02/14/2026
This timeline says it all. 👏🏼
Myofunctional therapy is NOT a trend. It’s not “new.” It’s not something that just showed up on Instagram.
This evolution chart (created by Dr. Soroush Zaghi) maps over 2,000+ years of thought, research, and clinical development around breathing, oral posture, craniofacial growth, and airway health.
From:
• Ancient Chinese and Yogic traditions recognizing the power of nasal breathing
• 1907 – Edward H. Angle formalizing orthodontic structure
• 1918 – Alfred Rogers introducing neuromuscular concepts
• 1939 – Weston A. Price documenting craniofacial development
• 1975 – The International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM) forming
• 1993 – Christian Guilleminault describing Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome
• 2009+ – Randomized trials supporting oropharyngeal exercises for sleep apnea
• 2017–2025 – Airway-centered, interdisciplinary collaboration becoming standard
This field has been building for generations.
What’s changing isn’t that myofunctional therapy is new.
What’s changing is that we are finally connecting the dots:
👉 Tongue posture
👉 Lip seal
👉 Nasal breathing
👉 Craniofacial development
👉 Sleep quality
👉 Nervous system regulation
For those of us doing this work every day — whether in private practice, pediatrics, orthodontics, sleep medicine, or airway dentistry — we’re standing on decades of research and clinical observation.
It’s not a fad.
It’s a returning to function.
Grateful to leaders like Dr. Zaghi and the Breathe Institute for continuing to push this field forward and organize the science in a way that helps families and providers see the bigger picture.
The future of healthcare is functional, collaborative, and airway-aware. 💫
