Orofacial Myofunctional Training Review

I cannot believe December has come and gone. I wanted to update you a little about my training in Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy. It was the most intensive four day brain workout that I have ever had. The only thing that it can compare to was the board review I went to my senior year of hygiene school. My eyes have been opened and I feel like I have been practicing blind for the last four years. I will do a series of information for you so that if you are interested in OMT (Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy) as a career you can learn more about it. More importantly so that myofunctional disorders can be recognized and proper referral given to help your patients. For now, here is a run down on what the course was like.

It was taught by Joy Moeller and Licia Paskay. There were some incredible people in my class. Several hygienists, about a handful of speech therapists, four general dentists that also did ortho in their practice, an orthodontist from El Salvador, a cranial osteopathic doctor, and Patrick McKewn from Ireland that has written several books on the Buteyko method of breathing. Needless to say, I was lucky to be part of such a dynamic group and gleaned SO MUCH information from them.

This was so different than any other experience I have ever had attending a CE course. Every single person there was forward-thinking, passionate, kind, generous, and welcoming. Nobody was there to simply gain CE to renew a license, brag about themselves, or challenge the speaker. It was this great group of professionals coming together to seek information to help patients and it made the class so enjoyable. Joy and Licia were incredible teachers. They knew the information inside-out and backwards and were still very welcoming to any comments or suggestions by the participants. We started at 8:00am and worked diligently until 5:00pm. We did enjoy an hour lunch everyday getting to know our classmates and found ourselves continuously talking about OMT. The Academy did arrange for us to have a couple of little social gatherings at local museums for appetizers and a private tour of the exhibits. It created a sense of camaraderie and a nice little break from the hours of learning.

The course was very thorough and very informative. It covered so much information. We started with a review of head and neck anatomy with detailed focus on muscles. We discussed the proper function and pathology associated with myofunctional disorders. We learned a plethora of exercises to correct myofunctional disorders, how to work with an interdisciplinary team and how to create a business as a therapist or how to incorporate the information into an existing dental practice. Joy and Licia made absolutely sure that we knew how to teach the exercise and how to do it ourselves. Upon completing the course I felt confident that I knew how to create a program to help patients with myofunctional disorders and comfortably understand the scope of practice,

The really fun part of my course- spending time with some of my new friends. I immediately hit it off with four people in the course and we spent our evenings doubled over in laughter. We even got in trouble the first evening because we were being too loud in the hotel lobby late into the evening. It was actually only 8:30pm but we were at the Tiverton House which is a hotel for UCLA medical center patients. It became the running joke of the weekend. It felt so good to laugh so hard and feel so comfortable with these people even though we just met. I imagine our whirlwind romance of the weekend will continue to be great friendships. There is just nothing like being with a group of girls yucking it up.

It was a great weekend. Now a month later, I still think about it nearly everyday. I have been on vacation much of the month and have not treated any patients yet. I have established a young boy I am going to work with first and have a little cousin with a tongue thrust that I am anxious to tackle.