Rebalancing the Mouth: Functional Therapy for Periodontal and Whole-Body Wellness

Presented by: Laura Walls, MS, CCC-SLP

Original Lecture/ Publication Date: December 3, 2025 (Webinar Series)

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Course Description:

Emerging research continues to reveal that oral function is deeply interconnected with systemic wellness, extending far beyond the teeth and gums. This presentation explores how oral posture, breathing, and neuromuscular coordination influence the inflammatory and structural environments essential for periodontal stability and whole-body balance.

Attendees will discover how dysfunctions in tongue posture, swallowing mechanics, jaw alignment, and nasal breathing can perpetuate chronic inflammation, alter craniofacial development, and compromise both periodontal and systemic health outcomes. Through a functional and interdisciplinary approach, Laura Walls, MS, CCC-SLP, demonstrates how restoring proper oral function through myofunctional therapy supports healthier airways, improves postural alignment, and enhances patient outcomes across medical and dental specialties.

Participants will gain practical strategies to incorporate functional oral assessments and therapeutic exercises into periodontal care protocols, effectively bridging dentistry, speech-language pathology, and integrative medicine to promote regenerative, root cause-focused healing.

Learning Objectives: 

• Identify functional dysfunctions—such as improper tongue posture, impaired swallowing mechanics, and chronic mouth breathing—that contribute to periodontal inflammation and systemic imbalance.
• Analyze how restoring optimal oral posture, nasal breathing, and neuromuscular coordination through myofunctional therapy can improve airway stability and whole-body health outcomes.
• Apply functional oral assessments and targeted therapeutic exercises within periodontal care to support interdisciplinary, root-cause–focused treatment planning.

Practical Applications:

1. Incorporate functional screenings—such as tongue posture evaluation, nasal breathing checks, and swallowing assessments—into routine patient exams to detect contributors to chronic inflammation.
2. Integrate myofunctional therapy exercises or referrals into treatment plans to support airway stability, reduce systemic inflammatory burden, and improve periodontal outcomes.
3. Collaborate with dental, speech-language, and integrative health providers to create shared care pathways that address oral dysfunction as part of whole-body wellness and disease prevention.

Speaker Bio: 

Laura Walls, MS, CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist with over 30 years of experience specializing in pediatric rehabilitation, myofunctional disorders, and airway diagnostics. A graduate of UC Santa Barbara and CSU Hayward, she has worked across diverse clinical settings—from the VA Hospital in San Francisco to NICUs—focusing on feeding, speech, and cognitive disorders. Laura is the creator of the My Mouthworks® Program and inventor of the FDA-cleared Oral Placement Appliance® (OPA). Her work integrates whole-body approaches to address sleep-disordered breathing, TMJD, and myofunctional concerns in both children and adults.

AGD Course #:  730 (Oral Medicine, Oral Diagnosis, Oral Pathology)

Conflicts of Interest:

Owner/CEO at Innovative Oral Solutions and Innovative Therapy 4 Kids