What Is Functional Dentistry?
Dr. Hyer and Dr. Guild believe in practicing functional dentistry. Practicing functional dentistry is important to them because it looks beyond individual teeth and focuses on the whole child—their breathing, habits, growth, sleep, and overall health. By identifying the root causes of issues like crowding, mouth breathing, poor tongue posture, or chronic cavities, functional dentistry helps guide proper jaw and facial development, supports a healthy airway, and prevents problems before they become bigger or require invasive treatment. This approach empowers families with healthier habits, creates stronger long-term outcomes, and ultimately helps children grow into their best, healthiest selves.
Key Points
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We look at the whole child, not just the teeth
We connect mouth issues to breathing, sleep, growth, posture, and overall health.
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Airway & breathing come first:
We check if your child can breathe easily through the nose day and night. Mouth-breathing is not normal and can change how the face and teeth grow.
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We catch problems early – often before braces are even needed
By guiding jaw growth and tongue posture early (ages 3–9), we can often create space for all teeth naturally and reduce or avoid braces later.
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Tongue-tie & lip-tie matter
We evaluate and release restricted tongues or lips when they affect feeding, speech, breathing, or tooth alignment.
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We focus on proper tongue posture and swallowing patterns:
A low tongue or incorrect swallow can push teeth out of place. We teach simple habits (myofunctional therapy) to fix this naturally.
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Sleep & snoring are part of our exam
Poor sleep from blocked airways can affect behavior, focus, growth, and long-term health. We screen for it and work with sleep specialists when needed.
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Straight teeth without removing healthy teeth:
Whenever possible, we expand the jaws to make room instead of pulling permanent teeth.
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We team up with other experts
Myofunctional therapists, ENT doctors, sleep doctors, craniosacral therapists, and bodyworkers – because the mouth doesn’t work alone.
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Breastfeeding support starts day one
Tongue-ties and poor latch can cause lifelong issues. We help newborns feed well so jaws and airways develop correctly from the very beginning.
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Prevention over correction
Our goal is to help faces, airways, and teeth grow right the first time – so you need less treatment later. We are focused on keeping up to date with the latest proven materials to help prevent cavities and remineralize the enamel - like hydroxyapatite toothpastes.
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