What is OMT?
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy is neurological re-education (physical therapy) that focuses on the muscles of the mouth, face, and throat.
By strengthening these muscles, learning proper function and from, improvements can be made to breathing, speaking, chewing and swallowing.
Myofunctional Therapy can help with many of these issues, ensuring that the tongue remains in the correct resting position, the mouth remains closed, the lips remain sealed for improved nasal breathing and proper swallowing is performed.
WHAT IS OMT?
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy
MOUTH BREATHING
We were designed to breathe out of our noses. Mouth breathing can lead to many health complications. Myofunctional therapy can help master this habit in order to breathe properly and efficiently.
SNORING/SLEEP APNEA
Sleep disruptions can be detrimental to your health. So is stopping the flow of oxygen to your brain! There are solutions to getting a better nights sleep with myo therapy.
TONGUE TIE
If the tongue is anchored to the floor of your mouth, there is restricted range of movement. This tongue tie makes it difficult to nasal breathe, articulate speech, and swallow properly. Myo therapy shows proper tongue position and helps rehab the tongue if release is necessary.
SPEECH
When the tongue and lips are weak it can be difficult to properly articulate speech. Even more challenging is if a tongue-tie is involved. Myofunctional therapy focuses on muscle function to help you ard your speech therapist achieve your goals.
THUMB SUCKING
The mouth is pliable and when thumb or finger sucking occurs the shape of the arch is remodeled, creating orthodontic challenges such as an open bite or crossbite. Quitting the habit is the first step, but it is also very important to learn new habits and retrain the tongue. I encourage that parents seek Myofunctional Therapy to stop a child’s habit before the baby teeth start to fall out.
TONGUE THRUST
A tongue thrust pushes the tongue forward when swallowing, Often times this pushing the teeth forward causes the patient to swallow air and leads to misaligned bites. Correcting a tongue thrust is important for orthodontic success and gastrointestinal impovement.
ORTHODONTICS
Straightening teeth is a challenge on its own. If there is a tongue thrust swallowing pattern on top of crowding it can be an uphill battle. Habits such as tongue thrusting, low resting tongue posture, and thumb sucking can be corrected so that orthodontic work can be long-lasting and successful.
DIGESTIVE ISSUES
Aerophagia, or air swallowing, causes many digestive disturbances in patients. An improper swallowing pattern, caused by a tongue thrust, results in swallowing air. This can lead to stomach pains and other digestive problems.
HEADACHES
Headaches can be caused by jaw pain, posture and sleep disruptions. Myofunctional therapy often helps to improve or eliminate headaches stemming from temporomandibular pain, poor sleep and bad posture.
JAW JOINT PAIN
In order for the jaw joint to be completely supported, the tongue needs to rest properly in the roof of the mouth When the tongue is low, the condyle shifts forward and can cause jaw pain for patients.