OMD refers to the abnormal resting posture of the orofacial musculature, atypical chewing, and swallowing patterns, dental malocclusions, blocked nasal airways, and speech problems.
[2] OMD are patterns involving oral and/or orofacial musculature that interferes with normal growth, development, or function of structures, or calls attention to itself.
In children, tongue thrusting is common due to immature oral behavior, narrow dental arch, prolonged upper respiratory tract infections, spaces between the teeth (diastema), muscle weakness, malocclusion, abnormal sucking habits, and open mouth posture due to structural abnormalities of genetic origin.
The tongue lies low in the mouth or oral cavity and is typically forwarded between upper and lower teeth.
Other causes of open-mouth posture are the weakness of lip muscles, overall lack of tone in the body or hypotonia, and prolonged/chronic allergies of the respiratory tract.
An orofacial myofunctional therapist reeducates the movement of muscles including teaching the client how to breathe properly, restore correct swallowing patterns, and establish adequate labial-lingual postures.
[3][5][6] An interdisciplinary nature of treatment is always desirable to reach functional goals in terms of swallowing, speech, and other aesthetic factors.
The teams include an orthodontist, dental hygienist, certified orofacial myologist, general dentist, otorhinolaryngologist, and a speech-language pathologist.