The years between three and ten quietly decide the shape of an adult smile — not because of the teeth themselves, but because of how a child breathes, swallows, and where their tongue rests when no one is thinking about it. Myofunctional therapy and the Myobrace® System are about noticing those habits while the jaw is still soft enough to gently grow into the space teeth will need. Teens and adults too — outcomes look different, but the system has options at every stage.
Most parents don’t walk in asking about “myofunctional therapy.” They walk in because their seven-year-old snores like a small adult. Because reading homework is a fight every night and the teacher has mentioned tiredness again. Because the new front teeth are coming in crooked and they remember a sibling needing braces for years. Individually, these things mean almost nothing. Together, they often tell the same quiet story — about how the child breathes, swallows, and where their tongue lives when no one is paying attention.
The reason a child’s teeth end up crowded is rarely the teeth themselves. Most of the time it’s three quiet daily habits shaping the bone underneath. Address those, and the teeth often have somewhere to go.
Our team at Magical Smiles Caroline Springs — explaining the why before the what.
Three habits shape how the upper jaw develops — how a child breathes, where their tongue rests, and how they swallow. Each is a small thing on its own. Done thousands of times a day, over the years a child is growing fastest, they decide a lot.
The Myobrace® System is built around correcting these three habits with a series of soft, removable appliances and short daily activities. Not by forcing teeth to move, but by giving the jaw a chance to develop into the shape it was always meant to be.
A child who breathes through their mouth all day — and especially all night — rests with their lips apart and their jaw dropped. The upper jaw, which is meant to be supported from inside by the tongue and from outside by gently closed lips, develops narrower than it would otherwise. Linked to snoring, restless sleep, daytime tiredness, and crowded upper teeth.
The tongue is supposed to rest gently against the roof of the mouth. When it sits low — on the floor of the mouth instead — the upper jaw loses its natural inside shaper. The arch grows narrower. There’s less room for the adult teeth still waiting to come through.
Children swallow up to two thousand times a day. A correct swallow draws the tongue upward against the palate. An incorrect swallow — sometimes called a tongue thrust — pushes forward against the front teeth instead. Two thousand small forwards-pushes a day, over years, slowly tips teeth out and changes the bite.
Bone responds differently at six than at sixteen. While a child is still growing, the upper jaw can be gently encouraged into a wider, more spacious shape — the kind that has room for the adult teeth without crowding. Once active growth slows, the work changes shape rather than disappearing — Myobrace® for Teens addresses alignment as adult teeth come through, and the Myosa® System covers adult myofunctional, breathing and jaw concerns.
The case for starting early is honest: children grow fastest, bone responds most, and habits are easiest to retrain before they’ve been practised for twenty years. None of that means the system stops being useful once growth slows. We’ve seen meaningful improvements in teens whose adult teeth were still settling, and in adult patients who never connected their snoring, jaw discomfort or lifelong mouth-breathing to habits formed in childhood. Different appliances, different timelines, same underlying idea.
The widest opportunity. Habit correction while the jaw is still actively growing, often resulting in more spacious arches, less crowding, and meaningfully less correction needed in the teenage years.
Adult teeth are still settling and there’s often growth left to work with. Myobrace® for Teens is used to align teeth as they erupt — sometimes alongside braces, sometimes instead of more extensive correction.
When the jaw has stopped growing, the work changes shape rather than disappearing. The Myosa® System — from the same Australian company — covers adult myofunctional therapy, mild sleep-disordered breathing, TMJ discomfort, teeth grinding and habit correction.
Outcomes are individual at every age — we’ll talk through what’s realistic for you or your child at the consultation, with no obligation to proceed on the day.
As a Certified Myobrace® Provider, our team has been trained directly in the Myobrace® System — developed in Australia by Dr Chris Farrell at Myofunctional Research Co. It’s a system, not a single appliance: a series of soft, removable mouthpieces worn for one to two hours during the day and overnight while sleeping, paired with daily activities that retrain breathing, tongue posture and swallow. The aim is to address the habits behind crowded teeth, not just the teeth themselves.
Myobrace® appliance sequence — image courtesy of Myofunctional Research Co. The system uses a series of appliances across four stages: habit correction · arch development · dental alignment · retention.
Each stage of the Myobrace® System uses a different appliance, designed to fit comfortably during the day’s quiet hours and through the night. They’re removed for meals and for school. Most children adapt within a few nights.
The appliance alone isn’t the whole story. Patients also do short daily Myobrace® Activities — simple exercises for nasal breathing, lip closure, tongue posture and swallow. Two to three minutes, twice a day. For children, parents do them alongside, so it becomes a small shared rhythm rather than a chore.
Compliance is honestly the biggest variable in outcomes. We’ll talk about that openly at the consultation, including what families realistically find manageable.
Booking a consultation doesn’t commit you to anything. It’s a conversation, a look, and a clear next step — whether that’s Myobrace®, a different approach, a wait-and-see, or a referral to a paediatric specialist.
We start with what you’ve noticed at home. Sleep, breathing, eating, the bedtime stories you’ve been told by other dentists, the worry that brought you in. Your child is welcome to play, draw, or just sit on your lap.
