Mouth exercises for young smiles

Oral Motor Therapy in Highland, IN

Feeding time and speech challenges often result from oral motor problems. The good news is that clinical studies show that early intervention is highly effective at improving oral function in children with developmental concerns. Dr. Halum and his team at Dentistry for Children are pleased to offer oral motor therapy to young children in Highland, IN, and the surrounding communities. We invite you to visit our kid-friendly office to find out more about our strategies for guiding oral motor development to help your little one thrive.

Does Your Child Have Oral Motor Development Concerns?

Oral motor development concerns can result in a child having difficulty with eating or drinking. Your little one may have trouble sucking, chewing, or swallowing due to challenges with coordinating the movements needed for these activities. Your child may gag during feeding or may struggle to learn how to eat off a spoon. More subtle signs of oral motor concerns include the avoidance of foods with certain textures that may be more difficult to chew or swallow, often leading to a limited diet and nutritional deficiencies. 

Young children with oral motor problems often have speech delays. They may have difficulty producing certain sounds or words, making their speech difficult to understand. Your little one may struggle to imitate sounds or have challenges following verbal instructions. Oral motor problems may also lead to respiratory concerns, including difficulty breathing, which is why your little one may cough, splutter, or make choking sounds, especially when eating, drinking, or speaking.

Additional Signs and Symptoms of Oral Motor Concerns in Young Children

Aside from eating, speech, and respiratory concerns, the following are signs and symptoms of oral motor concerns in young children: 

  • Low Muscle Tone: A child with low muscle tone may have weak muscles in the mouth that interfere with performing oral motor activities.
  • Excessive Drooling: A child with oral motor problems may drool excessively because of challenges with controlling the muscles in the mouth and throat.
  • Poor Lip Closure: A child may find it difficult to keep the lips closed, another cause of drooling and problems with drinking, feeding, and speech.
  • Tongue Thrusting: Thrusting the tongue forward is common to children with oral motor problems and can interfere with speech and feeding.
  • Poor Oral Hygiene: A child may be hypersensitive and dislike teeth brushing, leading to oral health concerns.
  • Extreme Sensitivity: Children may be over-sensitive to certain food textures, tastes, or temperatures and may be uncomfortable having their faces touched or their mouths cleaned.
  • Oral Motor Movement Challenges: A child may have difficulty coordinating the movements needed for certain activities, such as kissing, blowing bubbles, or making certain facial expressions.

If your child demonstrates any of these signs and symptoms of oral motor difficulties, make sure to contact Dentistry for Children and schedule a consultation. Dr. Halum will evaluate your little one's oral motor development and outline any needed therapy or interventions to get your child on track to healthy development. Early intervention is key to ensuring the best possible outcomes.

What Are the Causes of Oral Motor Problems in Young Children?

Oral motor problems in young children can result from various factors, including the following: 

  • Premature Birth: Premature babies often have underdeveloped muscles in the mouth and throat, increasing the risk of oral motor problems, which can impact their ability to feed or learn to speak. 
  • Developmental Delays: Children who are not meeting their developmental milestones often have trouble with oral motor functions, including sucking, swallowing, chewing, and speech development.
  • Structural Concerns: Some structural concerns, including lip ties, tongue ties, and cleft palate, can interfere with a child's oral motor function, leading to difficulties with eating or speech.
  • Neurological Disorders: Some neurological disorders resulting from conditions such as cerebral palsy may result in oral motor problems due to difficulties with muscle control and coordination. 
  • Prolonged Bottle or Pacifier Use: Using a baby bottle or pacifier for extended periods can interfere with a child's normal oral motor development, leading to oral motor dysfunction.

It is sometimes hard to pinpoint the exact cause of oral motor problems in young children. A thorough evaluation by our team at Dentistry for Children will help identify any underlying concerns and guide appropriate intervention to help your child thrive.

