For professionals
Training in FaceFormer therapyThe seminar for your practice
For doctors, dentistry, orthodontics, speech therapy, physiotherapy and osteopathy. Two seminar days with Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Berndsen and Sabine Berndsen, in which you learn the assessment and how to guide the exercises from the ground up.
The key points at a glance
- In two days you connect model, assessment and exercise. The focus is on the interplay of breathing, swallowing and head balance, how you recognise deviations and how you guide FaceFormer therapy in your practice.
- Day one is devoted to understanding and diagnosis. On day two you train with the FaceFormer yourself and discuss cases from your practice.
- At the end you receive the FaceFormer certificate and a certificate of attendance with CPD points from ISST Unna. Bookable dates are listed at the end of this page.
Target group
Who the seminar is for
Breathing, swallowing and head balance play a role in many specialities. Accordingly, the participants come from a wide mix of professions.
Dentistry
You classify TMD, bruxism and tooth migration from a functional perspective and learn the findings that point to disturbed basic functions. Splint therapy can accompany the training.
Orthodontics
Mouth breathing, tongue thrust and an open lip posture put strain on the teeth and jaws. You record these factors before, during and after treatment. More on this under Orthodontics and FaceFormer.
Speech and language therapy
Myofunctional disorders, swallowing patterns and articulation are considered in connection with breathing and head balance. The exercises fit into the treatment of children and adults alike.
Physiotherapy
If neck, back or head complaints keep returning, it is worth looking at the axis from the mouth to the pelvis. There are separate modules for head balance and the pelvic floor.
Osteopathy
In the model, the oral cavity, cervical spine and trunk form one shared control system. Your patients continue the appropriate training at home.
Medical specialities
Doctors in ENT, sleep medicine and paediatrics and adolescent medicine are also welcome.
Myofunctional therapists and coaches with a professional background are welcome too. We do not assume any prior knowledge. Those who already work with the FaceFormer can structure their approach in the seminar, and newcomers learn the method from the start. You can find an overview of the areas of use in the article Applications and specialities.
Background
Why complaints often return
Jaw complaints, migrating teeth, a tense neck, snoring, a child who breathes through the mouth. The diagnoses are spread across many practices, but in our view the pattern behind them is usually the same.
That is why the training targets the basic functions of breathing, swallowing and head balance, not an individual symptom. If their interplay no longer matches the reference order, a compensation develops that the nervous system stores as the default over time. In our view, when a complaint improves, this is often a consequence of the corrected function.
The pattern deviates
Often in childhood already, for example through dummies, bottles or habits. Typical signs are mouth breathing, a low-lying tongue or disturbed head balance.
The body compensates
The compensation becomes automatic. The original programme remains underneath and can be relearnt.
The structure adapts
Palate, tooth position and posture change. Unused muscles lose tone.
Only then symptoms
When and how severely depends on how pronounced the disturbance is, how long the compensation has been going on and how old the person is.
Each of the three functions supports the others and is supported by them.Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Berndsen, “Trust the Triad” (in preparation)
A patient has worn an occlusal splint for years, yet her jaw complaints keep coming back. In terms of the model, where would you start first?
You can read more about the principle of action in the article How does FaceFormer therapy work?
Schedule
How the training course works
The first day builds understanding and the assessment, the second the confident application.
- Before the seminar
Your speciality and your cases
After you register, we ask about your areas of focus and which cases are on your mind. The speakers then address them.
- Day 1
The model
The Cranio-Cervical Functional Model and its triad, along with external and internal systems, compensation and causal chains.
- Day 1
Assessment and diagnostic scheme
From symptom to cause with functional analysis, followed by the derivation of the indication.
- Day 2
Working with the FaceFormer
Which exercise, how often, how to correct. You practise yourself, starting with the basic exercise and going on to the extended modules.
- Day 2
Cases and colloquium
Application from children to adults, patient presentation, the cases you have brought and the final colloquium.
- After the seminar
Materials and directory
You receive accompanying materials in digital form, a certificate and a certificate of attendance. If you wish, your practice is then listed in the practitioner directory.
Times, venue and what is included for each seminar are listed with the date further down.
Day one and day two
Assessing and practising yourself
A functional assessment is learnt on real people, and only those who have done the exercises themselves can guide them well.
The Cranio-Cervical Functional Model (CCFM) was developed at ISST Unna. It brings the oral cavity, pharynx, cervical spine and trunk together into one control system instead of placing individual findings from different disciplines side by side. For us it is a working model, and where connections have not yet been independently tested, we say so.
On day one you assess the three functions in their interplay. In addition, there are orofacial findings such as tongue reference position, lip closure, masticatory function and swallowing pattern, as well as the link to posture and statics. You practise the tests on each other, first by observing without the person noticing, and only then with questions and tests. The assessment form is also freely available for download as a diagnosis form.
On day two you train with the FaceFormer in the group and in pairs, while the speakers observe and correct. Six modules form the core, each with variants for children and adults.
