Orofacial Myology
What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT)?
Orofacial myofunctional Therapy (OMT) reprograms muscles for proper, balanced functions. OMT specifically and systematically targets the oral, facial, and respiratory muscles to improve breathing, chewing/swallowing, and orofacial posture (the positioning of the lips, tongue, and jaws at rest). Treatment involves breath and postural re-education, facial and tongue exercises, training for chewing and swallowing, and techniques to promote habituation.
We also offer a positive and appliance-free treatment for biting and sucking habits (e.g., pacifiers, finger sucking, and nail biting) that is empowering and addresses possible reasons the habit is ongoing. Oral habits must be addressed before the start of an orofacial myofunctional therapy program.
What are the signs of an orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD)?
Some of the signs of orofacial myofunctional disorders (also known as a “myofunctional impairments”) include thumb-sucking, tongue thrusting, abnormal tongue placement at rest, open lips at rest, lip incompetence, and so on. Signs of OMDs can be present at any age.
Common signs and symptoms of OMDs include:
- Speech issues
- Oral habits, like thumbsucking, nail-biting, etc.
- Feeding issues
- Jaw pain, dysfunction, or teeth grinding
- Mouth breathing
- Open mouth rest posture
- Sleep-disordered breathing, like snoring, OSA, or UARS
Why Do You Need Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy?
OMDs can significantly impact your health and quality of life. Whether you’re eating, drinking, chewing, laughing, talking, or kissing, we need our mouths to function at their best capacity for us to experience and enjoy life! At any age, OMDs can interfere with your ability to properly eat, swallow, talk, swallow pills, and more.
Even more, OMDs can harm your child’s facial bone and muscle development, as frequent habits can alter their growing bodies. It can cause overbites, underbites, and even increase your likelihood of tooth decay and dental problems.
What You Can Expect From Our Orofacial Myology Services
At Pittsburgh Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy, LLC, we’re here to work alongside you and your other medical/dental providers to resolve these issues once and for all. We’ll take the time to get to know you or your child’s unique situation and create a customized plan for your needs.
Our orofacial myofunctional therapist will get to know your background, help you to set actionable goals, and guide you to achieve them.
By the end of our time together, you might notice fewer or absent symptoms, easier breathing, a better quality of sleep, and even improved posture.
Who can Benefit from Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy?
Thinking this might be for you? We’re here to help anyone experiencing an orofacial myofunctional disorder. Contact us about orofacial myofunctional therapy if you’re:
- Someone with speech issues who’s just not progressing through traditional speech therapy
- The parent of a child with an oral habit (thumb sucking, nail-biting, pacifier, etc.)
- The parent of a child with feeding concerns
- Someone going through endless orthodontics
- Someone with concerns of tongue or lip tie and want a functional evaluation
- Someone with jaw pain or dysfunction
- Mouth breathers or those with open mouth rest posture
- Someone with sleep-disordered breathing (snoring, OSA, or UARS)
Start Your Treatment Today
We’re ready to help you start your journey to healing, health, and happiness. If you’re ready to make a change, get in touch with us today to learn more and book your appointment.
We have expanded our services to offer much more than Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy!
We offer massage therapy and bodywork, counseling for parents and caregivers on breast and bottle feeding, TummyTime!™ classes, and infant massage classes. We also offer occupational, speech, and feeding therapy.
Learn more about all of our services here.
