Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

• At Rix Orthodontics we feel that it is important to correct any orofacial myofunctional disorders present as part of orthodontic treatment.
• This should allow orthodontic treatment processes to be more fully expressed, as the muscle imbalances that contributed to the poor development of the jaws and teeth are being corrected. 
• This should also result in the orthodontic treatment being more stable (ref).
• The orofacial myofunctional disorders to be corrected are:
  • Low tongue rest posture
  • Abnormal swallowing
  • Lack of a lip seal
  • Abnormal chewing
  • Poor oral habits (such as thumb sucking)
• At Rix Orthodontics we correct orofacial myofunctional disorders with exercises which are often assisted by the wearing of a removable functional appliance (Myobrace).
• All of our clinical team members have training in orofacial myofunctional therapy. We also have a certified orofacial myofunctional therapist (oral myologist) that is a member of our team.

Naurine Shah

Certified Myofunctional Therapist (Orofacial Myologist)

Naurine is a certified oral myologist with an undergraduate dental degree. She worked in the dental field for over 15 years in various capacities. Naurine is a certified member of the International Association of Oral Myology, the only association in the world that trains and certifies professionals in oral muscle dysfunction therapy.  She also serves on the board of directors at the IAOM as its first International Representative.  Naurine was the first certified myologist in Calgary and has mentored many professionals through their certification process.

Naurine was invited to speak at the IAOM Annual convention in Florida 2015, and the AAMS Medical Convention in 2017. She is an active member of many study clubs in the city and takes pride in holding courses to educate orthodontists, dentists, hygienists as well as the speech language pathology community.  Naurine has also worked on projects with Alberta Health to educate the nursing community in setting standards for early detection and treatment of tongue tie in newborns. Her recent work has been to create a curriculum at university level studies to incorporate muscle function therapy as a course subject for orthodontic residents.  Naurine is currently working on a collaboration with a renowned sleep consultant company to add muscle function disorder screening to their patient diagnosis.

Naurine has been working with us for a few years now, helping to correct oral muscle dysfunction such as tongue thrust, reverse swallow and mouth breathing with muscle function therapy or orofacial myology exercises. Orofacial myology is a unique program for treating oral posture issues such as mouth breathing and tongue thrusts that can cause open bites and other growth disorders.