If a dentist or orthodontist has mentioned myofunctional therapy, you have probably already searched some version of this question — and found answers that swing between "it will completely reshape your face" and "it does nothing." Neither is true, and the gap between them is where most families get stuck.
Here is the honest answer, what the research actually supports, and how to tell whether your bite is the kind that muscle work helps.
The Short Answer
Myofunctional therapy does not fix an overbite by itself. It does not move teeth — orthodontic treatment moves teeth. What myofunctional therapy changes is the muscle environment around them: tongue resting posture, lip seal, nasal breathing, the swallow pattern, and habits like thumb sucking. When those forces helped create the bite problem, correcting them removes what is working against orthodontic treatment and against the retainer afterward.
That is a smaller claim than the internet often makes. It is also, for a lot of people, the missing piece.
First, Which "Overbite" Do You Actually Mean?
The word gets used loosely, and the tongue's role changes depending on which problem you have.
- Overbite (deep bite) — the upper front teeth overlap the lower front teeth vertically more than they should. The Cleveland Clinic describes overbite as a type of malocclusion, or "bad bite," and lists both genetics and behavioral habits among the causes.
- Overjet — the upper front teeth protrude horizontally past the lower ones. This is what most people are picturing when they say "buck teeth," and it is frequently what people mean when they type "overbite."
- Anterior open bite — the front teeth do not meet at all when the back teeth are closed. You can see a gap straight through.
That third one is where the muscle connection is strongest. As ASHA's clinical guidance on orofacial myofunctional disorders puts it: "A forward tongue resting position or the tongue tip protruding between the anterior teeth can impede normal teeth eruption and result in an anterior open bite."
If you are not sure which one you have, that is a reasonable first question for a dentist or orthodontist — and it changes the answer to everything below.
What Myofunctional Therapy Actually Does
ASHA states the purpose plainly: "The primary purpose of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) is to create an oral environment in which typical processes of orofacial and dental growth and development can take place and be maintained."
Read that carefully. The goal is the environment, not the teeth. Therapy targets where the tongue rests when you are not using it, whether the lips close at rest, whether air moves through the nose, how the tongue behaves during the hundreds of swallows a person completes each day, and whether a thumb or finger habit is still in the picture. Our overview of what myofunctional therapy is covers the full scope, and our guide to myofunctional therapy exercises walks through what the work itself looks like week to week.
Where the Muscles Fit Into a Bite Problem
Teeth sit in a balance of forces. Lips and cheeks press inward, the tongue presses outward, and the resting position of each one — held for most of the day — matters more than any single hard push.
Three patterns show up over and over in bites that will not behave.
Tongue thrust. The tongue pushing forward against or between the teeth during swallowing and at rest. Cleveland Clinic lists "tongue-thrusting (when your tongue presses too far forward)" among the behaviors that contribute to overbite, and ASHA notes that "dental malocclusions demonstrate significant correlations with different signs of OMDs (i.e., tongue thrust swallow, oral habits) and speech sound disorders." Our tongue thrust page covers the signs and what treatment involves.
Thumb, finger, and pacifier habits. The American Association of Orthodontists notes that prolonged sucking "can exert pressure on their teeth and jaws, negatively impacting their bite," with some bone changes noticeable as early as 18 months of age. Most children stop between ages two and four. When the habit outlasts that window — Cleveland Clinic flags thumb sucking or pacifier use past age three — the bite usually shows it. That is what our thumb sucking and habit elimination program is built to address.
Chronic mouth breathing. An open-mouth resting posture drops the tongue down and away from the palate, removing the outward support the upper arch is supposed to get from the inside. Our page on mouth breathing explains why this often persists even after the original nasal obstruction has been treated.
Notice what all three have in common: they are causes and maintainers, not corrections. Removing a force that helped create a problem is not the same as reversing the problem.
What the Research Actually Shows
This is where honest sourcing matters more than enthusiasm.
The most cited finding in favor is a 2010 study in the American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics. Smithpeter and Covell followed 76 patients with dental anterior open bites — 27 who received orofacial myofunctional therapy alongside orthodontic treatment, and 49 with a history of orthodontic treatment and open-bite relapse. Mean overbite relapse was 0.5 mm in the therapy group versus 3.4 mm in the orthodontics-only group, a difference the authors described as clinically and statistically significant. Their conclusion: OMT alongside orthodontic treatment "was highly effective in maintaining closure of anterior open bites compared with orthodontic treatment alone."
The counterweight matters too. A 2014 systematic review in the Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics searched eight databases, retrieved 355 publications, and found only four that met the eligibility criteria — all of which the reviewers rated at high risk of bias. Their conclusion was that there is a "scarcity of consistent studies and scientific evidence" supporting OMT in combination with orthodontic treatment for correcting dentofacial disorders.
