Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy in Bismarck, ND
Restoring Natural Breathing, Proper Oral Posture, and Restful Sleep for Your Child and Entire Family
We Get It. We're Parents Too.
At Maximized, we know how deeply you care about giving your family every advantage for a healthy, vibrant life. Many parents come to us feeling frustrated after noticing their child sleeping with an open mouth, snoring, struggling with crowded teeth, or wrestling with chronic fatigue, only to be told to "wait and see."
We believe you deserve real answers and a supportive team that listens to your concerns. Our Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) program gets to the root cause of mouth breathing, low tongue posture, and improper swallowing, helping your child build a foundation for lifelong health, optimal growth, and restful sleep.
What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy?
Think of myofunctional therapy physical therapy for the muscles of the face, mouth, and tongue.
Just like physical therapy helps retrain injured leg muscles to walk smoothly again, myofunctional therapy uses simple, targeted exercises to rebuild healthy muscle tone, correct resting postures, and re-establish proper swallowing patterns.
When the 43 muscles in your child's face and mouth are weak, tight, or uncoordinated, their body compensates. Your child might start breathing through their mouth, letting their tongue rest low in their jaw, or straining their chin and lips just to swallow food. These compensations affect far more than just dental alignment; they alter facial development, airway size, and sleep quality.
Rather than just chasing symptoms or waiting for teeth to shift back after braces, our airway-centered approach retrains the brain and oral muscles to restore natural, healthy function.
Four Core Goals of Our Program
Every exercise we teach is designed to guide your child toward Four Core Goals of healthy oral function:
Exclusive Nasal Breathing: Breathing quietly through the nose 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Effortless Lip Seal: Keeping the lips resting comfortably together at rest without facial tension or chin straining.
High Resting Tongue Posture: The entire body of the tongue resting suctioned against the roof of the mouth (palate), acting as a natural expander for the upper jaw.
Correct Swallowing Mechanics: Chewing thoroughly on back teeth and swallowing smoothly without pushing the tongue against the teeth or grimacing.
Who We Help: Myofunctional Care for Every Stage of Life
While we are known throughout Bismarck as a Pediatric and Family Wellness Hub, our care is for everyone. Your nervous system is the key to a vibrant life, no matter your age or stage.
Whether you are an expecting mom navigating the changes of pregnancy, a newborn struggling with colic or feeding, a growing child facing developmental hurdles, a weekend warrior recovering from an injury, or a grandparent wanting to keep up with the kids—a healthy nervous system is essential. We are here to help every member of your family feel and function at their absolute best.
The table below shows how our orofacial myofunctional therapy can help with some of the most common concerns we see in our office.
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If your little one struggles with latching or feeding, thumb-sucking, pacifier dependency, early mouth breathing, or speech delays, therapy helps eliminate non-nutritive sucking habits, evaluates tethered oral tissues (like tongue, lip, or cheek ties), and establishes proper "suck-swallow-breathe" coordination.
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For kids dealing with snoring, bedwetting past age 3, teeth grinding, restless sleep, ADHD-like hyperactivity, crowded teeth, or an open bite, therapy restores quiet nasal breathing, lifts resting tongue posture to encourage healthy forward jaw growth, improves sleep quality, and prevents orthodontic relapse.
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For teenagers facing orthodontic relapse, mouth breathing during sports or studying, jaw clicking, forward head posture, or speech lisps, therapy strengthens oral muscles around braces or expanders, stabilizes bite alignment, and eliminates neck or facial compensation patterns.
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For adults struggling with chronic TMJ and jaw pain, head or neck tension, nighttime clenching, snoring, Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS), or CPAP intolerance, therapy reduces muscle bracing, opens the upper airway during sleep, releases facial tension, and provides essential pre- and post-frenectomy surgical support.
Why Families Choose Maximized
We're honored to be recognized as the "Best Chiropractic Clinic" and "Best Chiropractor" in Bismarck, ND for six years! Parents and healthcare providers trust our myofunctional program because we do not believe in cookie-cutter sheets of random exercises. But beyond the awards, families choose us because:
We Support: We provide a space where you feel heard and understood, without judgment. We support you, your needs, and your wants through not just the care in our office, but your entire life’s journey.
We Empower: We help you find the confidence to make the best decisions for your family.
We Educate: We equip you with the knowledge and tools to make informed decisions about your family's health.
