Fortieth Anniversary Issue of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology (IJOM): The face of the IAOM

IJOM PURPOSE

The International Journal of Orofacial Myology is published by the International Association of Orofacial Myology whose purpose is to encourage the scientific study of orofacial myofunctional disorders, provide information and training to professionals and to encourage sharing and cooperation across disciplines involved in orofacial myofunctional treatment (IJOM, 1989).

Abstract

This article presents an historical account of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology from its inception to the present. Highlights from individuals involved and perspectives are included.

WHERE DO WE BEGIN? 

As we celebrate the fortieth birthday of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology, let us look back at not only where we came from, but also at the mission and goals our predecessors envisioned. In preparation for this manuscript, the author interviewed Marvin Hanson in 2012 at the IAOM Albuquerque Convention. Hanson is one of the Founding Fathers of IAOM and the first Associate Editor. Insights provided by Hanson will be interspersed throughout this article.

INCEPTION AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ORAL MYOLOGY: Highlights Over The Years 

In 1972, at the second meeting of the American Association of Oral Myofunctional Therapy, Marvin Hanson suggested the name of the organization be changed to The International Association of Oral Myofunctional Therapy. Only three years after the founding of the IAOM, in 1975, the first issue of what was originally called ‘The International Journal of Oral Myology’ (IJOM) was published.

Mills: 

What about protocol? How was the determination made about accepting an article for publication?

Hanson: 

“The early editorial staff did discuss every issue and make sure everything was relevant—all had to agree before it was published. At the beginning, as now, several articles would be sent out to several people to review before being published” (M. Hanson, personal communication, 2012).

Robertson (1975a) wrote the first editorial regarding the inception of the IJOM, expressing the hopes, dreams, and goals of the journal. Excerpts from Robertson’s editorial are provided:

This journal hopes to provide a library for those pursuing information in myo facial problems and also provide a more direct link between the International Association of Oral Myology and its members. As many are well aware, there are people doing “myo-functional” work everywhere and until the International Association, there were no qualifications for providing such service or guidelines. I am very proud to be the Editor of a very important journal and also a member of a professional association that will put oral muscle work in its proper perspective; without “grandstanding” or “comrnercialization”….Within the area of oral myology, there are many unanswered questions; this does not mean that the answers are not attainable or not valuable, but, instead, have yet to be found. (p. ii)

Mills: 

What do you remember about the first editor? How did he become first editor?

Hanson: 

I knew Tom very well. First he was willing; secondly, he had a good balanced mind, he wasn’t radical, he wasn’t narrow-minded, he was open-minded, with a great sense of humor…. The group had seen something he had written, before becoming an orofacial myologist, that was written with intelligence so we knew he could do It. We had very, very high eclectic broad hopes for the journal. We made it a point to make our organization International rather than national. We wanted to invite and publish articles from other countries as well. We wanted to include and encourage research that we would publish. So we sent letters out to universities, for example, Seattle had a lot of orthodontic articles, so we sent out invitations because we wanted to include clinical experiences and clinical findings and case studies, as well as, group research. Our philosophy has been the same all along. I am happy to see what we had hoped for has come about.

Mills: 

What do you remember about the first issue of IJOM?

Hanson: 

The First Article in the journal is a good example of clinical and ed ecticism. Dick Barrett wrote an article, “Habituationabout Hypnosis”. He was very truthful about what it could do and what it could not do. I remember that very well.

The Second Article evaluated oral form discrimination and tongue thrust swallowing, interrelationships between perception and motoric functions.

The Third Article in the first IJOM was an electro-myo-graphic study. A good selection of varied articles were in the very first IJOM issue.

Mills: 

Was there one article that really impressed you?

Hanson: 

I will say this, that every article written by Dick Barrett, who trained most of us, was intelligent and wise and useful to us. Rather than a single article I would point him out as the author of the articles that gave the most direction to us and transmitted to us his wisdom. He was a very wise man…and very humble tool!

