Some dental and jaw problems aren’t really about the teeth. They’re about habits: where your tongue rests, how you swallow, and whether you breathe through your nose or your mouth. Those patterns push on your teeth and jaw all day, every day, and they can shape your bite for years before anyone connects the problem back to them.
Myofunctional therapy retrains those habits. Dr. Lee-Mirzayan, a dentist and certified myofunctional therapist, runs it here.
What it is
Think of it as physical therapy for your tongue, lips and face. There’s no appliance, no surgery and nothing to wear. It’s a set of exercises that build strength and coordination and teach your tongue and lips a new resting position, one you may not have had for decades.
What it’s used for
- Tongue thrust. A tongue that pushes forward when you swallow can open gaps between the front teeth and push them out of line.
- Mouth breathing. Breathing through your mouth, especially at night, dries out your teeth and gums and changes where your tongue and jaw sit. Here’s what chronic mouth breathing does.
- A low resting tongue. When the tongue doesn’t rest against the roof of the mouth, the muscles around the teeth and jaw work differently.
- Teeth that keep shifting after braces or Invisalign. A retainer holds teeth for part of the day, but your tongue is pushing on them the rest of the time. Why teeth keep moving.
- Jaw muscle tension, as part of TMJ treatment.
- Before and after a tongue-tie release. Releasing a tie without training the tongue can let it reattach or fall further back.
What the program looks like
A typical program runs about 8 weeks, with a check-in every other week. At each check-in, Dr. Lee-Mirzayan looks at your progress and moves you on to the next set of exercises. The work in between happens at home.
That home practice is what makes it work. The sessions show you what to do, but the change comes from doing it every day. At the start, we measure things like how long you can hold your lips closed comfortably, so we can compare later instead of guessing how it’s going.
If you’re having a tongue tie released, the timing is a little different: usually 6 to 8 weeks of therapy before the release and about 8 weeks after.
What the research shows
We want to be clear about where the evidence is strong and where it isn’t.
The best research is on sleep. Two recent reviews of randomized trials found myofunctional therapy improved daytime sleepiness, sleep quality and snoring. They disagreed on whether it reliably lowers the apnea index itself, though one found the improvement did reach significance when people trained for more than thirty minutes a day. We go through both reviews on our sleep apnea page.
Saba ES, Kim H, Huynh P, Jiang N. Orofacial myofunctional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Laryngoscope. 2024;134(1):480-495. Xu Y, Yang R, Yu M, Gao X. Efficacy of myofunctional therapy for obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Evid Based Dent Pract. 2025;25(3):102137.
For tongue ties, a randomized trial in children and adults found that therapy combined with a release did better than therapy alone for tongue movement, swallowing, breathing and resting posture.
Lichnowska A et al. J Clin Med. 2024;13(18):5354.
It isn’t a treatment for sleep apnea on its own, and it isn’t a substitute for a diagnosis. Myofunctional therapy doesn’t diagnose or cure apnea, and some people respond much more than others. That’s why we measure at the start and track progress.
How it fits with the rest of your care
Myofunctional therapy usually works alongside other treatment, not instead of it. A tongue thrust might be the reason Invisalign keeps fighting to close the same gaps. Tight jaw muscles often respond best when therapy is paired with buccal massage: in the largest trial of that hands-on work, patients who also did retraining exercises did better at one year. And sometimes a tongue tie physically stops the tongue from reaching where it needs to go.
One patient was referred to us just to bond the spaces between her front teeth. A full exam found a tongue thrust habit that had been pushing those gaps open. Treating the habit first meant Invisalign could close her spaces for good, with no bonding needed.
See how we solved J.L.’s case →
Where it happens
Sessions take place in our Zen Room, the same room where Dr. Lee-Mirzayan does buccal massage.
Is this right for you?
That depends on what’s actually causing your symptoms, which is what the exam is for. Call 702-734-0776 or tell us what’s going on, and we’ll help you figure out whether myofunctional therapy belongs in your plan.