We assess the way your child breathes at rest, how their lips and tongue sit, where the adult teeth are tracking, the shape of the upper arch, and the overall bite. Nothing invasive. Nothing that requires them to sit still longer than they want to.
If we see signs that myofunctional therapy may help, we’ll explain why, what the path might look like, and roughly how long. If we don’t, we’ll tell you that too — there’s no incentive for us to recommend treatment that isn’t indicated. If a specialist referral fits better, that’s the recommendation.
Most parents go home, talk it over, and come back when they’re ready. We’ll write down what we discussed, including the option of doing nothing for now and reviewing in six months. There’s no rush from our end.
Myobrace® isn’t the right answer for every patient. We’d rather you arrive at your decision before you book, not at the chair.
The most effective window is roughly six to ten — the period when the first adult teeth arrive, the jaw is still actively growing, and habits remain flexible enough to retrain. That’s also where we see the most preventive change. Younger is often easier than older, but it isn’t a hard cut-off.
Treatment doesn’t stop being useful at fifteen. Myobrace® for Teens is used as the last adult teeth come through — sometimes alongside braces, sometimes instead of more extensive correction. For adults, the Myosa® System (from the same Australian company) covers myofunctional habit work, mild sleep-disordered breathing, jaw joint discomfort, teeth grinding and snoring. We’ve seen meaningful improvements in teens whose teeth were still settling and in adult patients who’d never connected their snoring or jaw discomfort to lifelong habits. The assessment is what tells us whether the fit is right, not the year on the birth certificate.
Sometimes, but not always — and it’s important we’re honest about that. Myobrace® addresses the underlying habits and growth patterns that often cause crooked teeth in the first place. Many children who complete it have noticeably less correction to do later, and some don’t need braces at all. Others still need braces or aligners afterwards, but with a better foundation underneath. Outcomes vary, and we’ll talk through realistic expectations at your consultation.
For children, the full programme typically runs across the active growth years, often somewhere between eighteen months and three years, depending on the child’s age, the habits being addressed, and how consistently the daily activities are done at home. For teens and adults, timelines and appliance sequences differ — we discuss what’s realistic for each person at the consultation.
It means our team has completed the formal training programme run by Myofunctional Research Co. (the Australian company behind the Myobrace® System) and is registered with them as a treatment provider. We have access to their full appliance range, their patient activity programmes, and ongoing clinical support — the same standard of care that Myobrace® providers deliver in over 100 countries worldwide.
Typically one to two hours during the daytime (often during quiet time, reading or screen time at home) plus overnight while sleeping. It’s removed for meals and for school. Compared to braces, it’s much less visible to other children and much less of a daily presence outside the home.
The appliances are soft and designed to be gentle. Most patients adapt within a few nights — the first night or two can feel a little odd, in the way any new mouthpiece does. There are no brackets, no wires, and no tightening appointments. If a particular appliance is genuinely uncomfortable, we adjust or change it; we don’t push through.
This is the honest answer most clinics avoid: compliance is the single biggest variable in Myobrace® outcomes. It works when it’s worn and the activities are done. It doesn’t when it isn’t. That’s why we spend real time at the consultation talking about what’s realistic for your family, not just whether it’s clinically indicated. If now isn’t the right moment, waiting six months is a perfectly reasonable answer.
We don’t quote treatment costs without a proper assessment — the path varies enough that any number we gave you over the phone would be a guess. We’ll provide a written plan and a clear total at your consultation, with no obligation. Some elements may be claimable through private health extras (depending on your level of cover and the specific item codes), and your child may be eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule for related general dentistry; we cover both at the visit. Afterpay, Zip and SuperCare are also available where helpful.
When a child breathes through their mouth all day and night, their lips rest apart and their tongue sits low instead of pressing gently against the roof of the mouth. The upper jaw — which is shaped from inside by the tongue — develops narrower than it would otherwise. Less width means less room for adult teeth, which often emerge crowded. Mouth breathing is also linked to disturbed sleep, daytime tiredness, and a more “long-faced” growth pattern. Addressing the breathing pattern early gives the jaw a chance to grow into the room teeth will need.
Book a consultation at Magical Smiles Caroline Springs — or call us on (03) 8358 2565 and we’ll guide you. The first visit is an honest assessment, not a sales pitch. If we see signs that myofunctional therapy may help, we’ll explain why and what the path could look like. If we don’t, we’ll say so. You leave with a clear next step either way, and no pressure to commit on the day.
Myobrace® consultations and treatment are led from our flagship Caroline Springs clinic. Initial consultations are available across all three locations — we’ll coordinate the care wherever you are in Melbourne’s west.
Burnside · Taylors Hill · Caroline Springs
Moorabool · Bacchus Marsh · Maddingley
Wyndham · Sanctuary Lakes · Point Cook
The ATO may approve early superannuation release on compassionate grounds for clinically necessary dental treatment. SuperCare assists with the application — approval depends on individual circumstances and is not assured. Early release may have long-term retirement-savings implications.
Learn more →Same-week appointments available across all three clinics. Book a Myobrace® consultation at Magical Smiles Caroline Springs — our Certified Myobrace® Provider clinic — or call any of our locations and we’ll guide you. Afterpay, Zip, Humm and SuperCare available.