1975

In the second issue of IJOM, published in April, 1975, Robertson, in his editorial, addressed the negative and questioning atmosphere during that time regarding oral myology. He indicated that:

…information givingis needed both intra-professionally and inter-professionally, in order for advancements in research, treatment, and diagnosis ever to happen… [these] are tremendous challenges…. But when oriented by progressive professionals, will become the instruments of measure for this subject area…. In numbers, we are small… but it is felt better to grow with quality than to have many members and let it have no meaning other than having another certificate on the wall or another entry on a vitae…. This association is only as powerful and competent as the membership dictates. Each member of the International Associationof Oral Myology has a challenge with a great deal of responsibility. It will be through their endeavors, (clinci allyand research) that will make the aforementioned challenges a reality (Robertson, 1975b, p. 10).

Robertson indicated that, “In the past year as the first editor for the International Journal of Oral Myology, I have seen the journal grow from just a small publication serving the members of the International Association of Oral Myology, into a recognized professional publication serving not only members, but almost four hundred non-members and institutions in eleven countries” (Robertson, 1975c, p. 8).

1976

Marvin L. Hanson expressed his concerns with this lack of scientific framework. He wrote:

I believe that this condition exists in the area of oral myofunctional disorders and that this is the real reason for the statement from the Joint Committee on Dentistry and Speech Pathology and Audiology. Too many poorly trained people have been doing an ineffective job of administeringtherapy.

It is not that tongue thrust has been found to not exist, nor that therapy to treat it has been proven unsuccessful. Reasons given for fonning the American Speech and Hearing Association were the same as those of the founders of the initially-called International Association of Oral Myology in 1972…. The mutual goals were to promote professional standards, to encourage research, to provide a vehicle. The International Journal of Oral Myology was established, as that vehicle in 1975 for the publication of that research, and to raise the level of training of therapists. This was an important milestone. Establishing a journal devoted to research and education would begin to validate the IAOM (Hanson, 1976, pp. 13–19).

1979 July

Elnita Ostrom Stanley indicated in the editorial: “It is the sincere desire of all who work on The International Journal of Oral Myology to keep pace with the expanding scope of Oral Myology by giving the greatest possible expression to the concerns of the membership of the IAOM and of all interested individuals” (Stanley, 1979, Vol. 3, p. 6). She indicated that the aims of The International Journal of Oral Myology were to:

a)

Educate the public regarding the field of oral myology and related areas

b)

Establish harmonious relationships with members in other professions.

c)

Encourage research

d)

Publicize the importance of myofunctional therapy as an auxiliary to the dental professional and to speech pathologists

e)

Explore our relationships with such other professionals as pediatricians, physical therapists, and ear, nose, and throat specialists (Stanley, 1979, Vol. 3, p. 6).

1980

The name of the journal was changed to “The International Journal of Orofacial Myology”

1985 July

Marge Snow, Editor-in-Chief wrote about the article “Food for Thought with an International Flavor”. Snow indicated:

In the 1985 July IJOM an interesting article from a South American colleague which provided a new perspective on the etiology of myofunctional disorders. The paper submitted by Ms. De Almeid Rego Saboya has a new perspective in the evaluation of patients seen by myofunctional therapists. She feels a holistic approach to patient care raises many interesting questions. If a holistic approach is to be a focus then the therapist should have background knowledge in allied health care professions. But, “Where is all of this training and knowledge going to come from?” This editor feels: “It is imperative that a formal master’s program degree offering a smorgasbord of courses in all disciplines be available for persons wishing to call themselves professional orofacial or myofunctional therapists” (Snow, 1985, pp. 1–4).

1988 March

In this Special Issue of IJOM, Patricia J. Mcloughlin, Editor-in-Chief, shared that: This special issue was guest edited by Robert Mason Ph.D., D.M.D., to develop a state-of-the-art issue. The special issue contained articles written by select individuals: Joe Zimmerman, the late Jim Case, Marvin Hanson, Jay (John) Riski (Mason’s colleague at Duke), Roberta Pierce, and Robert M. Mason. The issue highlighted the IAOM and the field. McLoughlin indicated that:

He [Mason] selected highly respected contributors from the fields of dentistry, speech language pathology and orofacial myology to present a cohesive overview of current trends in orofacial myology…. It is entirely fftting that this publication is sponsored by The International Association of Orofacial Myology since this is the only international professional accrediting organization overseeing the development of this emerging therapeutic specialty (McLoughlin, 1988, p. 1).

