What causes Myofunctional Disorders?

It is often difficult to identify a single cause for an orofacial myofunctional disorder. Most OMDs involve a combination of factors that may include:

• Deviate rest positioning of the tongue, mouth breathing

• Improper oral habits such as thumb or finger sucking, cheek or nail biting

• Pacifier (ab)use

• An airway restriction from enlarged tonsils or adenoids

• Allergies or anatomical deviations involving the nasal cavity or pharynx

• Structural or physiological abnormalities such as short lingual frenulum

• Neurological and sensory-neural developmental delays or abnormalities

• Hereditary predisposition to any of the above factors