What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy and Why Does it Matter?
Myofunctional therapy is an exercise-based therapy that helps to treat Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs). It targets the muscles of the tongue, lips, cheeks, and jaw to optimize their function and coordination.
The main goals often include:
Nasal Breathing
Proper Tongue Rest Posture
Adequate Lip Seal
Correct Swallow Pattern
Increasing Strength and Awareness of Articulators
Wait so what is a Myofunctional Disorder?
According to the International Association of Orofacial Myology, OMDs are ‘atypical, adaptive patterns that emerge in the absence of normalized patterns within the orofacial complex. The regular presence of these adaptive movements can often result in a variety of disturbances.
Here are some common symptoms:
mouth breathing
improper alignment of the teeth
messy eating
snoring
difficulty with speech (e.g., lisp)
pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
How does someone develop an OMD?
There are a lot of factors that could play into causing a myofunctional disorder, and most often it is a combination of factors. Some factors could be:
restricted nasal airway due to enlarged tonsils/adenoids, deviated septum, allergies
improper oral habits such as thumb or finger sucking, cheek/nail/cuticle biting, teeth clenching/grinding, and tongue/lip/cheek sucking
extended use of a pacifier and/or long-term use of sippy cups
structural or physiological abnormalities such as a tongue tie or lip tie
neurological deficits and/or developmental delays
hereditary predisposition
I feel like I understand what myofunctional therapy is, but my child needs help with speech so why is this relevant?
Well, in my experience, treating the symptom does not give you the same results as when you treat the cause. For example, I can teach a child how to keep their tongue inside for their ‘s’ and ‘z’, but… if the airway is restricted or the tongue does not have the habit and muscle memory of staying up along the palate, the tongue will quickly go back to moving forward between the teeth and the lisp will return.
Hopefully this was helpful, and if you feel like you need more support you can reach out and book a session with me, I would love to help!
