Sarah Hornsby is a myofunctional therapist who believes in the whole-body approach. Myofunctional therapy is virtually the same idea as proper tongue posture/mewing/orthotropics. However, there are some ideas that have been brought up recently that seem to conflict between this feld and orthotropics (namely in the position of the tip of the tongue).
We now have a chance to ask a registered myofunctional therapist about the positions of the tongue, development of the craniofacial complex, changes she has seen in patients, and anything else you can think of. This can also be a chance to share your ideas, research, and personal progress.
You can see an introductory youtube video of Sarah's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYKW_yQnmMw
Sarah owns the website "Myfaceology", and you can visit that here: http://www.myfaceology.com/
The only rules are clean language. I'll be curating the questions as usual, and Sarah will choose the questions to answer.
She was my orofacial myologist for a couple months!!! Very kind, very knowledgeable, wish I could have afforded longer time with her.
Could you give us a quick overview of correct swallowing technique? It's generally understood here that we should initiate the swallow by putting the tip of the tongue on the incisive papilla and then lift the posterior tongue up to the roof of the mouth, without engaging any of the muscles of the lips or cheeks. A contributor on this forum called @Allixa has been advocating what he calls a "clench swallow" that recruits the masseters to counter the force of the tongue against the palate during the swallow ( /community/community/main-forum/newly-mewing-with-some-questions/#post-587 ). Do you agree with this technique? Does the correct method for swallowing liquids differ at all from swallowing solids or a slurry? Once experienced with the technique, can you take several consecutive swallows, continuing to poor a beverage into your mouth while undulating your tongue against your palate, or do you have to take just a small sip, and then pause to swallow?
What can she tell about audible sutural shifts happening during therapy, especially around the base of the skull? What does she think of the consequences of encouraging them to happen by posturing and relaxation? I get 20-50 of them within a 5 minute self-therapy session I do twice a day.
@Progress Can you share this self-therapy regime? Sounds wild
Hello, Ms. Hornsby. I like your Youtube channel a lot! I just have a couple of questions for you. 🙂
How rampant do you think CFD is in modern westernized societies vs other parts of the world and how uncommon is it for people to have great oral posture and in-turn excellent facial development? In a similar vein; how much do you think percentage-wise genetic vs environmental factors make up great faces? I believe that most people think genetics is the be-all and end-all of how one appears.
Besides the obvious aesthetic improvements to be made from proper oral posture, what sorts of other benefits are there? I've heard a whole bunch of supposed things from improved eyesight to nicer smelling breath to better brain chemistry regulation etc, though I don't know how founded these claims are.
Our faces are central to our identities and as such talking about their issues is typically a highly sensitive matter as I'm sure you understand from your experience as a myofunctional therapist. I have friends and family who unknowingly and oftentimes needlessly suffer from CFD of which I very much would like to help however I'm afraid of appearing harshly judgmental and alienating them somewhat. Orthotropics/mewing is a practically unheard of and revolutionary concept in most circles and as a result it's easy to see why people would be skeptical of it at the least. How would you recommend tactfully introducing someone to the idea without seeming like a tool?
Finally, when I push up my tongue up against the roof of my mouth, the pressure causes the base of my tongue to be pushed down and I get a bulging effect under my jaw which is a little more than I'm comfortable with. I mew with pretty minimal force most of the time so I'm wondering if you have any advice for tightening/raising up this area? I have no idea what to search online for it.
Greetings from New Zealand,
Maxwell.
Hi Sarah, I have a few questions:
1. What would you say is the correct way to have proper tongue posture? Should it be suction of the tongue against the palate, or should the tongue be pushed up via muscle strength against the palate? Also should it be an active process almost like an exercise where you use force, or should it be passive and easy? I'm mainly concerned with moving the front of the skull up and forward.
2. Is there any one perfect tongue tip position for every person, or should it change depending on the level of CFD? I've noticed that moving the tip of the tongue away from 'the spot' allows me to get more of the posterior part up against my palate.
3. What do you think of the idea of chewing with an open mouth vs chewing with a closed mouth? A lot of people have been talking and experimenting recently and finding that chewing with the mouth open gives them better facial aesthetics and a better workout of all the muscles of the face.
4. Do you think even people who have an intimate knowledge of this stuff from reading a lot online can still benefit from doing sessions with a myofunctional therapist?
And finally,
5. Do you know of a place for people to order expanders for themselves while doing treatment with a myofunctional therapist online? Is this something you do with your patients? Most dentists/orthodontists around me don't know much about this field yet and don't realize that adult expansion is not only possible but also easy.
1. What is your view on the position of the Hyoid bone and it's effect on proper tongue posturing and swallowing, and do you recommend Phrayngel exercises to treat a low Hyoid position as part of your overall therapy?
2. You referenced the ALF and DNA appliances in your videos, how would you compare them?
my story: http://www.aljabri.com/blog/my-story/
@krollic I wrote about that recently in /community/community/main-forum/subtle-clicks-shifts-and-other-sounds-in-the-skull/ if you have questions, lets move the discussion there.
I have an occlusal cant with my right side lower than my left side. I have also noticed that the rotation of my chewing defaults to a counter-clockwise direction, with the grinding motion going in a slightly right-to-left direction, resulting in a force that is up and to the left at its apex. This happens regardless of which side of my mouth I put the food bolus on. I have tried to practice clockwise chewing over the past couple days and it requires consistent attention or I revert back to my habitual direction, but it is getting easier. Do you think this could be contributing to the cant of my occlusal plane? Other than practicing the counterintuative motion, do you have any recommendations for how to get comfortable with rotary chewing in both directions and how to achieve a balance?
I'll be submitting these in about 24 hours. If you have something to ask, do it soon!
Hi Sarah, last questions.
Do you recommend people you work with to take up some sort of whole body exercise as part of their routine? If not do you think it could help?
Also, how do you feel about the role of nutrition and supplementation when it comes to creating facial changes?
Skull and Jaw Correction
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