Oral Myofunctional Therapy
Oral Myofunctional Disorder (OMD)
OMD is when the muscles of a child’s mouth, jaw, lips, and tongue are not working together the way they should.
When these muscles don’t move or rest properly, it can affect everyday skills like eating, drinking, speaking, sleeping, and breathing— over time, it can even shape the way a child’s face and teeth develop.
Identifying what's driving the pattern is just as important as treating the pattern itself.
The goal isn't just to "fix" symptoms — it's to build lasting changes in how the oral muscles function, so the results hold long-term.
Does this sound like your child?
Common signs of an OMD include:
Open mouth posture or mouth breathing
Snoring or sleep-disordered breathing
Prolonged bedwetting
Drooling past the typical age
Difficulty with speech sounds — especially /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, /r/, /l/, /t/, /d/, /n/
Picky eating or messy eating
Difficulty chewing or swallowing
Using liquids to "wash down" food
Trouble swallowing pills
Thumb sucking, finger sucking, or prolonged pacifier use
Tongue tie or other tethered oral tissues
Teeth grinding or clenching
Crooked teeth, open bite, or orthodontic relapse
If several of these sound familiar, your child may benefit from a myofunctional evaluation.
The Picky Eating Connection
Not all picky eating is behavioral. When the muscles of the mouth, jaw, and tongue aren't working efficiently, eating becomes hard and kids will avoid the foods that feel difficult, take too long, or feel unsafe to chew and swallow.
Signs that picky eating may be linked to an OMD:
Avoiding chewy or tough textures (meat, raw vegetables)
Pocketing food in the cheeks
Taking forever to finish a meal
Needing liquids to wash food down
Gagging, choking, or coughing during meals
Preferring soft, easy-to-swallow foods well past the typical age
When we address the underlying muscle function, eating gets easier — and the "pickiness" often resolves on its own.
The Tongue-Teeth Connection
up to 66% of children (and adults) who undergo orthodontic treatment have a Myofunctional Swallowing Disorder.
When a child swallows correctly, the tongue presses up into the roof of the mouth. But when it pushes forward against the teeth instead — hundreds of times a day — that constant pressure can shift teeth out of alignment and undo the results of braces after they come off.
The teeth aren't the problem. The tongue pattern is.
The Speech Connection
81% of people with a myofunctional swallow pattern struggle with sounds that require tongue tip elevation — /s/, /z/, /sh/, /ch/, /t/, /d/, /n/, /r/, /l/.
These speech errors are notoriously stubborn — children can spend years in traditional therapy with little progress because no one identified the underlying tongue pattern. When we correct the muscle function first, the sounds often follow.
What Does Myofunctional Therapy Look Like?
Myofunctional therapy is a structured, individualized program designed to retrain the muscles of the mouth, jaw, lips, and tongue. It's a bit like physical therapy — for the mouth.
Our therapy focuses on:
Strengthening the muscles of the lips, cheeks, and tongue
Establishing correct tongue resting position
Training correct swallowing patterns
Jaw stabilization and coordination
Eliminating habits that maintain the disorder
Supporting nasal breathing and proper airway use
Will Myofunctional Therapy help my child? Lets find out.
If your child has been in speech therapy without progress, is heading into or out of orthodontic treatment, mouth breathes, or shows several of the signs listed above, a myofunctional evaluation can help identify what's really going on!
Schedule a consultation below!