Orofacial myofunctional therapy, also known as orofacial myology or just ‘myo,’ is like physical therapy or an exercise program specifically for the muscles of the tongue, mouth, and face. Myofunctional therapy uses daily stretches and exercises to reactivate, strengthen, and retrain the muscles in order to treat orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs). The goals of therapy are to create proper tongue and oral resting posture (tongue resting very lightly suctioned up in the palate, lips sealed, teeth just slightly apart), nasal breathing, and a proper swallowing pattern.

If you have OMDs (orofacial myofunctional disorders) such as open mouth posture, mouth breathing, low tongue posture, tongue-tie, tongue thrust, or an improper swallow, it can affect many other aspects of your body including improper growth and development. For children, it can cause feeding and digestive issues, sleep-disordered breathing (snoring or sleep apnea), delayed or difficulty with speech, and orthodontic concerns. If not treated early in life it can cause many more unwanted symptoms such as TMJ issues (including clenching and grinding), neck and shoulder pain, digestive issues, headaches, sleep apnea, orthodontic relapse, and other health conditions. Myofunctional therapy can encourage proper growth patterns in children, alleviate symptoms, prevent further complications and improve your quality of life.

Myofunctional therapy is an individualized plan based on you or your child’s unique concerns and OMDs. The treatment time can vary, typically anywhere from 5-12 months, depending on the age of the client, the severity of the OMDs and the commitment of the client to their exercise plan and goals.

The earlier in life you treat myofunctional impairment, the fewer symptoms and complications you will have. The age you are now is the perfect age to start! While our therapy plans are designed for adults and children ages 5+, infants and toddlers can benefit from frenectomies and exercises that encourage proper function. Also check the blog section for guides.

If you hear us talking about “the spot” it’s because this is where the tip of your tongue should be at rest; it is the small raised area just behind your front teeth on the roof of your mouth (aka the incisive papilla). We refer to the spot often during therapy, as one of our goals is to train the tongue to be in a proper resting position, which always starts with the tip of the tongue on this spot. Many people with OMD’s have low resting tongue posture and may not even be aware that their tongue should rest in the roof of their mouth. quality the easier it is for us to identify specific concerns and develop your treatment plan.

If it is determined that you have ankyloglossia (a tongue-tie) where the frenum (the small piece of tissue connecting the bottom of your tongue to the floor of your mouth), is too short or tight to allow for proper function then you may need a tongue tie release (frenectomy or functional frenuloplasty) in order to gain full movement and proper tongue function.

If it is determined that you would benefit from a release, myofunctional therapy will help prepare you for a successful release and will be critical in the healing and development of proper habits and function after the procedure.

As with any therapy or exercise program, daily practice leads to bigger gains and faster improvement in symptoms. Your level of commitment to the program is what determines your success! Typically, assigned exercises require active practice for 5-10 minutes, 2x/day (for a total of 10-20 minutes a day).

If your child doesn’t talk as much as children his/her own age, the problem may be a speech-language delay. Your doctor or teacher may be concerned about a speech-language delay if your child does NOT do the following: Say simple words clearly or unclearly at 12-15 months, understand words like “no” or “stop” by 18 months of age, talk in short sentences by 3 years of age, or tell a simple story at 4-5 years of age.  If a late elementary school (or older) child has a persistent /s/ or /r/ error (especially after intervention), then it could suggest that there is some myofunctional challenge as well.

We don’t know for sure what causes speech, language, literacy and myofunctional problems. It could be as simple as having a lot of ear infections when young or the speech/language problems could be a symptom of a larger problem. Sometimes myofunctional challenges can be caused by tongue resting posture or compromised airway (sinus issues, etc.) Regardless, it is NOT your fault.

Toddlers through high school-age, generally.  But I see some adults also for Myofunctional Therapy.

There are several areas that a speech-language pathologist will explore/evaluate:

• Speech mechanism. The mouth, tongue, nose, breathing and how they are co-ordinated and operated by muscles.  This includes myofunctional assessment when necessary.

• Phonology. The sounds that make up language.

• Syntax and grammar. The way that words and parts of words combine in phrases or sentences.

• Semantics. The meaning of sentences words and bits of words.

• Pragmatics. How language is used in different situations and how feelings are conveyed.

• Intonation and stress. The rhythm and music of the way we speak.

• Literacy. Skills related to reading, including phonological awareness, sound awareness, decoding, encoding and writing.

Yes, some insurance plans will cover therapy. We are NOT in-network providers for any plans. We will provide you with a “superbill” billing statement with applicable procedure and diagnosis codes for you to submit to your insurance plan for reimbursement. Every insurance plan is different, and some plans may reimburse a certain number of visits. You may also be able to see us as an out-of-network provider. Please check with your specific plan to obtain additional information about reimbursement.

You may be able to arrange coverage through an employee “cafeteria” plan. Under such plans, some employers offer the option to select a benefit other than traditional health insurance to reimburse additional medical expenses not usually covered by insurance, such as out of pocket expenses and deductibles. Reimbursement may be determined by IRS guidelines.

You may also be able to use a “Health Savings Account”, or HSA, in which you pay into a family savings account using pre-tax income, for items not covered by traditional insurance, and then receive reimbursement after filing the receipts or invoices. Please check with your employer about the plans available to you.

Since 2005, the IRS has allowed a deduction for medical expenses. In Publication 502 (Medical and Dental Expenses), under the topic “Special Education”, it states, “You can include in medical expenses fees you pay on a doctor’s recommendation for a child’s tutoring by a teacher who is specially trained and qualified to work with children who have learning disabilities caused by mental or physical impairments, including nervous system disorders.” For this deduction, you need a doctor’s recommendation and the fees (which can be combined with other medical expenses) must total more than 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.

Tax laws often change, so please check the current IRS regulations. The information provided above is NOT intended as professional or legal advice, but it is worth looking into! For more information visit: http://www.irs.gov

We require payment at the time of service.  All accounts have a credit card saved to the billing software and charges for sessions will be applied after a session has been provided.

We currently accept cash, check, credit cards, or connected bank accounts.