So: promising for open-bite retention, thin overall, and not a substitute for orthodontics under any reading. Anyone claiming exercises alone will correct an established malocclusion is going well past what the literature supports.
The Answer Changes With Age
In a growing child, the muscle environment is shaping bone that is still forming. Stopping a thumb habit before the permanent front teeth erupt, restoring nasal breathing, and establishing a proper tongue resting posture can change the trajectory of how a bite develops. This is prevention and course correction, and it is the most valuable window there is. The AAO encourages parents to have a child seen by an orthodontist by age seven, when the mix of baby and permanent teeth makes developing problems visible early.
In an adult, growth is finished. Nothing about muscle retraining will reposition teeth or jaws that are already set. What it can do is address the function underneath — mouth breathing, a low forward tongue posture, and the ongoing pressure that pulls an orthodontic result out of alignment years after the retainer got retired. Our page on myofunctional therapy for adults covers what that looks like in practice, including relapse after braces.
What a Realistic Plan Looks Like
ASHA is direct that "treatment of OMDs involves an interprofessional team," and in bite cases that team is usually a myofunctional therapist working with a dentist or orthodontist, sometimes alongside an ENT or a sleep physician.
Sequence matters. ASHA offers a concrete example: "an orthodontist may need to treat a child's open bite before the clinician provides interventions for a tongue thrust and/or an interdental lisp." In other cases the order runs the other way, with habit elimination and posture work first so appliances are not fighting the tongue the whole time. Which one applies to you is a clinical judgment, not a rule — which is why the evaluation comes before the plan.
A typical arrangement looks like this:
- An orthodontic assessment establishes what the bite actually is and what has to be moved.
- A myofunctional evaluation identifies which muscle patterns and habits are contributing.
- The two providers agree on sequence — habit work first, concurrent, or after appliances.
- Therapy establishes nasal breathing, lip seal, tongue resting posture, and a mature swallow, so the orthodontic result has something holding it in place.
When Myofunctional Therapy Is Not the Answer
Be skeptical of a myofunctional-first recommendation when:
- The bite problem is clearly skeletal — a jaw size or position discrepancy rather than a tooth position one
- There is no identifiable myofunctional finding: nasal breathing is normal, tongue posture is normal, and there is no habit history
- Nobody has actually examined the bite, and exercises are being offered from a symptom list alone
If a provider tells you therapy will correct an established malocclusion without an orthodontist involved, that is a reason to get a second opinion rather than a reason to sign up.
Related Reading
- Myofunctional therapy vs. speech therapy — which evaluation to book first when you have been referred for one and are not sure why
- Tongue thrust exercises — the 4S method and what home practice actually involves
- Myofunctional therapy cost and insurance — what to expect financially before you commit
Frequently Asked Questions
Can myofunctional therapy fix an overbite?
Not on its own. Therapy does not move teeth; orthodontic treatment does. What it changes is the muscle environment around them — tongue resting posture, lip seal, nasal breathing, the swallow. When those forces helped create the bite problem, correcting them removes what works against orthodontic treatment and against the retainer afterward.
Is an overbite the same thing as an open bite?
No. An overbite, or deep bite, is excessive vertical overlap of the front teeth. An overjet is horizontal protrusion. An anterior open bite is when the front teeth do not touch at all. Open bite is the pattern most directly associated with a forward tongue resting posture and with thumb and finger habits.
Will myofunctional therapy keep my bite from relapsing after braces?
For anterior open bites, the 2010 Smithpeter and Covell study found mean relapse of 0.5 mm with therapy plus orthodontics versus 3.4 mm with orthodontics alone. The 2014 systematic review found only four eligible studies overall, all at high risk of bias, so the broader evidence base is still thin.
Can an adult overbite be corrected with myofunctional therapy?
An adult bite is finished growing, so muscle retraining will not reposition teeth or jaws that are already set. In adults, therapy addresses the function underneath — mouth breathing, forward tongue posture, and the ongoing pressure that pulls an orthodontic result out of alignment years later.
Does myofunctional therapy replace braces?
No. If teeth need to be moved, they need an orthodontist. The two do different jobs, and for bites driven by tongue posture or oral habits, doing only one of them tends to leave the other half of the problem in place.
Have a Bite Question Nobody Has Answered Straight?
Bring it to a myofunctional therapy evaluation with Laura Friedman — CCC-SLP and Qualified Orofacial Myologist — in person in Dallas or online nationwide. You will get a clear read on whether tongue posture, breathing, or an oral habit is part of what is happening in your bite, what therapy can realistically change, and what belongs with your orthodontist instead. Our orofacial myofunctional therapy overview covers everything a program includes.