment begins as early as age five. Early intervention corrects underlying problems responsible for crowded teeth, supporting proper facial and jaw development.
The ease of Myobrace
Patients wear comfortable, removable oral appliances or “trainers,” which address habits such as:
- Mouth breathing
- Tongue-thrusting
- Reverse Swallowing
How Myobrace tackles crooked teeth and poor jaw development by addressing their root causes
Voice 1: Myobrace is a system that was created in Australia as a means of solving the issues of growth and development that are leading to crooked teeth, poor jaw development, TMJ disorders, sleeping disorders, and also targeting nutrition. The ultimate goal, and it is for the patient to grow to their genetic potential, and when that happens, the teeth are supposed to go where they are supposed to go. And as humans, we are supposed to have 32 teeth, and we are supposed to have the room for them.
The Myobrace looks to address the issues, the core issues, of why we have crooked teeth in the first place by looking at all the health-related issues such as breathing, sleeping, nutrition in order to get you there.
Dr. Barry Raphael DMD: There are problems that begin at birth. We can see problems as soon as a baby tries to nurse with its mom. We can see problems within the mouth, with the tongue, with functions that are eventually going to affect the way the jaws grow. Studies show that 100 years ago, we didn’t need to breathe nearly as heavy as we do now. Many kids are walking around with their mouths open, their tongue hanging down away from the roof of the mouth. This alters the way the jaws grow. So our faces are changing. They are changing in their size and shape and teeth try to come in and fit into jaws that are undersized, that just don’t have a chance.
Orthodontics pretty much overlook that phenomena and just looks at straightening the teeth. But one of the side effects of that kind of thinking is that, when you don’t have enough room for the teeth, often you wind up taking some of the mouth as part of the solution. What Myobrace does is look at those underlying causes and tries to deal with them. We teach kids to breathe through their nose, keep their lips together, keep their tongue resting on the roof of the mouth, so that the jaws can grow in their proper full size. Then there is plenty of room for the teeth, and often the teeth will come in straight even before you get to the braces.
Voice 1: With breastfeeding, proper positioning for the infant is extremely important. This will allow them to have a proper latch on proper position and be able to breathe through their nose while maintaining that latch and nursing at the same time. If they are unable to latch or there are problems with milk production, many women have to resort to bottle feeding. When bottle feeding, it of course changes what was naturally intended for the baby to utilize the breast. When this happens, they are not able to be in the proper position. Most of the time when bottle feeding, babies are on their back. When they are on their back plus using an artificial nipple, they are not able to maintain proper tongue position and they are not able to learn the proper swallow as well as when using a sucking motion on a bottle, they are employing chewing muscles such as their cheeks which is putting inward pressure on their teeth and jaws, thus affecting their growth and development.
Lots of times, bottle feeding can lead to things like open bite or tongue thrust, which can make you open bite, which of course, is developing tooth alignment problems from the get-go.
Dr. Barry Raphael: Myobrace activities are an important part of the treatment, just as important as wearing the appliances. The activities are really teaching the kids the good healthy habits that help the face grow properly. So they deal first and foremost with breathing. We want the children to be able to breathe through their nose using their diaphragm at a low volume that is sufficient for the body’s needs. Second thing is, we want to teach good and lip postures so that whatever function that the child’s gonna be doing with that, whether it’s chewing, or swallowing, or speaking, the tongue is in the right place to begin those movements.
Voice 1: So we need to remember that main goals of Myobrace which are breathing through the nose, keeping your lips together, your tongue in a proper location, and correct swallow. Either things that we are supposed to do without thinking about them. But the activities are a means of changing habits to reinforce proper consciousness so that over time, they become as they should, subconscious acts that occur naturally as they were intended.
Dr. Barry Raphael: They teach about swallowing because that’s a very basic function that can work against the way the teeth come in and often work against braces too. Pushing good breathing, lip posture, tongue posture, and swallowing. We set the trajectory of growth in the right direction. People ask me all the time, “When do you start?” For most people, the thinking is that it has something to do with the teeth. The premise behind this kind of treatment is you start treatment when you discover that poor habits are going to create problems. And you address the habits not the teeth. It’s a very different way of thinking.
So now we are trying to look at the reasons we are getting accepted. There’s a lot of work being done in both medicine and dentistry, looking at these root causes and trying to deal with them. When you consider the fact that just a few hundred years ago, there was no, teeth were not crooked, it can’t be in the genes. Genes don’t change that fast, our genetic structure now is the same as it was 20,000 years ago. So, it’s not really a genetic phenomena at all. They call it appY Genetic because our genes are being triggered by the interaction with the environment. And again we are talking about things that we are eating that our bodies never had to eat before, things that we are breathing that our bodies never had to breathe before.
Voice 1: Myobrace has treatment options for infants all the way to adulthood. But since Myobrace uses removable appliances, compliance is everything. So if the patient doesn’t wear the appliance as they’re directed, they are not going to get the desired results. So parents have to be on board and regular visits to their caregivers for reinforcement treatment, motivation, and support. I mean those are paramount and using these removable appliances, basically in three to four phases, but you are attacking the issues from the standpoint of correcting habits, developing the arches, and then looking towards aligning the teeth and retaining the muscles and their proper functions so that the teeth don’t shift or work back to where they once were.
By using these appliances, you advance through different stages using different appliances, so each appliance may cause some soreness. That soreness should be a definite indicator to the patient and the parents that it’s instilling changes and instilling the change that you are looking for, and ultimately reaching your treatment goals.
Dr. Barry Raphael: But I know it’s the future. Just as the future of medicine has to be looking at root cause, the future orthodontics is also gonna be looking at root cause. And because we are just taking care of the symptoms and not really the problem, conventional orthodontics will have a place because it’s important to look nice in our society, but it’s more important to be able to breathe well. And to be able to get a good night’s sleep and to have good health because of it and so forth so. At least a segment of orthodontics is going to be devoted to helping children develop good airway, good breathing, good posture, and good health.
Appliance design aids in proper development of the jaws, facilitating the alignment of the teeth, as well as proper tongue and lip positions. Myobrace is worn one to two hours daily and overnight while sleeping. When accompanied by “trainer activities” that promote improved breathing and muscular function, the results are often far-reaching and dramatic:
- Improved facial development for a more aesthetic profile
- Straighter teeth, no relapse here!
- Better posture
- Fewer problems with the TMJ, teeth, mouth, and related muscles
- Better overall health
Parents in the Carolinas are encouraged to call (704) 765-3150
Before & After Treatment
All you need to know about Myobrace explained by Dr. Carl McMillan
Is Myobraces a type of dental brace?
Myobraces are not braces. It is a functional appliance that gets the muscles in your mouth to perform the duties that they are supposed to perform, to grow the orthopedic shape of the jaw to align the teeth.
Why do we need Myobraces?
The teeth are meant to be in their accurate places in the jaws. But often, the muscles inclusive of the tongue prevent them from being where they are supposed to be.
What we need to know about Myobraces?
Our breathing has a whole lot to do with that, which is why there is a breathing component in Myobraces.
Kids are also guided on exercises to perform to help this functional appliance work.