Throughout my whole childhood I had difficulty breathing. I was seen by an allergist who deemed there to be nothing wrong. I had braces from the age of 10-15. To this day I still have an open bite and a cross bite. In 2017 at the age of 23 I was diagnosed with a tongue and lip tie. It is presumed that the tongue tie is what led to my orthodontic problems. We proceeded to correct the tongue tie and lip tie. I have been in orthodontics for the last 6 years in an attempt to expand my upper palate which formed extremely narrowly in addition to trying to close the open bite down (so far unsuccessfully). About 3 years into this treatment it was determined that my nasal valves collapsed completely when I tried to breathe in through my nose, therefore forcing me to breathe through my mouth up to that point. I had a nasal valve repair rhinoplasty which enabled me to breathe (relatively) comfortably through my nose for the first time ever. I was 26 years old when I got a full nasal breath for the first time. To date I have had over half a dozen procedures / surgeries relating to this issue. I am in constant TMJ pain and have difficulty relaxing the muscles in my face. For the better part of a decade I have been voraciously curious about different modalities to help bring my whole system back into alignment. I am so grateful that you have identified the severity of this issue and are creating such an important record for those who may not understand. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything I can help with. I tried to upload before and after photos from my nasal valve repair illustrating the difference in tension in my face, but the form wont seem to submit with them attached for some reason.