The purpose of this special issue as stated in the first article by Marvin Hanson, Ph.D.: “A major purpose of this publication is to evaluate the legitimacy of the field of myofunctional therapy in light of research before and after 1974…A second purpose is to describe the scope of present evaluative and therapeutic procedures… A third is to make recommendations concerning future directions for research and clinical activities. The issue meets and surpasses this mandate” (McLoughlin, 1988, p. 1).

1993 November

Robert M. Mason, PhD, DMD Editor-in-Chief indicated that:

This issue of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology is truly international. Articles include a variety of clinical research reports as well as information about oral myofunctional disorders and therapies in various counrties. The survey reported by Dr. Forrest Umberger and Janie vaReenen about attitudes of speech language pathologists regarding oral myofunctional phenomena presents a challenge to better inform professionals In the USA about this area of growing clinical importance. The signfflcant work of Drs. Gloria Kellum, Alan Gross and colleagues, is part of a federally funded longitudinal project to document risk factors with orofacial variations. This group currently holds the only federally-funded grant in the area of orofacial myofunctional conditions….The accomplishments of our colleagues in Switzerland (Dr. Schwltzer and associates) and German/Argentina (Drs. Llmbrock, Castillo Morales and associates) serve as motivation to develop Innovative treatment strategies and to document the treatment outcomes as a means of assessing therapy success….Lastly, a new section, Cllnlcal Exchange, Tooth Movement Associated with Orofaclal Myology from a Dental Hygiene Clinician’s Perspective) by Marge Snow has been added to this issue to highlight the perspectives and analysis of Marge Snow regarding a previous article by Dr. Marvin Hanson. This type of exchange serves the association well and demonstrates opinion differences in their most professional and provocative sense (Mason, 1993, pp. 39–41).

1997

Patricia Mcloughlin, MA was the Editor-in-Chief for this 1997 Special Edition of IJOM which celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the IAOM. IJOM was one of the communication tools to share infonnation about the organization with members. This Volume XXIII Special Issue contained the President’s Perspective Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the IAOM. On this special anniversary Marge Snow, then President of the IAOM, acknowledged the pioneers and the founders of the IAOM. “This special issue will celebrate the gains of the last twenty-five years in laying the foundation for the future” (Snow, 1997, p. 1). As president, Snow listed several important goals that needed to be addressed. The three that seemed to be paramount were as follows:

• There are still skeptics out there, especially in the allied medical professions that need to be informed of the value of our services in treating the “whole” patient. As medicine moves toward a holistic view, it seems plausible that for example, allergists, ENTs and pediatricians will be cognizant of the effects of mouth breathing on the development of the orofacial complex.
• We need to sustain our recently begun focus on insurance coverage so that more people can take advantage of orofacial myofunctional therapy, and incidentally, so those therapists can actually eam a living at what they do.
• The third and most important goal, again is that all orofacial myologists, all members of the health care team, and the general public need to be aware that this is a public health issue. They also need to be aware that there is a preventive or interceptive treatment available to improve the public’s health. This then becomes an issue for which we, orofacial myologists, are morally and ethically charged. The charge is to make the treatment available to everyone whether by education of the public, as to the problem and its etiology, or by making the treatment available for those who need it. It is our job to spread the word, and train enough therapists to handle the potential demand (Snow, 1997, p. 1).

1998–Present

Patricia Taylor, MEd. CCC-SLP, COM has been the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Orofacial Myology since 1998. The first issue she was responsible for was the 1999 issue.

Mills: 

What about our present editor Pat Taylor?

Hanson: 

Pat Taylor is a good example of a great editor—I recently submitted an article to IJOM and, did she go over my art.icle with a fine tooth comb (personal communication, 2012).

Mills (2014): 

Pat, How did you become interested in volunteering for the position of Editor of JJOM?

