The Study Every Parent Doing Palatal Expansion Needs to See

Mama, if your child is doing palatal expansion (or about to start), I need you to hear this one.

There's a study that just came out comparing expansion alone to expansion paired with myofunctional therapy — and the results aren't close. Pairing the two isn't "a nice bonus." It's significantly more effective at actually restoring nasal breathing. Not helpful. Significantly more effective.

Here's why that matters. Expansion widens the palate — that's its whole job. But it doesn't touch the tongue posture, the mouth breathing habit, or the muscle pattern that's usually running the show. And here's the part that gets me every time: that same muscle pattern — low tongue, open mouth, chronic mouth breathing — is often what narrowed the palate to begin with. So if we widen it and never retrain the muscle underneath, we're treating the result, not the cause. That's exactly why some kids finish expansion and are still congested, still restless at night, still mouth breathing.

In this episode I'm walking you through:

• What this study actually found, in plain language
• Why expansion and myofunctional therapy need to happen together, not sequentially
• What to ask your orthodontist or dentist before expansion starts
• What to do if your child already has an expander (spoiler: it's not too late)

If this is the first time you're hearing the term "myofunctional therapy," don't worry — I break it all down so it makes sense, no clinical degree required.

And if you want the full walkthrough of exactly what to ask and what to look for before, during, and after expansion, I built a free training for that too — you'll find the link in the show notes, or head to breathingintolifeco.com/pl/2147652251.

Press play, and let's get into it.

Source: Buonanno E, Jubani J, Schirripa M, et al. Effect of myofunctional therapy associated with rapid palatal expansion on the restoration of nasal breathing in pediatric patients. Annali di Stomatologia. 2026;17(2):293-300.