Therapy · Procedure and duration
Step by step.Week by week.
From your first practice visit to a pattern that runs by itself. This is how FaceFormer therapy works, this is how long it takes, and this is what helps you keep at it.
A few minutes a day, over many weeks.
FaceFormer therapy is an exercise-based method. Your nervous system learns the correct sequence of breathing, swallowing and head balance through many identical, clean repetitions until it runs by itself. How long this takes depends on how long a pattern has existed and how regularly you train.
The path
In six steps to your own training
You can train on your own with the free app and the exercise pages. A practice is advisable if you are not making progress, want to have symptoms checked or would like professional support. With a practice, the path looks like this; the training itself takes place mainly at home.
Finding a practice
In the practitioner directory you will find practices that work with the FaceFormer, from speech therapy, dentistry, orthodontics, physiotherapy and medicine.
Assessment
The practice looks at your breathing, swallowing and head balance. First the way you behave without thinking about it, then with targeted tests.
Choosing modules
The basic exercise, the pull exercise and night-time use are for everyone. Which further modules are added depends on your assessment.
Instruction
You learn the starting position and the basic exercise in the practice, ideally in front of a mirror. Your therapist corrects you until you have the sequence right.
Training at home
Three times a day for a few minutes, and from around the third week the FaceFormer ZERO at night. The free app guides you through the basic exercises and keeps count.
Follow-up appointments
About every four to six weeks, the practice compares your findings with those at the start and adjusts the plan.
The assessment
Observe first, then test
It all starts with an assessment. The practice first pays attention to how you behave quite incidentally. Is your mouth open or closed, where is your tongue, what is your head balance like? Only then do targeted tests follow.
The reason is simple. What you demonstrate on request shows what you can do. What you do when nobody is watching shows your starting point. Training shifts exactly this starting point, which is why the assessment has to capture it.
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Berndsen summarises this in the triadic short assessment. It records four main features, namely tongue position, mouth closure, head balance in profile and shoulder position, along with visible signs on the tongue, lips and chin and questions about the nose, sleep, neck and jaw. Often two photos are taken, one fully relaxed and one during deliberate lip closure.
If lip closure is effortless on request and is simply not used in everyday life, the issue is the pattern, and that is exactly where training comes in. If the nose is constantly blocked, the airway is checked first.
Instruction and app
Learn in the practice, practise at home
During instruction you practise with your therapist how the FaceFormer sits in the oral vestibule, where the tip of your tongue belongs and how to bring your head upright. Take a few minutes for this the first time.
At home you are supported by the free FaceFormer app. It guides you through the basic exercises, leads you through the phases of each repetition, reminds you of your sessions and records your progress. You set the repetitions and sessions yourself.
You will find further modules such as the breathing exercise, the head balance exercise or AirFlip on this website with 3D animation and a training plan. If you train with a practice, it will put the modules together with you.
All exercises with 3D animation
The schedule
Built up week by week
This is what the plan looks like for adults. If you train with a practice, it will adapt it to you. Each exercise starts with a few repetitions and is only increased once you have the sequence right.
- Day 1
Basic exercise, three times a day
You start with the FaceFormer ZERO and the basic exercise, spread across the day. In the first week 8 repetitions per session, in the second 14. You may already try it at night, but you don’t have to.
- Week 3
Pull exercise and night
The basic exercise increases to 20 repetitions. The pull exercise is added, again with 8, then 14, then 20 repetitions. From now on you wear the FaceFormer ZERO every night.
- Week 6
Extended modules
From around week 6, further modules can be added, such as the breathing exercise, the head balance exercise or the pelvic floor. The instructions show which ones are suitable; with a practice, this depends on your assessment. They are added to the basic exercise, they do not replace it.
- Months
Basic training over several months
The basic training continues over several months. The training plan in the manual runs up to week 52, and the last section is about consolidation. You discuss with your practice when to cut back.
ZERO and ONE. Both are the same size and shape; only the hardness of the material differs. For daytime training, adults switch to the firmer ONE after a few weeks, while the ZERO remains for the night. Children up to 10 years train with the ZERO throughout, following their own gentler plan from the practice. In the shop: ZERO, ONE blue, ONE clear or both as a set. For young children, the practice decides from when and in what form training takes place.
Follow-up appointments
What the practice compares over time
The practice repeats the assessment about every four to six weeks, ideally under the same conditions and with photos. The comparison is with your own baseline, not with a norm.
Your observations
How you experience your nose, your nights and your mouth closure is part of every appointment. Make a note of what you notice, and ask what your bed partner notices.
Signs on the tongue and lips
Tongue coating, indentations on the edge of the tongue and lip closure without a tensed chin reflect the last few days and weeks. They show early on which direction things are moving in.
The pattern itself
Tongue position and mouth closure in everyday life change later than their traces. Head balance takes the longest.
Shape stays shape
Palate shape, tooth position and bite are baseline findings in adults, not measures of progress. They do not change within a few weeks.
This sequence is based on Dr. Berndsen’s experience; it has not been measured. When and to what extent symptoms change cannot be predicted. It depends on how long a pattern has existed, whether structures have changed and how regularly you train.
