A Myofunctional Therapy Partner for Your Patients — and Your Practice
Myofunctional Mastery works alongside dentists, orthodontists, ENTs, sleep physicians, release providers, and SLPs across greater San Antonio and the Hill Country. Carol Chavez, RDH, brings nearly two decades of dental-side experience — so your referral is evaluated, treated, and reported back the way you'd expect from a clinical colleague.
How Co-Management Works
A simple loop designed to keep you informed without adding work for your front office.
Send the patient our way by email or phone — no forms or portals required. We schedule a comprehensive myofunctional evaluation, usually within one to two weeks.
You receive a written evaluation summary covering oral rest posture, tongue mobility, breathing pattern, and habits — plus the proposed therapy plan and how it supports your treatment.
Progress updates at key milestones, coordination around appliance changes or release procedures, and a discharge summary when therapy goals are met.
What You'll Receive Back
Why the Tongue Matters to Your Treatment Plan
“The same forces used by braces can also be used by the tongue to move teeth.”
A low, forward-resting tongue presses on the anterior teeth with every swallow — hundreds of times a day — and works against your appliances, slowing movement.
Closing spaces and correcting open bites is significantly more difficult against an active thrust. The tongue simply fills the space you're trying to close.
Teeth drift back when the muscle pattern that moved them is still in place. Retainers restrain it; therapy resolves it.
The resting position of the tongue does more to the dentition than the thrust itself. Therapy started before or during orthodontic treatment protects the result you're working toward — and the investment your patient is making.
Who to Refer
Patients of any age with signs of orofacial myofunctional disorder. Common flags you may already be seeing chairside:
A patient who mouth breathes also has a tongue thrust — the two go hand in hand. Health-history flags worth a second look: past or present thumb/finger habits, chronic allergies or congestion, enlarged or removed tonsils and adenoids, and snoring or restless sleep. None of these is diagnostic on its own; two or three together is the signal to refer.
Screening & Chairside Toolkit
Printable resources for your operatories and front desk — the same materials Carol shares with partner offices.
All downloads are print-ready. Want printed copies for your office? Email Carol and she'll get you stocked.
Bring Myo to Your Team
“The Missing Piece in Orthodontic & Airway Outcomes”
Carol brings lunch and a practical, photo-driven hour for dental, orthodontic, ENT, and pediatric teams across San Antonio and the Hill Country. Your team eats, Carol teaches — and everyone leaves able to spot these patients chairside in under 30 seconds.
- The four goals of therapy: lips sealed, tongue on the palate, nasal breathing, correct swallow
- Chairside recognition: tongue thrust and open bite, mouth breathing and the high narrow palate, red flags hiding in the health history
- Why an untreated thrust lengthens treatment and drives relapse — and the best timing for a referral
- The airway and sleep connection, with validated screening tools your office can use
- Exactly what happens after you refer, and what your office receives back
Printed chairside guides, brochures, and sleep screeners are yours to keep. Continuing-education credit for this course is in progress — ask us for the current status.
Refer a Patient
No forms, no portals. One email or call and our care coordinator takes it from there.
Our care coordinator schedules every referral — evaluation summaries come directly from Carol.