Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs)
Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs) are disorders of the muscles and functions of the face and mouth. Using your facial muscles incorrectly can lead to certain OMDs.
OMDs
Incorrect Swallowing
Improper Swallowing can cause a variety of problems. A person swallows 500-1000 times a day. When a person swallows incorrectly the tip and/ or sides of the tongue press against or spread between the teeth. This opportunistic behavior is commonly called tongue thrust, which causes serious dental problems and/ or impact the effectiveness of treatments by orthodontists, dentists, dental hygienist, speech-language pathologists, and other professionals working in the orofacial area.
Often, incorrect swallowing lead to improper alignment between the upper and lower teeth known as malocclusion. This problem leads to TMJ, periodontal disease, bad oral hygiene, improper biting, difficulties in digestion of food and cosmetic problems.
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Tongue Thrust
Tongue thrust is the act of pushing the tongue against or between the teeth when swallowing. If left untreated can lead to problems with:
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- The effectiveness of orthodontic treatments
- Oral hygiene
- Overall health
- Swallowing
- Speech
- Digestion
- Occlusion
Facial Grimace
An incorrect swallow will purse and tighten the muscles of the cheeks, chin, and lips causing a facial grimace. This can give the chin a knobby appearance because these muscles are being overused.
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Thumb Sucker
Poor oral habits include a wide spectrum of habits including, thumb sucking, finger sucking, blanket sucking, tongue sucking, soother/pacifier use, lip sucking, lip licking, mouth breathing, and nail biting, among others. When a child sucks their thumb, they reshape the palate and therefore the foundational structures of the mouth and face.
We provide you with a proven behavioral modification program to eliminate your child’s poor oral habits.
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Sluggish Appearance
The sluggish appearance of the face is caused by improper functioning of facial muscles, leading to reduced expressions and lack of tone.
Working with a trained facial therapist or myofunctional therapist can help identify muscle issues and implement personalized exercises to improve facial muscle function, restoring a more vibrant appearance.
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Open Bite
The constant pressure of the tongue against or between the teeth will not allow the teeth to bite together. This know an open bite. This issue can be seen in front teeth (anterior) and/ or back teeth (posterior).
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Improper Tongue Position
Improper tongue position, often caused by tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) or an underdeveloped oral cavity, can impact overall health. Tongue-tie restricts the tongue's movement due to a tight ligament under the tongue, affecting breastfeeding and causing issues like snoring, sleep apnea, and facial malformations.
Identifying and addressing tongue-tie and related issues early on is essential to ensure proper tongue function and overall well-being.
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Weak Lip Seal
Constantly parted lips, with or without mouth breathing, can lead to various health problems. Mouth breathing may cause over-breathing, chronic hyperventilation, reduced carbon dioxide levels, narrowed airways, and the buildup of toxins. Our bodies are naturally designed for nose breathing, which stimulates the release of nitric oxide, offering antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.
Nasal breathing filters pollutants and enhances blood and oxygen flow throughout the body, preventing issues like allergies, sleep apnea, snoring, acid reflux, elevated blood pressure, periodontal disease, dehydration, teeth clenching/grinding, crooked teeth, enlarged tonsils/adenoids, as well as dry and cracked lips. Optimal breathing is achieved through nose breathing, promoting overall health and well-being.
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FAQs
This therapy goes by different names: Myofunctional therapy and orofacial myologyThis therapy is completed by therapist trained to treat disorders of the face, mouth and neck muscles.
It’s physical therapy for the tongue and all the orofacial muscles involved in swallowing, chewing and breathing. This is done through neurological re-education and re-pattern exercises.
Myofunctional exercise can be done by adults and children 5 years and older. Upon my evaluation if a short frenulum (tissue connected from the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is present, some of these exercises may be difficult to complete.
If there is a short frenulum, this can often be easily corrected in the physician’s or dentist office.
Besides all the nutritional and immunological benefits, the practice of breastfeeding stimulates the proper functioning of the structures of the mouth and face. Breast feeding strengthens the orofacial muscles of the infant, reducing risk of future problems in important functions such as breathing, swallowing and speaking.
Treatment may be indicated before, during, and/or after orthodontics. Myofunctional therapy helps balance the muscle and orofacial functions, improve the oral rest posture of the tongue and thus the stability of the orthodontic treatments by helping diminish orthodontic relapse after the removal of braces.
We offer a free 30-minute in person session or a Skype session. In this free session, we can discuss your concern and how Myofunctional therapy can help. If you decide to start treatment, we’ll schedule a comprehensive exam that last about an hour. After that, each exercise session is 30 minutes, once week for the first 8 weeks (depending on the severity and type of conditions and/or habits). After the 8 weeks, we move on to every other week and finally once a month for longer treatment programs.
It depends on the severity and type of conditions and/ or habits being addressed. Some patients need a year of therapy while others may need 6 months.
As of yet, myofunctional therapy is not a service that is covered well by insurance companies. However, I can provide you with a bill that you can submit to your insurance company.
You can give us a call at (631) 872-5748 or email us at info@airwaymyo.com and our therapist will speak with you to get the process moving.
Absolutely, we work with a team of other healthcare professionals, including dentist and orthodontist.
Orofacial Myofunctional disorders (OMDs) are disorders to the muscles and functions of the face and mouth. Most OMDs originate from a pinched or obstructed airway from an underdeveloped cranio-dental-facial skeleton. An underdevelopment happens when growth is turned off prematurely by epigenetic factors. The genes are not fully expressed, and the jaw structures do not reach full potential.
The good news is research has shown that with Orofacial Myofunctional therapy alone or as an adjunctive treatment with certain appliances help reduce and in many cases, eliminate OMDs.
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