How It Works

Waiting until all permanent teeth have come through to begin treatment with braces can unfortunately lead to irreversible damage, affecting not only the teeth, but also the child’s overall health and development.

Poor myofunctional habits (poor oral habits) are evident before all permanent teeth are present, which means treatment of the causes can begin much earlier than originally thought. This can be as early as three years of age.

“What Myobrace^® does is look at those underlying causes and tries to deal with them.”

Dr Barry Raphael, Orthodontist (Clifton, New Jersey, USA)

Myobrace^® is designed to deal with these incorrect myofunctional habits by teaching children to breathe through their nose, rest the tongue correctly in the roof of the mouth, swallow correctly and continue widening the jaws so they grow to their full and proper size. This results in sufficient room for the teeth, allowing them to come in naturally straight and often without the need for braces.

The Myobrace^®System consists of a series of intraoral appliances that are worn for one hour each day plus overnight while sleeping. The appliances assist in correcting poor oral habits and expand the arch form while exerting light forces to align the teeth and jaws. Separate appliances are used depending on the child’s age and type of orthodontic problem. In addition, the patient education program, known as Myobrace^®Activities, is used to further correct the myofunctional habits causing the incorrect dental and jaw development. The activities are to be performed twice daily in conjunction with wearing the Myobrace^® appliance and consist of a series of breathing, tongue, swallowing, lip and cheek exercises.

The Treatment Stages

Myobrace^® treatment starts with the habit correction and generally works through a combination of three or more appliances to correct the causes of orthodontic problems and align the teeth as they grow into the mouth. Treatment can begin as soon as the poor myofunctional habits are recognised, however, older children have had more time for the incorrect habits and wrong growth patterns to establish, which can require extra effort for a successful treatment outcome. With good compliance, excellent results can be achieved.

There are typically four stages of treatment with Myobrace^® involving: habit correction, arch development, dental alignment and then retention.

These are three different appliance systems or ranges under the one MRC umbrella. They are all prefabricated and used as part of a treatment approach with defined protocols, taught in our online courses. Certain appliances can even be used on their own, without being combined with the treatment approaches.

The Myobrace^® System is designed to treat malocclusion by addressing the underlying breathing and myofunctional disorders, and is most effective in growing children.

The Myosa^® System is designed to treat the breathing and myofunctional disorders that contribute to TMJ disorders and Sleep-Related Breathing Disorders (SRBD). The design and approach to the appliances varies based on whether the patient is a child or adult.

The Myotalea^® range is designed to provide active exercise to improve the strength and tone of the orofacial muscles, which is a critical component of rehabilitating myofunctional disorders. These appliances are suitable for patients of all ages and are usually combined with MRC‘s treatment systems or can be used by myofunctional therapists on their own.

The determination of which appliance range to use rests on the patients demands, your aims as a practitioner and what type of treatment you’re wanting to provide.