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THE BRANDON SUN • WESTMAN BUSINESS • OCTOBER 27, 2022 New in-house therapy gives Brandonites reason to smile
BY ERIN DEBOOY
Brandon now has a myofunctional therapist in town, thanks to the team at Brightside Dental. The dental clinic is now offering myofunctional therapy to clients after long-time dental hygienist, Jenny Par- tridge, became trained in the practice, which is not only new to the clinic, but fairly new to Manitoba as well. “It’s amazing that we can offer it, be- cause — as far as we know — we are the only clinic in town that has a myofunc- tional therapist,” said Louise Hersak, Brightside Dental’s office manager. “It’s nice to be able to provide that service in Brandon so that patients don’t need to be sent off to Winnipeg, as we tend to do for many other specialties.” Partridge first became aware of my- ofunctional therapy in 2018, she said, when a dentist recommended the ther- apy for a young patient who was suck- ing their thumb. Not long after, she discovered both her kids had some issues in which they needed myofunctional therapy, but there was only one person to refer to in Manitoba. “I started looking into it and saw that hygienists could specialize in myo- functional therapy, but I needed to get a separate license to practice it in Man- itoba,” Partridge said. “I really wanted to pursue it, so I took the courses and started practicing in 2020.” Myofunctional therapy is treatment that restores the proper function to the muscles around your face, lips and tongue. These muscles are very im- portant for proper breathing and ulti- mately, quality of life. Orofacial myo- functional disorders (OMDs) are when the muscles are not working correctly. Common causes could include tongue tie, upper airway obstruction (enlarged tonsils, adenoids, or allergies), or ex- tended use of a pacifier or thumb suck- ing. Research has also found that myo- functional therapy can be an effective treatment for sleep-disordered breath- ing. “We have four main goals with ev- ery patient — nasal breathing, lip seal, correct tongue posture, and a correct swallowing pattern,” Partridge said. “It’s something that people don’t re- ally think about, but if you’re doing it wrong when you’re little, it can actually
It’s amazing that we can offer it, because — as far as we know — we are the only clinic in town that has a myofunctional therapist.”
– LOUISE HERSAK
OFFICE MANAGER BRIGHTSIDE DENTAL
I can give them all the information first and they can go from there.” Brightside Dental Care has been tak- ing a real-people approach to dentistry for 10 years now, and offering myofunc- tional therapy is just another way the team goes above and beyond to provide a different kind of dental experience to the community. “It’s nice to bring awareness to something that people might not have known was an issue. These are things that, with a bit of therapy and treat- ment, you can probably prevent,” Her- sak said. “It’s just another service we’re happy to provide clients.” For more information or to book an appointment, call 204-727-7136 or stop by the office at 25-144 6th Street. You can also visit Brightside Dental Care’s website at https://brightsidedental- care.com/.
Assessing dental patient for myofunctional disorders. (Supplied photo)
cise-based treatment program. Par- tridge said she coaches clients through exercises to help create new neuromus- cular patterns, and in turn normalize muscle function. “I still do hygiene, too, so if I see pa- tients with some red flags, I usually bring it to their attention,” Partridge added. “I usually recommend that I see people for a consult first. Depending on what they need, they might not be ready for everything. So, with a consult,
affect how your face grows. For exam- ple, if someone is chronically mouth breathing their entire life, they often will have a more narrow face, which means smaller airway passageways, and in turn can contribute to more se- rious health issues down the road.” They try to screen children in the dental office in order to catch any is- sues early and make people aware, Par- tridge said. Myofunctional therapy is an exer-
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