The Importance of the Axis in the Study of Oromyofunctional Disorders—An Integrated Approach

The absence of harmony and of flexibility of the tongue and mandible is generally associated with disharmony and lack of flexibility at the level of the head and neck. At the same time, the lack of harmony and of flexibility at these levels is, in general, associated with static and/or dynamic disharmony of the axis. In Portugese, "harmony" signifies "Ordered dispersion of each of the parts of the whole," and "dys" is a "prefix of negation." "Axis" comes from the Greek "axon" and refers to the actual or imagined longitudinal line that divides the human body in approximately symmetrical or balanced parts. It also designates a support or line on which an object supposedly or factually makes rotations. On the other hand, it signifies in its origin, the second cervical vertebra, but in this publication, it is not used in this sense. The author, having worked for twenty years with oromyofunctional problems, has observed in the clinic and in diagnostic sessions, that, in about 60% of the cases with oromyofunctional disharmony, there exists a parallel disharmony at the level of the axis. This article studies the evolution of the ontogenetic axis and phylogenetically points out certain coincidences that occur at about the age of 14 months, at which stage, for example, the spinal column acquires a fourth "curve of harmony" and begins its passage toward the mature patterns of swallowing and mastication. In addition to the theoretical assumptions, the article describes the technical approach to diagnostic procedures.