Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder
What is an OMD?
Orofacial myofunctional disorder refers to improper function of the facial muscles, tongue and mouth. OMDs may directly or indirectly affect facial growth and development, chewing, swallowing, speech articulation, occlusion, oral hygiene, stability of orthodontic treatment, facial esthetics and more. Several factors can contribute to OMDs, one being inherited muscle patterns. Another is airway obstruction.
Signs & Symptoms
Symptoms of OMDs
Symptoms of orofacial myofunctional disorders can be very obvious or happen over a period of time and be unclear. Certain habits or conditions can interfere with proper actions of orofacial muscles causing OMD. These muscles include cheeks, jaw, lips and tongue. When these muscles function incorrectly due to habits or conditions, it can lead to improper development. This atypical development causes the muscles to have incorrect adaptations and not work in balance which can cause a variety of problems.
Do you suffer from any of the following?
- Mouth Breathing
- Orthodontic Relapse
- Chronic Tension
- Mood Disorders
- Jaw Pain
- Toxic Oral Habits
- Tongue Thrust
Snoring
- Chronic Headaches
Grinding
Swallowing Difficulty
Poor Posture
Sleep Apnea
Tongue-Tie
Speech Problems
- Our Program
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy Program
Goals of the Program
Our Program is appropriate for children, teens and adults. Program goals are individualized and are meant to create new healthy oral habits. The benefit of healthy habits can include nasal breathing, a proper swallow pattern, favorable resting tongue position and preserving orthodontic results from this program.
This program is comprehensive and covers a variety of oral problems. This program helps reverse damaging habits, such as tongue thrust. This program can last from six months to a year. The objective of this program is to eliminate bad habits, demonstrate therapeutic facial exercises, develop proper lip seal and tongue placement and teach chewing and swallowing patterns to reinforce good habits. These goals will help the structures in the mouth stay in balance and habitualizing the learned behaviors is most important for long term success.
Let’s Change Things
Orofacial Myofunctional Programs has helped literally thousands of individuals, in dozens of countries, for over 50 years!
Bernalea performed a comprehensive orofacial assessment for my son. Her input was crucial to inform our decision to proceed with palatal expanders, after receiving differing opinions from two orthodontists. She is very detailed, knowledgeable and answered my questions very clearly. She is very personable and helped my son feel very comfortable during the evaluation. We are looking forward to starting myofunctional therapy with her once the expanders are removed.
We had an excellent experience with Bernalea Liesse, RDH, COM® at Elite Myofunctional Therapy, LLC. She is extremely knowledgeable and took the time to thoroughly explain our daughter’s airway and oral development, including tongue posture and expansion options. She clearly walked us through the different paths forward without any pressure, which we truly appreciated. Her approach is thoughtful, holistic, and evidence-based, and she provided practical at-home recommendations we could start immediately. As a parent, I felt heard, supported, and well informed. It’s clear that she genuinely cares about her patients and families, and I would highly recommend her to anyone seeking myofunctional therapy or airway-focused care.
We absolutely love Mrs. B! She was so helpful in working with our busy schedule offering video appts on school afternoons when we had to run to a practice to keep my daughter on track with her therapy. Our orthodontist was amazed at the progress my daughter made in such a short time. Would definitely recommend!
Bernalea is amazing! Although my son isn’t old enough yet for myofunctional therapy, she still took the time to read my concerns and everything I’ve already done for him. She even set up a video appointment and offered her advice. She was the first to recommend LAFTR and a MyoMunchee, and she has stayed in contact with me to get updates on my baby. She is truly a blessing to me and my family!