Orofacial Myology might sound
like a bit of a mouthful at first.

Orofacial Myology is about therapy for patients with inappropriate muscle function
and incorrect habits involving the tongue, jaw and face.

 

‘Orofacial’ refers to the face and mouth region while ‘myology’ is the area of medicine that’s focused on muscles and how they work. Together, these two words refer to healthcare that pays attention to treating problems of the face, jaw, and mouth by working with patients’ muscles.

Orofacial myologists are trained in recognizing problems in your muscles and working with you to overcome these by retraining the muscles to function as they should. Orofacial myology treats the cause, not just the symptoms.

Why is orofacial myofunctional therapy important?

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) can prove to be beneficial to children, teens, and adults, and corrections are usually maintained years after completing therapy. Proper muscle function may assist an orthodontist in bringing teeth together in a more desirable relationship, creating prolonged stability of occlusion. Early intervention may aid in normal dental growth and development. It can also improve adult-related issues such as oral resting posture that may be attributed to disrupted sleep, TMJ pain, and snoring.

Structural

Nasal obstruction, snoring, sleep- apnea, and tongue-tie, are symptoms of structural issues. Precision diagnostics enables our providers to identify and treat the root causes of sleep disordered breathing.

Functional

Myofunctional therapy includes facial and tongue exercises and functional modification techniques to promote proper tongue position, improved breathing, chewing, and swallowing.

Behavioural

Sleep hygiene includes syncing ones sleep with natural biological rhythms and integrating specific evidence based methods that help facilitate proper sleep and overall wellness.

Signs that you or your child might need help from an Orofacial Myologist

  • You are or were tongue-tied

  • You have airway concerns (large tonsils, snoring, etc.)

  • You breathe through your mouth (mouth breather)

  • You suck your thumb or fingers

  • Your tongue thrusts forward (tongue thrust)

  • You have an open resting lip posture

  • Your tongue rests on the bottom of your mouth or forward between your front teeth

  • You grind your teeth (especially in children)

  • You have TMJ issues

  • You have sleep disordered breathing (like snoring)

  • You have head/neck and shoulder tension

  • You have ADHD like symptoms

  • You have speech difficulties or issues

  • You have a lisp

  • You have imprecise articulation of speech sounds

  • Your child has prolonged soother use

  • You have difficulty swallowing (pills or gagging)

  • Your child avoids certain foods

  • Your child wets the bed

How I Can Help

Myofunctional therapy is a specialized treatment that focuses on improving the function and coordination of the muscles involved in chewing, swallowing, and breathing. By addressing these muscular imbalances, myofunctional therapy can effectively alleviate symptoms associated the temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).