Elise's Story: No more TMJ! No more grinding, clenching or mouth breathing!

Elise share her and her four year old son, Darwin's, stories as Myofuncitonal Therapy patients.
Elise started therapy with a variety of TMJ symptoms including jaw pain, limited jaw range of motion, jaw clicking and popping and low tongue posture. After one month of therapy, Elise noticed a major shift in her symptoms. After two months of therapy, Elise no longer experiences any of her TMJ symptoms!
Elise's son, Darwin, started therapy with a variety of concerns including habitual mouth breathing, teeth grinding, jaw clenching, poor quality sleep and low tongue posture. After two months of therapy, Darwin exclusively nasal breathes, has healthy tongue posture, no longer clenches or grinds his teeth and experiences much better quality sleep! Mom has seen positive changes in his behavior too!
To learn more: daniellekleesl...

[@jasobehera4205]

Do you have video visits or webinars .

[@daniellekleeslp4625]

Hi Jaso, I work with patients both in-person and virtually. Here is a link to my website to learn more about my office and specific services: daniellekleeslp.com/

[@HouseholdGuppies]

Just curious, is it normal to experience some discomfort/fatigue in the jaw when switching to proper tongue posture/nose breathing? After a few hours of being consistent with it my jaw just gets fairly fatigued/sore. I also do deal with TMJ issues/jaw and neck soreness. I'd imagine its because i've never engaged those muscles my entire life and that it would get easier with time but i just want to make sure its not a bad sign or something. Thanks.

[@daniellekleeslp4625]

Hi Walphy, there are a variety of factors, both structural and functional, that could be impacting you. I'd recommend following up with a provider who is trained in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and assessment

[@mikebrigandi_]

How do I heal my TMJ? Nose breathing?

[@daniellekleeslp4625]

Hi Mike, thanks for reaching out! As one of my college professor used to say "every illness is multi-causal and multi-maintained." TMJ can be connected to a variety of factors - causation versus correlation becomes challenging to identify. What peer reviewed research has shown us is that there is a correlation between the incidence of TMJ and orofacial myofuncitonal disorder (OMD). OMD includes atypical posturing of the muscles of the tongue, face, mouth and jaw and can include habits like clenching, grinding, atypical eating and drinking skills and mouth breathing. In short, people with TMJ often demonstrate a host of maladaptive oral and facial movement patterns and behaviors. Myofunctional Therapy focuses on the neuromuscular repatterning of these muscles. Nasal breathing is a part of this retraining as are new, healthy techniques for swallowing, eating, drinking and posturing the tongue when the mouth is at rest.