We're a Community: Come hang with us, we got your back! We're are a thriving community of empowered families. Want to join us?
We Actually Listen: From your very first appointment, we take the time to hear your child's complete story, connecting early childhood feeding, allergies, speech history, and sleep habits to what we see in their mouth today.
We Use Validated, Functional Data: We measure your child's progress using standardized, objective metrics like the Tongue Range of Motion Ratio (TRMR) for anterior and posterior tongue mobility, evaluating exact percentages rather than making wild guesses.
We Assess the Five Pillars: When screening for tongue-ties or oral restrictions, we evaluate Visual Appearance, Function, Objective Measurements, Compensations, and Systemic Symptoms together before ever discussing surgery.
We Keep Practice Achievable: We know family life is busy! Our active exercise protocols take just 5 minutes, twice a day in front of a mirror, ensuring your child stays motivated without feeling overwhelmed.
Our 6-Step Pathway to Lasting Function
We guide your family through a clear, structured 12 to 15 session program spread over 7 to 9 months, allowing new neuromuscular habits to become permanently hardwired into your child's brain:
Step 1: Scheduling Your First Visit
You can call, text, or email our office team to set up an initial consultation. We take the time right away to understand your child's main struggles and answer your preliminary questions.
Step 2: Comprehensive Functional Evaluation
During your child's first clinical visit, we perform a thorough assessment of their airway, tonsil size, facial muscle tone, swallowing pattern, and tongue mobility. We test nasal breathing capacity using simple chairside tests and gather precise range-of-motion measurements.
Step 3: Behind-the-Scenes Care Planning
Our clinical team reviews all examination data, photos, and health histories to build a custom therapy program tailored specifically to your child's muscle tone, age, and structural needs.
Step 4: The Report of Findings
We sit down with you to review our findings in plain, easy-to-understand language. We discuss your child's custom roadmap, set clear goals, explain any necessary interdisciplinary referrals (such as expansion or an ENT evaluation), and give you a complete action plan.
Step 5: Active Biweekly Therapy Sessions
Your child completes brief, engaging sessions every two weeks. We teach 1 or 2 new exercises per visit, fine-tune their form in a mirror, and coach them on how to eliminate muscle compensations like neck strain or chin bunching.
Step 6: Progress Re-Exams & Habit Stabilization
Roughly every few sessions, we re-measure tongue mobility, test resting lip seal, and track symptom improvements. As your child achieves automatic nasal breathing and palatal tongue posture, we space appointments out to monthly check-ins until full, subconscious habituation is complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Frequently Asked Questions 〰️
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Orofacial muscle dysfunction can stem from several root causes, including early feeding struggles, bottle feeding reliance, chronic infant ear infections, seasonal allergies, enlarged tonsils or adenoids, prolonged thumb-sucking or pacifier use, and tethered oral tissues like tongue-ties or lip-ties.
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Not always! Many children with mild to moderate tongue restrictions (Grade 1 or Grade 2) experience significant improvements through myofunctional therapy alone. If your child has a severe restriction that physically prevents their tongue from reaching the roof of the mouth, we will coordinate with a skilled release provider. We always perform at least 4 to 6 weeks of pre-operative therapy to prepare the tongue muscles and ensure the best surgical outcome.
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Our core myofunctional therapy program consists of 12 main sessions held every two weeks, lasting approximately 7 to 9 months total. Meeting biweekly gives your child's nervous system enough time to practice and solidify new motor patterns between visits without causing therapy fatigue.
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Yes! In fact, proper tongue posture acts as your child's natural, internal palate expander and retainer. When your child rests their tongue flat against the palate, it exerts gentle outward pressure that encourages normal forward and wide jaw development. Correcting tongue thrusts and low tongue posture during or after braces significantly reduces the risk of orthodontic relapse.
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We ask your child to practice active mirror exercises for 5 minutes, twice a day. Consistency and proper technique matter far more than long, exhausting practice sessions.
Myofunctional Therapy Resources
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Myofunctional Therapy Resources 〰️
Ready to Join the Maximized Family?
Your journey is unique, and at Maximized, we are honored to walk alongside you. We believe in the power of your potential. In our supportive, judgment-free space, you'll find not just expert care, but a community dedicated to empowering your family's well-being. It's time to embrace a life of greater comfort, vitality, and connection.
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