Taylor: 

I have been interested in editing for many years. When I was in high school, during my sophomore and junior year, I was the Assistant Sports Editor for our high school newspaper. The then Sports Editor graduated when I became a senior. I was told by school personnel that I would not move into his position, ‘because it just wasn’t right for a girl to be the Sports Editor.’ Those words are emblazed on my mind—but remember, this was in the early 60s, and many changes that have since come about were just beginning at that time….Shortly after becoming a member of IAOM, I became aware that the organization was looking for an editor for their journal. I could not keep myself from volunteering for this position. Even though the process of publication of an issue requires a great deal of time and effort, I have thoroughly enjoyed this rewarding experience, the support of members and authors from all over the world. As Editor, I am both humbled and honored to be celebrating this 40th Anniversary issue of IJOM (personal communication, October, 2014).

2000

The IAOM presidential speech was written specifically for the 2000 IJOM edition by Patricia G. Meyer:

Our current trend is an “evidence based practice” and we should be using procedures that have been studied carefully and whose results have been reviewed and published…. Our conventions, clinical conferences, and IJOM play a significant role….It is this interaction between clinicians and researchers that broaden our evidence based practice. It allows researchers to understand the clinical problems and questions that we clinicians may have as well as allowing clinicians to understand current ongoing research efforts and their impact on our future success and viability as a profession (Meyer, 2000, pp. 3–4).

2004 30th Anniversary Edition of the IJOM

In the Editor’s Corner of the 2004 issue of IJOM, Taylor wrote:

This 30th anniversary edition is dedicated as a tribute to Robert B. Pierce, our beloved colleague…. Roberta put many hours into the IJOM as Editor, Business Manager, Managing Editor, and author. She helped in many ways make IJOM what it is today.

Roberta was a driving force in the IAOM, a pioneer in the field of orofacial myology, and was one of the first certified members in 1973. She held the position of President of the IAOM from 1987–1989. She served on the Board of Directors, Board of Examiners, and received several honorary awards for her hard work and dedication to our association. Roberta performed the duties of Editor-in-Chief of the IJOM from 1996–1998 and also served as the Managing Editor of IJOM, as well as, IJOM Business Manager for several years. This tribute highlighted the time she devoted to nurturing and educating members, allied professionals through teaching, therapy, and the JJOM (Taylor, 2004, p. 5).

2006

This issue provides articles which add clarification to orofacial myofunctional topics of interest and a guide for using common vocabulary as our most effective way to communicate critical infonnation between professionals from various disciplines. IJOM Editor’s Corner by Patricia M. Taylor, indicated that:

I would like to share a framework for orofacial myologists to consider. Use of this framework may help us establish some consistency in writing reports, requesting insurance reimbursement, communicating with other orofacial myologists or professionals in other specialty areas, and designing research studies. It organizes OMO by habit patterns, orofacial postures, muscle movements, and muscle movement integration. While the following is not an a/I-inclusive list, it should help provide a foundation for further expansion (Taylor, 2006, p. 4).

2011

We celebrated the IAOM’s 40th anniversary in 2011. with the article entitled, International Association of Orofacial Myology History–Origin–Background–Contributors. This article, written by Mills, took the reader on a journey back to the early twentieth century where Edward H. Angle, an orthodontist in 1907, recognized that the tongue’s resting position could possibly be an orthodontic obstacle. He also believed that the etiology of the compromised resting posture was due to mouth breathing and further noted that a Class II Division I malocclusion was always accompanied by mouth breathing. His concerns also focused on any form of nasal obstruction.

The historical journey continued, illustrating how an empirical observation sparked interest of a potential problem. That interest sparked evaluation, written materials which spread interest like wild fire. We read about our early history leading to the inception of The International Association of Orofacial Myology. Learning about our ear1y beginnings, the trials and tribulations our founding fathers encountered, demonstrates the determination, dedication, and vision they had. Reading the history from the early beginning to the inception of the IAOM and IJOM, gave this author a feeling of great pride for where we came from.

