What is Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy? 

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy involves an individualized program to help the patient retrain these adaptive muscle function patterns and create and maintain a healthy orofacial environment. Treatment goals may include the following

​

• Normalize tongue and lip resting postures

• Establish nasal breathing pattern                                                                                                                      

• Eliminate improper chewing and swallowing patterns                                                                              

• Stabilize the dentition from extraneous orofacial muscle movement

​

 Address harmful oral habits including:

• Prolonged pacifier use                                                                                                                      

• Thumb and/or finger sucking     

• Fingernail, cheek, or lip biting                                                                                                             

• Tongue sucking                                                                                                                                                 

• Clenching or grinding of the teeth

​

Myofunctional therapy is an effective treatment option for both children and adults. Recent research has shown that myofunctional therapy may also reduce the symptoms of sleep disordered breathing, such as snoring, and obstructive sleep apnea. The purpose of myofunctional therapy is to retrain the orofacial muscles and to obtain an optimal resting posture of the tongue, lips and jaw. The approach to myofunctional therapy emphasizes training of the correct postures of the tongue and lips, with the ultimate goal of proper nasal breathing.