LibGuides: Orofacial Myology: Oromandibular Disorders (OMD)

Oromandibular Disorders (OMD)--Signs, Symptoms, & Causes

Children, teenagers, and adults may suffer from OMDs. OMDS may interfere with normal growth and development of the muscles and bones of the face and mouth. OMDs may also interfere with how the muscles of the face and mouth are used for eating, talking, and breathing. People who have an OMD may also have problems with talking, swallowing, and breathing through their nose. Some children push out their tongue when they talk, drink, or eat. This is called tongue thrusting or fronting, and it is one type of OMD.

Signs and Symptoms

Just because a person has some or all of these symptoms does not mean that they have an OMD. Always see a professional for more information.

Some signs of an OMD may include the following:

Someone who always breathes through the mouth or has difficulty breathing through the nose.
Limited tongue movement.
Eating may be messy or difficult. Keep in mind that it is normal for babies to stick their tongue out and push food out of their mouth. Over time, they do this less.
An overbite, underbite, and/or other dental problems.
The tongue pushing past the teeth, even when a person is not talking or using the tongue.
Difficulty saying some sounds, like "s" in "sun," "sh" in "ship," or "j" in "jump."
Drooling, especially beyond age 2.
Difficulty closing the lips to swallow.

Causes

There is not a known, single cause of OMDs. OMDs may be caused by several factors:

Blocked nasal passages because of tonsil size or allergies. When the nasal passages are blocked, people may need to breathe through their mouth instead.
Anything that causes the tongue to be misplaced at rest or makes it difficult to keep the lips together at rest.
Sucking and chewing habits past the age of 3 years.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.). Orofacial myofunctional disorders. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Retrieved April 18, 2022, from https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/orofacial-myofunctional-disorders/

Selected Chapters--Oromandibular Disorders (OMD)

Disorders Causing Oropharyngeal Dysphagia (Ch. 3) Antonik, S.J. and Shaker, R. (2012). Disorders Causing Oropharyngeal Dysphagia. In The Esophagus (eds J.E. Richter and D.O. Castell).
Facial Weakness, Slurred Speech, and Difficulty Swallowing (Ch.13) Wang, H. and Altman, K.W. (2016). Facial Weakness, Slurred Speech, and Difficulty Swallowing. In Mount Sinai Expert Guides (eds S.C. Sealfon, R. Motiwala and C.B. Stacy).
Five Oral Motor Disorders: Habitual Tooth Clenching and Other Involuntary Oral Motor Disorders (Ch.19) Clark, G.T. and Ram, S. (2012). Five Oral Motor Disorders: Habitual Tooth Clenching and Other Involuntary Oral Motor Disorders. In Orofacial Pain (eds G.T. Clark and R.A. Dionne).
Multidisciplinary Management of Craniofacial Malformations | Cha. 8
Neurologic Diseases (Ch. 23) Stoopler, E.T. and McGarvey, M.L. (2021). Neurologic Diseases. In Burket's Oral Medicine (eds M. Glick, M.S. Greenberg, P.B. Lockhart and S.J. Challacombe).
Occlusal Dysesthesia and Dysfunction (Ch. 17) Mitrirattanakul, S., Hon, T.H., Ferreira, J.N.A.R. (2017). Occlusal Dysesthesia and Dysfunction. In: Ferreira, J., Fricton, J., Rhodus, N. (eds) Orofacial Disorders. Springer, Cham.
Oral Habits (Ch. 25) Goldstein, R.E., Curtis, J.W., Jr, Farley, B.A. and Molodtsova, D. (2018). Oral Habits. In Ronald E. Goldstein's Esthetics in Dentistry (eds R.E. Goldstein, S.J. Chu, E.A. Lee and C.F. Stappert).
Oral Habits and Their Management (Ch.11) Ayer, W. A. (2011). Oral habits and their management. In Psychology and dentistry mental health aspects of patient care (pp. 37–48). chapter, Routledge.
Orofacial Dystonias and Dyskinesias (Ch.16) Heir, G.M., de la Hoz, J.L. (2017). Orofacial Dystonias and Dyskinesias. In: Ferreira, J., Fricton, J., Rhodus, N. (eds) Orofacial Disorders. Springer, Cham.
Orofacial Dystonia and Dyskinesia (Ch. 47) Bhidayasiri, R., Tarsy, D. (2012). Orofacial Dystonia and Dyskinesia. In: Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana, Totowa, NJ.
Orofacial Dystonia with Lower Facial and Platysma Dystonia (Ch. 48) Bhidayasiri, R., Tarsy, D. (2012). Orofacial Dystonia with Lower Facial and Platysma Dystonia. In: Movement Disorders: A Video Atlas. Current Clinical Neurology. Humana, Totowa, NJ.
Physiologic and Dentofacial Effects of Mouth Breathing Compared to Nasal Breathing (Ch. 39) Taner, T., Saglam-Aydinatay, B. (2023). Physiologic and Dentofacial Effects of Mouth Breathing Compared to Nasal Breathing. In: Celebi, Ö.Ö., Önerci, T.M. (eds) Nasal Physiology and Pathophysiology of Nasal Disorders. Springer, Cham.
Temporomandibular Muscle Disorders (Ch. 15) Wright, E.F. (2017). Temporomandibular Muscle Disorders. In: Ferreira, J., Fricton, J., Rhodus, N. (eds) Orofacial Disorders. Springer, Cham.