Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy is an interdisciplinary practise that works with the muscles of the lips, tongue, cheeks and face and their related functions (breathing, sucking, chewing, swallowing and aspects of speech development).
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy aims to correct disorders of the muscles and functions of the face, mouth, lips, or jaw -known as orofacial myofunctional disorders, which are very common in childhood. In fact, the incidence is as high as 81% in children exhibiting speech/articulation problems (Kellum, 1992). OMT does this by essentially re-educating and re-patterning oral and facial muscles.
Oro = mouth facial = face myo = muscle functional = how it works together
10 main body functions that impact on mouth and facial development include;
Mouth breathing
Breastfeeding
Muscle tone
Body posture
Oral rest position
Atypical swallowing
Limited or incorrect chewing
Oral habits e.g. thumb and dummy sucking
Soft tissue restrictions e.g. tongue and lip ties
Airway obstructions e.g. enlarged tonsils and adenoids
Top 10 indicators of orofacial myofunctional disorders;
Slow speech therapy progress
Mouth breathing
Tongue tie
Thumb or dummy suckers
Drooling
Poor sleepers
Behavioural issues
Messy or fussy eater
Dentition and palate growth
Allergies