Myofunctional Appliances

Myofunctional appliances are those appliances in orthodontics, which take help from the muscles to act on the desired treatment plan. The conventional orthodontic appliances make use of mechanical force in order to alter the position of tooth/teeth into a more favorable position. The scope of all these fixed appliances is limited to a great extent by certain morphological conditions. These are caused because of aberrations in the process of developing the neuromuscular capsule surrounding the orofacial skeleton. In order to get rid of this limitation, functional appliances had come into being.

Types of Myofunctional Appliances -
There are certain types of Myofunctional Appliances, which are effective but lesser known, compared to the conventional braces as well as retainers. They include:

1. The Nance Button: This is basically a holding arch, used to maintain space inside one’s mouth. It is ideal for those children who have lost their baby teeth and are waiting for their premature teeth.

2. Lower Lingual Holding Arch: This particular holding arch plays the same role for the lower teeth as the Nance does for the upper jaw. It prevents the back teeth from moving forward.

3. Twin Blocks: Twin blocks are those functional orthodontic appliances, which rectify major overjets in a year or less than that. An overjet refers to the misalignment in the jaw, which causes one’s child’s upper teeth to stick itself out in front of the lower teeth further than normal.