Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenae Ciuffreda.
Jenae, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I graduated with honors from Loma Linda University with my Bachelor of Science degree and my Registered Dental Hygiene license. I practiced as a dental hygienist for several years before seeking education in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy.
Those who know me know that I become friends with my patients and get excited about their life events and I would look forward to seeing my patients every six months for their dental check-up. A big life event for kids, teens, and adults are getting their braces off and seeing their beautiful smile after years of having braces! I would get so excited for my patients and couldn’t wait to see their bright beautiful braces-free smiles at their next dental check up. In some cases, my patients would come back and I would see that their teeth had moved significantly and I would ask.. have you been wearing your retainer? My patients would answer yes, that they had been wearing their retainers faithfully.
I started to search for answers for my patients. I started by asking my patient’s dentist and orthodontist what might be happening and the professionals that I spoke to didn’t know why their patient’s teeth were moving. I began to look further and discovered Joy Moeller with the Academy of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT). I started my educational experience in this field with the AOMT and took all of the courses that they had to offer.. I will never forget attending my first course and standing up to introduce myself and saying: Hi, My name is Jenae Ciuffreda, I am from North County San Diego and I am here to help my patients with orthodontic relapse. I laugh at this now because what I was about to learn would literally blow my mind and would continue to blow every patient’s mind that I come in contact with!
Since this first introductory course, I have completed 15 different courses in the area of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy/Orofacial Myology, Breathing Behavior Analysis/Breathing Re-education, Craniofacial/Airway Growth and Development, Frenulum Inspection/Tethered Oral Tissues Specialty Training, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, TMD, and Posture Training. I don’t see that I will ever stop taking courses in this field as I am constantly searching for answers for my patients to better their lives and help them thrive.
The knowledge that I have gained from my studies is that the way that we breathe, rest our mouth, chew and swallow has an affect on our whole body. The way that our muscles function or dysfunction in the head and neck can make a huge impact on full-body health. Common symptoms that my patients come in with include one or more of the following: problematic sleep, snoring, obstructive sleep apnea, migraines, head/neck tension and/or pain, seasonal allergies/environmental allergies, swollen tonsils, swollen adenoids, nasal congestion, sinus infections, earaches, trouble clearing the ears, fullness in the ears, ringing in the ears, sore throats, waking up with a dry mouth, red/swollen gums, broken or worn down teeth, strong gag reflex, TMJ pain, grinding and clenching the teeth, bed wetting, drooling, anxiety, depression, oral habits such as thumb sucking, all oral fixations including smoking and orthodontic relapse.
My practice today is comprised of both children and adults with any or sometimes all of the above symptoms. After, just weeks of breathing re-education and orofacial myofunctional therapy exercises my patient’s symptoms begin to improve. What started as a search to help my patients avoid having to have braces more than once has turned into a life-changing therapy.
Shifting the breathing from the mouth to the nose, getting the tongue to rest passively suctioned in the roof of the mouth, getting the lips to stay sealed with the teeth resting slightly apart, chewing correctly and swallowing correctly balances the orofacial muscles to create healthy static and dynamic function which eliminates many life-altering symptoms and helps patients thrive!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My biggest challenge is getting the word out to the public that orofacial myofunctional therapy exists and may be the missing link in their search for health and wellbeing.
We’d love to hear more about your practice.
I specialize in:
– Breathing Behavior Analysis with Capnometry
– Buteyko Breathing Re-education
– Elimination of mouth breathing – Establish nasal breathing
– Exercises that assist in the successful release of Tongue and Lip Ties
– Improve resting posture/static function of the muscles of the head and neck
– Improve dynamic function of the muscles of the head and neck
– Re-pattern oral rest posture
– Elimination of tongue thrusting
– Elimination of noxious oral habits such as thumb sucking, nail-biting, trichotillomania
– Drooling Elimination
– Gag Reflex Desensitization
I am most proud of my ability to give my patients answers to health concerns that they have been searching for. I am sometimes the 5th or 10th professional that my patients see in search for answers and when there is an orofacial myofunctional dysfunction, it is so clear to my patients that this is the answer that they have been seeking. Something that I hear on a daily basis is “that makes so much sense” and “why did it take me so long to find this answer.. why has nobody told me this before”
What sets me apart is the amount of education I have achieved in this field which has allowed me to develop a unique program that helps my patients achieve success.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Camping with my family. Growing up, my dad was big into windsurfing. We would pack up about every weekend and chase the wind. FUN memories!
Contact Info:
- Address: 240 South Hickory St. Suite 207
Escondido, CA 9205 - Website: oralposture.com
- Phone: 760-580-5769
- Email: oralposture@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oralposture/
- Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/oralposture/?business_id=184401898890559&ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oral-posture-orofacial-myofunctional-therapy-escondido?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)
Image Credit:
Not professional photos
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