Orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs) are atypical, adaptive patterns which emerge when there is an absence of normal patterns in the orofacial musculature.  The regular presence of these maladaptive patterns can negatively impact the development of the facial structures and the airway.  

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Some examples of OMDs include:

• Open mouth posture (frequently having your lips apart at rest throughout the day)

• Mouth breathing (frequently breathing through your mouth rather than your nose)

• Noxious oral habits (e.g., nail biting, thumb sucking, etc.)

• Tongue Thrust

• Low tongue resting posture

• Forward tongue resting posture (tongue touching back of front teeth at rest)

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The primary goal of myofunctional therapy is to obtain correct oral rest posture which includes: lips together, teeth just slightly apart, and tongue resting in the roof of the mouth.

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It may be hard to imagine at first that something like having your lips closed and your tongue resting in your palate could really have that big of an impact on your overall health.  However, a lack of proper rest posture can have a cascade of effects on other areas of the body. 

Did you know that the roof of the mouth is the floor of the nose and that the tongue resting on the palate helps to shape that area?  When the tongue fails to rest where it should a high and/or narrow palate is often a result.  A high/narrow palate can result in reduced airway space in the nasal cavity.  If you have difficulty breathing through your nose you may begin to find yourself breathing through your mouth more frequently.  If you're breathing through your mouth you can't have your tongue resting where it should (it would get in the way of the air coming in).  So, you reinforce that low tongue resting posture.  That open mouth posture will very likely cause your lower jaw to not grow as it should and could lead to issues such as malocclusion or TMJ dysfunction.  Let's also not forget that narrow palate means less room for your teeth to grow in as they should.  Oh, and remember that air you're still breathing through your mouth?  It turns out that the nose was designed to moisten, warm, and filter air in a way that the mouth was never meant to.  So, when you mouth breathe, you wind up with dirty air particles potentially disrupting your gut health, or you may wind up with inflamed tonsils (which only make it harder for you to breathe as efficiently as you should)...and the cycle continues...  

The above are just some examples of how the often overlooked resting posture of the mouth can have unintended consquences on more than just that area.  You are not simply made up of an arm, a leg, a nose, some teeth...you are a complex human being with highly connected structures which both send and receive input from each other.  Therefore, we cannot continue to focus on health in such an isolated fashion.  Myofunctional therapy emphasizes looking at the whole picture, and utilizing a team approach, so that all the appropriate professionals you need can be on board to help you obtain better health...not through myopic interventions, not by sticking a bandaid on the issue and only addressing the observable symptoms, but by trying to discover the root issue and targeting that.

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