Encouraging early myofunctional habit treatment among growing children has been a continuous goal for Myofunctional Research Co. (MRC) during the past 20 years, but now the company has taken it a step further with the introduction of the MRC Clinics. Since 1989 when Dr. Chris Farrell founded the company, MRC has made significant improvements to children’s faces and has educated people about the effects of soft-tissue dysfunction on the dentition.

The company’s many appliances, including the T4K, the Myobrace and the i-3, have assisted the correction of myofunctional habits in patients around the world.

Unlike traditional orthodontics, the goal of myofunctional treatment is not just to have straight front teeth, but to also remove the bad influences on a child’s dental and facial development, allowing the child to achieve his or her full genetic potential.

The idea for the MRC Clinics grew out of Farrell’s vision for the company, but it’s only been in the last couple years that the idea has become a reality. Launched in 2009, there are now MRC Clinics in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.

“There is a whole concept behind the MRC Clinics,” said Damien O’Brien, international sales and training executive for MRC. “We’ve known for a long time that we need to have a way to help the doctor so that he can get compliance and make sure the patients are prepared to use the appliances properly.”

Basically, the MRC Clinics differ from regular practices in that there is an emphasis on better patient education delivered as enjoyable activities. These activities teach children through games and interaction about the bad oral habits that cause incorrect dental development and find ways to improve their general health and well-being through breathing and nutrition activities.

Children learn to be more in-control and responsible for the treatment itself and become more motivated as they become better aware of the gradual improvements.

A visit to a clinic starts with a sit-down between an auxiliary, a patient and the parents in front of a computer in a dedicated room equipped with a mirror so a patient can see his or her own face.

Together, they will go though a special CD-ROM, which will help educate the patient and parents in understanding that habits are always a part of what’s going on and that these habits are going to affect the patient’s face and future treatment.

“The whole idea is to move the patient from ‘Oh, doctor, you can fix my teeth,’ to ‘Oh! There’s something wrong with my tongue, my lips, my breathing, and I’m going to have to work with the doctor to fix it!’” O’Brien said.

This way, O’Brien said, a busy clinician doesn’t have to educate everybody but yet the patients still understand what they have to do.

The other dimension to the clinics is a special area for follow-up activities. Every four to six week during their follow-up appointments, patients are reminded to not just focus on their teeth but to make sure their tongue, lips and breathing habits are also improving.

Dr. Andrew Shieh is one of the first orthodontists in the United States to open an MRC Clinic. He has been in practice for the past 15 years, splitting his time between two practices in Huntington Park and Santa Ana, Calif.

“I first heard about MRC Clinics about two years ago, and although it was an interesting concept, I didn’t look into the full potential of it until looking for a treatment to correct my autistic son’s anterior bilateral crossbite,” Shieh said.

“Being that my son is autistic, I knew traditional fixed braces were going to pose a challenge but that he might be able to handle a Trainer.”

Unlike traditional fixed braces, the Trainer System by MRC allows patients to continue with their lifestyle as usual. Patients are able to eat and maintain good oral hygiene because the T4K is used only one hour a day and overnight.

Shieh’s Huntington Park MRC Clinic officially opened April 11, after about six months of getting it up and running.

“Overall, patient reaction has been fantastic and comments are nothing but great,” Shieh said.

He said any practitioner wanting to open an MRC Clinic should consider that three out of four children have incorrect dental and facial development.

“The MRC concept is unique in that it provides education and training tools for both the doctor and staff,” he said. “It has training programs available that focus on diagnosis and treatment planning in conjunction with the MRC appliances. The MRC Clinics’ layout also allows for a dramatic increase in patient flow.”

The best part, though, is that “Seeing the MRC Clinic open in Huntington Park has spiked patient interest,” Shieh said, “therefore bringing in more patients inquiring about treatment.”

If you are interested in running your own MRC Clinic, you must understand the habits and problems of myofunctional therapy, have been using the MRC appliances for at least a year and have an area big enough to be able to develop the clinic. For more information on the MRC Clinics and how they are evolving, as well as for instructional videos and contact info, visit myoresearch.com/doctorintro or lessbraces.com.