An Introduction to Airway and TMJ Treatment

1

The Problem

2

The Causes

3

Conventional Treatments

4

The Myosa® System

5

Getting Started

The Underlying Issue

At birth, infants are born as obligate nasal breathers, meaning they prefer to breathe through the nose rather than the mouth. This is because nasal breathing is the optimum way to intake air for human beings as it warms, purifies and humidifies the air in preparation for the sensitive tissues of the lungs.

While nasal breathing, a child has to adopt the correct muscle posture; this means, lips together, tongue in the roof of the mouth and breathing through the nose. During mouth breathing however, the lips come apart and the tongue drops from the roof of the mouth, and this improper posture of the orofacial muscles alters the craniofacial growth in a growing child as we discussed in the previous chapter on Myofunctional Orthodontics.


Chronic mouth breathing continues to affect the growth of the craniofacial complex and weaken the muscles associated with the airway during a child’s formative years. Like all chronic illnesses, SRBDs continue to mature into adulthood and accumulate damage the longer they’re left unaddressed. As time goes on, the problem becomes much more difficult to address.

Modern research has begun to highlight the important role that poor craniofacial growth and incorrect myofunctional habits play in the occurrence of SRBDs. In conjunction, patients with SRBDs will typically develop a reverse swallow, which involves swallowing by activation of the lower lip muscles.

This pattern during a swallow will drive the lower jaw back and the cause the head of the condyles to be forced upwards and backwards, traumatizing the joint multiple times per hour. Mouth breathing, poor craniofacial growth and incorrect myofunctional habits and other associated issues, all occurring over a period of time, can manifest in adult life as TMJ dysfunction.

When all of this information is put together, it becomes plain to see that the establishment of functional breathing patterns is of paramount importance, regardless of whether you’re trying to prevent the issue in childhood or treat the issue in adulthood.