Myo / Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders (OMDs)
Orthodontists have documented their concerns about OMD’s since the early 1900’s. Failure to address an OMD can result in:
- Long term mouth-breathing patterns that compromise learning, dental health, sleep, and overall health
- Sleep disordered breathing such as snoring, struggling to breathe, restless sleep, bedwetting, screaming, excessive sleepiness, teeth grinding
- Poor oral habits that impede further growth and development
- Poor attention or organization
- Need to fidget or move
- Frequent illness and/or nasal congestion
- Atypical chewing and swallowing (noisy or messy eating, tongue thrust pattern)
- Poor alignment of the teeth
- Poor jaw growth and facial structure development
- Slowing or relapsing of orthodontic treatment
- Poor stability and function of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
- Articulation distortions and/or delayed language
- Picky eating patterns due to poor oral coordination early in life
- Negative affects on social relationships due to open mouth postures while eating
As patients age, a variety of body pain issues arise due to muscle compensations, such as chronic facial, neck and back pain; headaches; tooth grinding and clenching; as well as temperomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJD or TMD).
Want to know more about OMDs? We’d love to tell you more!