Evaluating Your Child's Oral Motor Development

We will start by asking you about your child's medical history and your concerns. Make sure you let us know about any observations because even the most subtle signs and symptoms of oral motor difficulties can help us determine the best course of action to help your child. 

During your little one's oral motor assessment, we will check for signs of low muscle tone or weakness in the lips, jaws, and tongue. We will also evaluate how your child can coordinate mouth movements by imitating actions such as smiling, frowning, puckering the lips, or moving the tongue from side to side. Depending on age, we may ask your child to repeat strings of sounds as fast as possible and demonstrate activities such as licking a lollipop or drinking through a straw. 

Depending on your child's needs, we may create a custom treatment plan to address oral motor difficulties. Dr. Halum will outline the best solutions to guide your child to healthy growth and development.

What Is Oral Motor Therapy?

Oral motor therapy is designed to improve the control, strength, placement, and coordination of oral structures and the muscles in the tongue, lips, cheeks, jaw, and throat. It is typically recommended for younger children who are not yet ready for myofunctional therapy because they lack the needed maturity and understanding. Oral motor therapy will help your child chew and swallow food more effectively, improve speech and language development, and engage in other oral motor activities more easily.

What Does Oral Motor Therapy Involve?

If your child requires oral motor therapy, we typically start with oral motor exercises to strengthen or improve the coordination of the oral muscles and to train them for proper positioning. Not only are these therapy sessions fun, but they also have an incredible impact on your child's health and quality of life. 

Some of the activities you can expect include blowing bubbles through various blowers, blowing balloons, using straws for drinking, licking lollipops in different positions, puckering the lips, making silly faces, whistling, and other mouth games. Your little one's therapy will move to more challenging tasks designed to increase muscle strength and improve oral movements for chewing and speaking.

Depending on your child's unique needs, oral motor therapy may involve sensory stimulation to improve oral sensory awareness and tolerance. Activities may include exploring and playing with different food textures or engaging in activities involving various oral sensations. Oral motor therapy may also include intervention to help your little one develop strategies to chew and swallow more effectively.

Home Exercises

An essential component of your child's oral motor therapy is home exercises to reinforce what we accomplish at our office. We will provide you with specific exercises and activities to work on with your little one between therapy sessions. Keep in mind that oral motor exercise should never feel like a chore. Make this a fun and playful time for you and your child. 

The following are examples of oral motor exercises you can do at home to help your little one's oral motor development:

  • Blowing Bubbles: Blowing bubbles is a fun, messy activity that helps improve lip strength and control. Your little one will love to blow bubbles into a cup of water or use a bubble wand to blow bubbles outdoors.
  • Using a Straw: Drinking through a straw will help your child improve lip, tongue, and cheek muscle strength. The next time you offer water or a smoothie, make sure your little one practices drinking out of a straw.
  • Tongue Exercises: Have your little one push the tongue against the roof of the mouth, then relax and repeat. Wiggling the tongue back and forth, up and down, and side to side to help strengthen the tongue muscle.
  • Chewing Gum: Chewing gum is an excellent way to improve jaw strength and control. Choose sugar-free gum and supervise your child while chewing.
  • Cheek Puffing and Lip Smacking: Have your child puff out their cheeks and slowly release the air. Next, practice smacking the lips together, like when eating a delicious treat.

Before starting exercises at home, talk to Dr. Halum and your trusted team at Dentistry for Children to ensure the activities are appropriate for your child's unique needs. We are always happy to answer your questions and are here to support your little one's health and development every step of the way.

Oral Motor Therapy Near Me in Highland, IN

If you would like to learn more about oral motor therapy, contact Dentistry for Children to schedule a consultation. Dr. Halum and his team are dedicated to overcoming oral motor development difficulties to enhance your child's health and quality of life. You can count on our team for cutting-edge care for long-term healthy smiles.   

We invite you to call us at 219-924-5437 to schedule an appointment to get your child's oral motor development on track!

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