Basic exercise
Lips, tongue and swallowing in one sequence of movement. To the module
Pull exercises
Pulling in several directions while the oral cavity maintains the negative pressure. To the module
Breathing exercise
Breathing evenly and calmly through the nose. To the module
Head balance rotation
Trains the muscles that balance the head. To the module
Pelvic floor
Includes the lower end of the control axis. To the module
Night-time use
Complements the daytime training but does not replace it. To the module
An ingrained compensation pattern does not change because it has been understood. It is displaced through precise and frequent repetition. That is why training takes place three times a day for 6 to 12 months, followed by maintenance training. The process from the user's point of view is described in FaceFormer therapy step by step.
You receive the exercise videos from the seminar as 3D animations and live-action film for reference. The modules are publicly available with instructions under FaceFormer training on faceformer.de. You can refer your patients to this page.
Safety and evidence
Knowing the limits, assessing honestly
You also learn when the training is not suitable or only makes sense alongside other treatment, and what the studies actually show.
Acute inflammation
in the mouth, throat or airways. Wait with the training until it has subsided.
Completely blocked nose
Have this checked by a doctor before nasal breathing is practised.
Recent surgery in the mouth
Start only once the treating practice agrees.
Acute jaw joint locking
With severe pain, have this checked by a doctor or dentist first.
Degenerative neuromuscular diseases
With ALS, advanced Parkinson's or bulbar palsy, only after consulting the doctor.
Obstructive sleep apnoea
Only in addition to sleep medicine treatment.
In the first weeks, tired muscles, pressure on the teeth, irritated mucous membranes in long-standing mouth breathers or a device that slips out of the mouth at night are common. After a short break, training continues more gently, with fewer repetitions or with the FaceFormer ZERO. Children under 4 years only train with expert supervision.
Splints, CPAP, nasal spray and other medically prescribed treatments are never discontinued on one's own initiative. The training runs alongside them, and changes are decided by the treating practice.
We stay matter-of-fact about the state of research. The only randomised study is the Hamburg study with 45 children and adolescents, which measured the basic functions1. There is also a peer-reviewed study from Jena with a control group, involving 187 people with muscle-related jaw pain2. Beyond that, there are pilot observations and posters. In detail on faceformer.de
The absence of a study does not mean that the connection does not exist. It means that it has not been tested.
Sources
- Korbmacher HM, Schwan M, Berndsen S, Bull J, Kahl-Nieke B (2004). Evaluation of a new concept of myofunctional therapy in children. International Journal of Orofacial Myology 30:39-52. PMID 15832861. Source
- Kopp S, Berndsen K, Berndsen S, Ifert F, Langbein U (2004). Initiale Therapie myogener Befunde im kraniomandibulären System mit einem konfektionierten intra-/extraoralen Trainingsgerät. Manuelle Medizin 42(1):55-62. Source
After the seminar
Certificate, materials and support
What you take back to your practice after the two days.
Most recently, all participants received a digital folder. It contained a practice guide with exercises, dosage, assessment and progress monitoring, a review of theory and diagnostics, the exercise videos, guidelines for working with patients and a collection of studies and sources.
The Manual on the methodology by Klaus and Sabine Berndsen serves as the workbook. It contains the model, exercise modules, training plan and assessment form.
Certificate
Both speakers sign the FaceFormer certificate for successful participation. It entitles you to use the title “FaceFormer practitioner”.
Certificate of attendance
The organiser is ISST Unna. The certificate lists hours and CPD points, divided into theory, practice and exercises. Whether your chamber or professional association recognises the points is best checked with them in advance.
Practitioner directory
With the certificate, we list your practice free of charge in the practitioner directory once we have checked your details.
Questions
A case doesn't fit any pattern? You can reach us at kontakt@drberndsen.de and +49 2303 89991.
From the developers of the method
Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Berndsen and Sabine Berndsen, who developed FaceFormer therapy together in 1999, lead the seminar personally. He covers the model, functional analysis and diagnostics. As a physicist, patholinguist and neuroscientist, he taught at the University of Dortmund for many years, and he has headed the ISST in Unna since 1989.
Sabine Berndsen treats patients at the ISST herself and contributes everyday practice, from children to complex cases.
The certificate requires the two-day in-person seminar with a practical part. Bookable dates are listed directly below this article and in the Seminars collection. If none is open at the moment, we are happy to put your name down; an email to einkauf@drberndsen.de is enough. For getting started or refreshing your knowledge, though without CPD points, there are webinar recordings with Sabine Berndsen and Lena Koopmann under Online therapy.
Seminare
Verschiedene Termine verfügbar
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Sold out
FULLY BOOKED - FaceFormer Seminar Frankfurt: CCDS Fundamentals & Practice (25.-26.09.2026)
incl. VATRegular price €529,00 EURRegular price€689,00 EUR-23% Sale price €529,00 EUR
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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 training aims to restore the physiological setting of the basic functions of breathing, swallowing and head balance, with lip closure and the tongue reference position, thereby creating the conditions under which complaints can improve. It does not replace a medical assessment. You can find practitioners near you in the practitioner directory.
