Dental hygienists and Speech Language Pathologists are highly educated professionals who screen for  health problems for optimum care for our patients. We are trained to be the soft tissue specialists in our  respective fields, and we have to ability to screen for many oral disorders. SPOTS is the acronym  developed by the speaker to aid the clinician in easily identifying myofunctional disorders in the clinical  setting. We will look at how Speech, Posture, Occlusion, Tethered oral tissues, and Swallow affect our  patients. This includes myofunctional disorders which are prevalent in our society today with our fast-food  diets and technology-driven lives. The participant will also get a look into myofunctional therapy, which is  an individualized program designed for neuromuscular re-education and coordination of the orofacial  musculature for good speech and swallow, and to restore the correct rest posture of the tongue and lips,  which is critical for good oral development and normalizing function. Many times, myofunctional therapy  also enhances breathing and numerous studies have shown its efficacy in assisting sleep apnea patients,  making their CPAPs more effective. 
 

Participants will be able to: 

1. Identify how speech, posture,  occlusion, tethered oral tissues and swallow can affect oral and facial development

2. Apply the SPOTS screening tool for their clinical  practice and patient education

3. Identify how TMJ disorders can be affected by  myofunctional influences

4. Define how the position of the tongue, and its functions,  affect the orofacial structures and body posture 

 

Instructor Details and Financial Disclosure 

• Patricia Brinkman-Falter BSDH, PHRDH, MS, COM 

Registration

• Online ONLY for 1 learner -- Access to Online Course for 365 Days/1 Year (-hour CE course, downloadable handout, certificate of completion)

Timed Agenda

•  5 min Overview
• 15 min Tongue functions related to speech
• 20 min Posture and airway
• 20 min Occlusion and TMJ implications  
• 20 min Tethered oral tissues, identification, and their consequences
• 20 min Swallow dysfunctions
• 10 min Case studies and results
• 10 min Questions

LEARNER SUPPORT AND FAQs

HOW TO VIEW AND ACCESS YOUR COURSE + DEADLINES

Content Disclosure: This presentation will focus on treatment methods related to the use of TalkTools® resources. Other similar treatment approaches will receive limited or no coverage during this lecture.

Satisfactory Completion:

To receive a Certificate of Completion learners must: attend the entirety of the course; complete the course quiz with a passing score of 80% accuracy or higher and complete the course completion survey. Learners must request to be reported to ASHA CE.
 

It is the learner's responsibility to review, understand and agree to TalkTools® Training Policies (CEUs, copyright/distribution, cancellation). 

Getting You Tech-Ready for Your TalkTools® Course 

Images copyrighted and published by TalkTools®. No copyright infringement intended with any other images displayed; similar content appears elsewhere on the internet