Boost Your Overall Health With Orofacial Therapy

Boost Your Overall Health With Orofacial Therapy

Your overall health is very important and can have a positive impact on almost every aspect of your life. There is more to being healthy besides exercising and eating a healthy diet. If you have an orofacial disorder, it is very important to your overall health to seek treatment.

 

Your overall health is very important and can have a positive impact on almost every aspect of your life. There is more to being healthy besides exercising and eating a healthy diet. If you have an orofacial disorder, it is very important to your overall health to seek treatment.

 

Meet your therapist

Hello and Welcome!  My name is Melanie Hill, orofacial myofunctional therapist, and owner of Healthy Function, LLC.   I graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dental Hygiene in 1995, after which I spent a year teaching in their clinic as well as working in a private dental office.

I became interested in myofunctional therapy 7 years ago when I attended a professional education course on the topic of myofunctional therapy.  The information covered in the course was extremely interesting to me because I could see that many of my patients coming into my office had these disorders.  I didn’t know there was something that could be done to help these people until I discovered myofunctional therapy.  I could also relate since my son was tongue-tied as a baby.  I knew these conditions were common, but not normal, and they could be identified and treated early in life.

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    Ability to upload photos and important documents directly to your file
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Goals Of myofunctional therapy

My program at Healthy Functions is individualized but the goal is always the same, create new healthy oral habits. These new healthy oral habits include nasal breathing, proper swallow pattern, and correct resting tongue position.

This program targets a variety of oral problems such as sleep apnea, snorting, tongue thrust, speech problems, and jaw pain. Therapy duration is based on the individual needs and severity of problems.

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    Nasal breathing
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    Lips Closed
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    Tongue on Roof of Mouth
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    Proper Swallowing Pattern

Symptoms Of OMDs

Therapy Made Easy

Contact Me

You may contact me by phone or you may schedule your consultation online through the website. 

Complete Documents

Once you have completed and submitted all the documents it is time to schedule your first appointment. 

1st Appointment

It is time to start therapy. Depending on your preference, you may call or go online to schedule your first appointment. 

Patient Reviews

Happy Momma

I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and a momma of a daughter who needed myofunctional therapy. As a professional, I knew I was missing something causing my daughter's dental and orthodontia needs. I sought myofunctional therapy to find the underlined cause and dysfunction. Melanie is great!! We are so lucky to have her local services and expertise here in Idaho Falls! She was able to identify my daughter's deficits and dysfunction and develop an individualized program and treatment plan that provided amazing results! She also had wonderful referral resources for further assessment needs. We are so thankful for her knowledge, patience, and time! Thank you Melanie!! 

Mark Elison

As one who has suffered from chronic headaches nearly my whole life, I have been so amazed at how helpful Melanie has been in reducing my discomfort. My headaches now are significantly fewer and farther in between and I have a better night's rest thanks to her. Orofacial myofunctional therapy has brought me to the homeostasis I was looking for. I did not realize that tongue position and posture was so important for good health. I really appreciate Melanie's expertise in therapy and will forever be grateful for what she has done for me. 

Bethany Godfrey

Melanie, owner and therapist, at Healthy Function gives exceptional care to her patients.  Her knowledge in specializing in myofunctional therapy is unmatched as she spends quality time with every person who walks through her door.  Our family spent several years with Melanie learning and benefitting from her sessions.  Melanie also recognized other health concerns and referred us to other health professionals so we could have the best possible result.  Our kids also had so much fun during their sessions.  Melanie is great with kids and makes all the exercises worth doing. 

Thank you for your care!

R.L.

Great improvements!

We have been very pleased with the orofacial myofunctional therapy services Melanie Hill has and continues to provide.  This type of therapy is not typically suggested for cleft lip and palate children, but in our opinion, it has strengthened the palate, tongue, lips, and facial muscles for our child which has led to increased awareness and further development with speech therapy. Melanie uses exercises that work together and coincide with the letter sounds and blends that are being worked on with speech therapy.  Our child has made great progress and we encourage other parents to discover the benefits for their child with orofacial myofunctional therapy. 

January 2023

Happy Customer

Between Rylee's Orthodontist and Melanie, Rylee finally has the smile she's meant to have. The before and after pictures are so crazy. Rylee's facial muscles grew so much - in a good way! So thankful for all the help Melanie gave Rylee in achieving her beautiful smile that she will now be able to keep once her braces are off because she no longer has a tongue thrust. 

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FAQ

Myofunctional Therapy can be very effective. Recent studies show that treatment for orofacial myofunctional disorders can be almost 90% effective. 

There are a number of different causes for an orofacial disorder. 

  • Enlarged tonsils or adenoids or deviated septum can cause airway restrictions. 
  • Poor oral habits such as thumb sucking, cheek or nail biting, or teeth clenching or grinding.
  • Structural abnormalities such as tongue tie. 

Myofunctional Therapy can start as early as 5 years of age. An evaluation can be done earlier to reduce or minimize the structural damage and possibly reduce speech problems.