James Nyland, DSD; Ashley Price, DMD; Sarah Anne Knowlton, DMD; Angela Schwieger, DMD; Joanna S. Dover, DMD

Joanna Dover, DMD, works with dentists James Nyland, DDS; Sarah Anne Knowlton, DMD; Ashley Price, DMD; and Angela Schweiger, DMD. This talented and experienced group works to create a dynamic practice of educational collaboration and implementation.

The team is very grateful to be included in this year’s Top Dentists, and they have so much to share. This year, they opened a practice named Breathe Columbia.

Breathe Columbia is dedicated to working with how we hold our tongues, how we swallow, and how we breathe. Each of these things can be the root cause of many dental and health troubles. They now have specially trained healthcare providers who are dedicated to helping patients from birth to CPAP therapy to ensure their patients grow and stay healthy and happy. 

Patients are seen as early as the first couple days of life through adulthood. The dentists at these practices still encompass almost all facets of dentistry including fillings, extractions, onlays, crowns, veneers, titanium and zirconia implants, and caries-arresting silver diamine fluoride and Curodont, with a focus on biocompatibility. The therapies at Breathe Columbia allow them to provide better care for their patients by working with root cause analysis. Breathe Columbia uses appliances like MyoMunchees, performs frenectomies with a LightScalpel laser, utilizes palatal and mandibular expanders, Invisalign, braces, and myofunctional therapy. Dr. Dover became an orofacial myofunctional therapist with the Academy of Orofacial Myofuntional Therapy, and Kayla Viola, BS, RDH, through MyoMentor, and their private yearlong mentorship with an international educator, Melissa Mugno, RDH of Faceology.

Increasing research demonstrates how the tongue rests and functions, as well as correct closed-mouth nasal breathing, have strong implications starting from the beginning of life. The way we breathe and how we use the muscles of the face and oral cavity directly and/or indirectly affect breastfeeding, facial skeletal growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech, occlusion, temporomandibular joint movement, oral hygiene, stability of orthodontic treatment, facial esthetics, sleep, and more. The scope of impact and the incredible effectiveness of treatment make this truly an emerging and promising field for medicine and dentistry.

Myofunctional therapy uses breathing techniques and neuroplasticity to retrain the muscles of the mouth and oral cavity. It can be beneficial independently, or to enhance the care of multidisciplinary specialists such as lactation specialists, ENTs, speech therapists, occupational and physical therapists, sleep medicine physicians and dentists, orthodontists, and other healthcare providers. Some examples that orofacial myofunctional therapy is used to help with are food chewing texture aversions, orthodontic stability, and as part of the preventative and treatment modality for sleep disordered breathing. Barriers to care have been long wait times, cost, and fragmented, inefficient processes. Breathe Columbia is the way these practices are continuously evolving and providing expanded care for the community.