Tests
How you can tell a pattern has been newly learned
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Berndsen names three features that distinguish a newly learned pattern from a practised performance.
It runs without attention
Nasal breathing, tongue position and head balance are right while you are thinking about something else. As long as you have to pay conscious attention to them, the changeover is not yet complete.
It outlasts the training
What counts is not whether your mouth stays closed during the exercise, but whether it does so at night without anything holding it. Anything that only exists during the exercise phase is a training effect.
It carries over
The goal is not the one clean swallow during the exercise, but the many hundreds of swallows over a day. And a head that stays upright while you work at your desk.
That is why the training is not over as soon as something feels easier. What matters is that the pattern runs without you, during the day and at night. When that point has been reached is something you assess together in the practice.
Keeping going
What makes sticking with it easier
Training that takes place every day stands or falls with regularity. Three things help most.
Fixed anchors in your day
Link the training to something you do every day anyway, such as brushing your teeth. Spread the sessions across the day rather than doing them back to back. With children, it is best for parents to practise along with them.
Accuracy over quantity
An imprecise repetition trains a different pattern. Start with little force and few repetitions, and only increase once the sequence is secure. Strength is not the goal.
Bringing it into everyday life
After a few weeks, you can also wear the FaceFormer without exercising, for example at your desk or while watching TV. Now and then, a quick check on whether you are breathing through your nose is worthwhile.
At first, a lot feels unfamiliar. Swallowing with the FaceFormer is difficult, in the morning it is lying next to the pillow, your gums are irritated. This is common and usually improves with regular training. If you have pain, take a break and talk to your practice or give us a call. You will find help below and on every exercise page.
Questions
Frequently asked
How long does FaceFormer therapy take?
Plan for several months. How long it takes in your case depends on how long a pattern has existed and how regularly you train. If you train with a practice, they will decide this with you.
How often a day do I need to train?
Three times a day, spread across the day, for example morning, midday and evening. A session takes a few minutes. If on some days you only manage two sessions, that is better than three done irregularly. More than three sessions are not useful. In the app, you set how many sessions and repetitions you do.
Do I have to train three times a day in the long term?
No, not to the full extent. Once the pattern is established, in our view a maintenance programme twice a week is generally sufficient to keep it practised. When you reduce depends on how stable the pattern already is for you. If you train with a practice, you decide on the timing together. You should not stop completely, because as with any muscles, whatever is no longer practised fades over time.
When will I notice the first changes?
This cannot be predicted and depends on your starting point. Often the first thing you notice is that the exercise itself becomes easier and more precise. If you train with a practice, they will compare what has changed in the pattern at the follow-up appointments. Keep training, even if something already feels easier.
When do I switch from ZERO to ONE?
After a few weeks, once the basic exercise is secure. If you train with a practice, discuss the timing there. The ONE is firmer, but the same size and shape. At night, you continue to wear the ZERO. Children up to 10 years stay with the ZERO.
When do I start wearing the FaceFormer at night?
From around the third week, every night, always the ZERO. At first, it is often lying next to the pillow in the morning, because old patterns such as mouth breathing take over during sleep. This is normal. Keep putting it in every evening. Getting used to it takes one night for some people and a few weeks for others.
I haven’t trained for a few days
No problem. A learned pattern does not disappear after a few days. Simply pick up again as usual. After a longer break, start with fewer repetitions and little force, and build up again. The reminders in the app help you stay in rhythm.
At first, some things feel unfamiliar
The training changes long-established sequences. Unfamiliar sensations usually subside quickly with regular practice. If you have pain or if symptoms increase noticeably, take a break and talk to your practice.
Can I train without a practice?
A practice is recommended. They carry out the assessment, select the appropriate modules and correct your technique. The app also explains the basic exercises to you, and every module is available with instructions on this website.
Can I wear a brace at the same time?
Yes, ZERO and ONE can be used together with orthodontic appliances. Agree the procedure with your practice. Please do not discontinue medically prescribed treatments on your own initiative.
Does German statutory health insurance cover the costs?
German statutory health insurance funds generally do not cover the FaceFormer itself. How the treatment in the practice is billed is something you clarify there. More on this: Is the FaceFormer covered by German statutory health insurance?
Read more
Knowledge on this topic
Where to go next
Get started
Ready for the training?
The free FaceFormer app guides you through the basic exercises, counts along and reminds you of your sessions. If you wish, a practice from the practitioner directory can support you.
FaceFormer ZERO + ONE
Both material hardnesses for getting started, day and night. The set for adults.
FaceFormer ZERO
The softer FaceFormer for getting started, for children and for the night.
FaceFormer ZERO Children’s Set
ZERO with hygiene box, plush bag and success book with stamp.
FaceFormer training aims to restore the physiological functioning of the basic functions of breathing, swallowing and head balance, with mouth closure and tongue reference position, thereby creating the conditions under which symptoms can improve. It does not replace a medical assessment. You can find practitioners near you in the practitioner directory.