Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) can be beneficial for those that show signs of orofacial myofunctional disorders. These are atypical, adaptive patterns that emerge when normal patterns are not present in the orofacial complex. When these dysfunctional movements become habitual, it can cause a variety of issues.

Examples and symptoms of disorders include:

• A routine habit of resting with the lips and/or jaws apart
• A forward and low resting posture of the tongue between or against the teeth
• Thumb and finger sucking habits
• Other harmful oral habits like grinding, nail biting, etc.
• Tongue thrust
• Tongue tie
• Mouthbreathing

Orofacial myofunctional disorders can be related to and contribute to different medical and dental disorders, which include:

• Abnormal growth of facial skeleton
• Malocclusion
• Difficulty chewing and swallowing
• Periodontal disorders
• Orthodontic relapse
• TMJ issues
• Sleep apnea

Orofacial myofunctional therapy treats the source of the problem, not just the symptoms. Therapy helps to correct dysfunction of the muscles of the tongue, lips, and jaw so that the muscles are balanced and are working together to create a healthy rest posture. When we have healthy rest posture, we have balance of proper form and proper function. Therapy optimizes our natural function of breathing, chewing, swallowing, and speaking, which can positively affect occlusion, joint movement, sleep, skeletal growth, and orthodontic treatment.