Spokane Myofunctional Therapy

06/19/2026

THUMB-BUSTER THURSDAY!!

Another Myofunctional Therapy success story 🎉👍
Emmett has completed his THUMB-BUSTER journey!

🙌 Myofunctional Therapy for:
* Thumb-sucking habit
* Poor Orofacial Development

06/12/2026

Having an airway screening is vital before and after orthodontics. If you are unsure if your dental provider is evaluating airway, contact me for collaboration.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42123119/?

Background/Objectives: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), including obstructive sleep apnea, is common in children and is associated with mouth breathing, snoring, and neurobehavioral disturbances. In pediatric orthodontic patients, oral habits and craniofacial imbalances may contribute....

06/05/2026

💤 Sleep trackers: helpful… but not the whole story.

A lot of people ask why their watch says they got “deep sleep” but they still wake up exhausted with brain fog. Here’s the truth 👇

⌚ Devices like the Samsung Galaxy Watch or Garmin Forerunner don’t actually measure sleep stages—they estimate them using heart rate, movement, and HRV.

🧠 True sleep quality is measured with brain waves (EEG) in a sleep study. That’s how we detect:
• Real deep sleep
• REM sleep
• Micro-arousals (tiny wake-ups you don’t remember)

⚠️ Those micro-arousals are a BIG deal. You can:
• “Sleep all night”
• Get a “good sleep score”
• Still feel exhausted

➡️ Because your brain may be waking up over and over—even if your body looks asleep.

This is super common in things like:
• Airway issues
• Mild sleep apnea
• Upper airway resistance

📊 So what ARE wearables good for?
• Tracking trends over time
• Seeing how stress, alcohol, or routines affect you
• General recovery patterns

🚫 What they’re NOT good for:
• Diagnosing sleep problems
• Explaining fatigue when symptoms are present

💡 Bottom line:
If your data says you slept great but you feel awful—trust your symptoms, not your watch.

Sometimes the next step isn’t a better tracker… it’s a real sleep evaluation.

06/02/2026

😮 Mouth breathing + snoring aren’t just “habits” or CUTE! They can affect your child’s teeth and overall health for a lifetime.

When kids breathe through their mouth (especially at night):
➡️ Saliva dries up
➡️ Acid levels rise
➡️ Cavity-causing bacteria increase
➡️ Abnormal facial and oral development
➡️ Longterm health issues associated with sleep disordered breathing

😴 If your child snores, they’re often sleeping with their mouth open for hours…
That’s one of the highest risk times for tooth decay.

Research shows mouth breathing is linked to:
• More plaque
• Lower oral pH (more acidic = enamel damage)
• Higher rates of cavities

👃 Healthy breathing = nose breathing
💡 Better breathing = better sleep + healthier teeth

⚠️ Watch for signs:
• Mouth open at rest
• Snoring
• Dry lips or bad breath
• Frequent cavities

✨ The good news? This is something we can address.

📍 Spokane Myofunctional Therapy

05/29/2026

Another Myofunctional Therapy success story!
This superstar patient has completed his AIRWAY JOURNEY of:
🙌 Speech Therapy
🙌 Tonsillectomy
🙌 Orthodontic Expansion
🙌 Myofunctional Therapy for:
* Mouth breathing
* Sleep apnea
* Speech
* Poor Orofacial Development

05/28/2026

Congratulations to another Thumb-Buster! We have completed Myofunctional Therapy and KICKED the thumb-sucking habit for good! 👍💪🎉

05/22/2026

05/18/2026

05/13/2026

05/11/2026

Little mouths grow fast! After just a few sessions of Myofunctional Therapy we have improved nasal breathing and speech, the low tongue posture is resolved resulting in natural correction of the right-side dental crossbite!

This little patient still has a lot more development to happen in the next year but, we are making good progress already! 💚🎉💪