It’s beyond frustrating that after investing a significant amount of time and money into speech therapy and/or an orthodontic plan for your child, you discover that tongue thrust might be the culprit for your child’s lack of progress and that they need orofacial myofunctional therapy.
You beg your child to pay attention to their tongue as they take a sip, and slowly- swallow.
With every swallow, their tongue pushes forward like a wave, cresting against (or even past) their teeth, leaving you both defeated.
This unconscious, uncontrollable pattern is wreaking havoc on your child’s teeth, palate, and speech.
How in the world can they change a pattern this deeply entrenched? It feels impossible.
All you want is for your child’s tongue to behave so that they can move forward with their orthodontic plan and make progress in speech therapy.
If your child could get rid of their tongue thrust, everything would be better.
If this stupid tongue thrust was gone, your child would already be well on their way to a charming smile thanks to their orthodontist.
They’d also be building their confidence- cracking jokes with their friends and giving presentations at school, all with perfectly clear speech.
What is Orofacial Myofuncitonal Therapy?
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy is like physical therapy
for your mouth and face.
When we’re done, your child’s tongue will be an ally, not an enemy!
Oftentimes, problems like tongue thrust and lack of progress in speech therapy are just the tip of the iceberg.
These things happen for a reason.
Those reasons are the rest of the iceberg that lurks beneath the surface.
Orofacial myofunctional therapy addresses several of the underlying issues that are preventing progress in other areas.
How Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy can Help Your Child
We’ll use sensory-motor strategies and muscle building exercises to improve your child’s skills in four main areas:
Nasal breathing
Oral resting posture
Chewing
Swallowing
Improving your child’s skills in these areas teaches your child’s tongue (and other parts of their mouth) how to move, rest, chew and swallow correctly, which sets the foundation for successful orthodontic treatment and speech therapy.
It won’t take long before you can:
Enjoy watching your child swallow correctly without any forward movement!
Start your child’s orthodontic plan confidently without worrying about relapse.
Marvel as your child becomes an adventurous eater.
Celebrate with your child as they actually make progress in speech therapy.
Rejoice as your child blossoms into a confident communicator.
Additionally, Orofacial myofunctional therapy can help prevent:
| The need for braces now and in the future | Dental problems like teeth grinding, plaque build up, and cavities |
| Palatal deformities and/or limited jaw growth | Airway challenges, and sleep-disordered breathing |
| Picky eating | Limited progress in speech therapy |
How We Work
We are an online only practice and have done orofacial myofunctional therapy via telehealth with hundreds of patients!
Telehealth allows us to teach your child in their natural environment, using foods they like to eat, helping them generalize new skills faster, and making things easier for you: No more rushing through the pick up line and driving across town in busy after-school traffic for a therapy appointment!
When you work with us, we’ll take a close look at how your child’s jaw, lips, and tongue work when it comes to breathing, chewing, and swallowing.
We’ll teach you and your child the best strategies to improve their muscle tone, range of motion, and oral motor function.
Will orofacial myofunctional therapy be effective via telehealth?
Yes! Telehealth has always been an option at Spark Therapy Collective and we used to provide hybrid in person and telehealth services. But in 2020 we moved our entire practice online and haven’t looked back since.
We’ve successfully used telehealth services to help hundreds of children, teens, and adults improve their oral motor, feeding, and speech skills and our families love not having to drive to yet another appointment! Nothing beats the convenience of telehealth and our patients make great progress.
Additionally, we can still do everything essential that we would do in person. When physical touch is required, we’ll guide you through the exercises and/or stretches your child needs. Then, if your child needs more hands-on therapy, we can recommend a variety of skilled providers (physical therapists, massage therapists, myofascial release providers, etc.) to enhance our work together.
Do you accept insurance?
Yes! We are in network with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Blue Shield of CA.
Let’s tackle tongue thrust together!
Schedule your