IJOM Editors-in-Chief

We would not be celebrating the IJOM 40th Anniversary if it were not for the dedicated Editors-in Chief that performed all the behind the scenes tasks. Below, is a list of all lJOM editors from 1975–2014. A great deal of time, effort, and exceptional dedication goes into each issue, and we as readers only see the finished product.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF THROUGH THE YEARS

1975–77	Tom Robertson, M.A
1977–79	James M Wood, PH.D
1979–81	Elnita Ostrom Stanley, Ed.D
1981–86	Marge Snow, M.A.
1986–89	Patricia Mcloughlin, M.A.
1988	Robert Mason, Ph.D., D.M.D. Guest Editor, Special Edition
1990–91	Forrest Umberger, Ph.D.
1992	Marvin Hanson, Ph.D.
1993	Robert Mason, Ph.D., D.M.D
1994–95	Patricia Mcloughlin, M.A.
1996–98	Roberta Pierce, M.A.T.
1998–Present	Patricia M. Taylor, M.Ed.

Job Description:

An editor-in-chief:

• Oversees all aspects of the journal
• Makes the final decision as to what gets published
• Creates an outline for the publication
• Distributes submitted manuscripts for blind peer review
• Communicates with all authors regarding peer review recommendations and acceptance/rejection of manuscripts for publication and communicates about any suggestions and/or editing of their article if accepted for publication
• Edits and/or reviews every article and prepares the final draft
• Does all the formatting for each issue
• Is responsible for the budget
• Approves the contract with printing company for production of the issue
• Is responsible for marketing
• Oversees interactions with subscription agencies
• Introduces new ideas on how to streamline publication and distribution by using new technology which will increase circulation to professionals and university settings, thus demonstrating to professionals that the IJOM is a leader, by establishing the first international journal devoted to orofacial myofunctional research and education
• Tough problems are often handled by the editor-in-chief, and advice about editorial issues is also provided

Looking Ahead: IJOM Future

Mills: 

What would you like the future to hold for the IJOM?

Hanson: 

• Contributions from writers all over the world
• More controlled research
• Experience oriented articles by experienced clinicians
• New approaches whether they have been tried and found effective or not—new ideas
• Case studies are also relevant
• Letters from the editor are very important. Pat Taylor has a mind that understand what needs to happen, what should happen (personal communication, 2012).

Snow: 

“What I would like the future to hold for IJOM is to be in medicaVdental libraries, dentists’ offices—beauty shops, drug stores” [easily accessible] (personal communication, 2014).

Taylor: 

“I would like to see the International Journal of Orofacial Myology carry on the tradition of providing relevant information on which the foundation of orofacial myofunctional disorders and treatment may be based. I would also like IJOM to continue to function as a vehicle for international collaboration and sharing of information that is both research and clinically based. And last but certainly not least, we absolutely must find a way to provide digital access to current and past issues of IJOM” (personal communication, 2014).

The IJOM is “The Face of the IAOM” 

The IJOM is the face of the IAOM. The journal was established with the purpose of encouraging scientific study of orofacial myofunctional disorders. It provides information and training to professionals and encourages sharing and cooperation across disciplines involved in orofacial myofunctional treatment. The IJOM was established in 1975 with the goals of promoting education and research not only in the United States but internationally.

In celebration of the fortieth Anniversary of the IJOM - Expound and Expand the Face of the IAOM

Vision for the near future:

• Develop an IJOM website linked to the IAOM
• Digitize all of the IJOM journals and provide access to colleagues, universities, allied professionals educating and encouraging expanded knowledge and research
• Broaden our educational base encouraging more international participation submitting articles and research for publication

The IAOM and the IJOM’s missions have always been two-fold: education and research. By expanding the IJOM, our mission statement of education and promotion of research will be far reaching. As therapists, teachers, and allied associate members of the IAOM in the field of orofacial myofunctional therapy, we are dedicated and proud of our profession. Our mission now is to put our best face forward, raise our voices from a whisper to a roar by expanding interest in our field through education and research. We are professionals dedicated to a mission: treatment of OMDs, education, and research!