Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy
Learn about Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders and their causes.
What are the goals?
Identifying and correcting Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs) – abnormal movement or rest patterns of the face and mouth.
Correct Nasal Breathing
Breathing patterns matter. Mouth breathing can have serious effects on your mouth (gums and teeth), lungs, and sinuses, often resulting in damage. Additionally, it can contribute to exhaustion and snoring and may change the shape of the face over time. Shallow breathing from the chest triggers the body’s stress response, making you feel anxious.
Correct Tongue Posture
What the tongue is doing when not in use matters. Incorrect tongue position can negatively affect craniofacial growth patterns in children, increase muscle tension in your face and neck—resulting in headaches and jaw pain—promote mouth breathing, lead to dental crowding and speech problems, cause sleep disturbances, and alter the swallowing pattern.
Correct Mouth Posture
Position of mouth and lips at rest matters. Open mouths promote mouth breathing with its negative affects and incorrect tongue placement with all of its negative affects leading to compounded jaw/facial pain, muscle tension, digestive issues, anxiety, orthodontic issues and much more.
Normalized Swallow
The pattern of a swallow matters. An incorrect swallow can lead to facial muscle tension, digestive issues, choking, gagging, dental crowding and orthodontic relapse (needing braces again).
What are common causes of OMDs?
Tethered Oral Tissues
Also known as tongue-ties and lip-ties. The connecting tissues that hold the tongue and lips in place can be too short and/or too thick to allow normal function. Often a surgical procedure called a frenectomy along with Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, can restore mobility and function.
Chronic Congestion
Untreated allergies and chronic sickness cause congestion that leads to mouth breathing. The younger mouth breathing begins, the more serious the negative effects become. Unfortunately, breathing through the mouth sends signals to the sinuses to create more mucous!
Poor, Soft Diets
Cultural changes have led to the consumption of more processed foods that do not require much chewing. The act of chewing, especially as toddlers, creates good muscle tone in the muscles of the face and tongue that is needed for proper facial development.
Traditional Orthodontics
Conventional orthodontics focus on aesthetics and perfect tooth alignment using methods that create less space for the tongue often making the mouth and airway smaller. Airway focused orthodontics create more space for the tongue and aim to alleviate Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders.
Toxic Oral Habits
Sucking and chewing habits often begin in childhood. Baby bottles and pacifiers alter the natural sucking pattern of infants. Thumb sucking, nail biting, and chewing on non-food items alter craniofacial growth leading to dental crowding and breathing issues.
Small Airways & Enlarged tonsils/adenoids
Insufficient airways can be the root of snoring and mouth breathing. Tonsils and adenoids can become enlarged by mouth breathing but sometimes need to be removed to improve and/or prevent progression to sleep apnea.
