title: Effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional therapy in orthodontic patients: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present systematic review was to determine the existence of scientific evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) as an adjuvant to orthodontic treatment in individuals with orofacial disorders. A further aim was to assess the methodological quality of the studies included in the review.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic search was performed in eight databases (Medline, BBO, LILACS, Web of Science, EMBASE, BIREME, Cochrane Library and SciELO) for papers published between January 1965 and March 2011, with no language restrictions. Selection of articles and data extraction were performed by two independent researchers. The quality of the selected articles was also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Search strategy resulted in the retrieval of 355 publications, of which only 4 fulfilled the eligibility criteria and qualified for final analysis. All papers selected had a high risk of bias.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the present systematic review demonstrate the scarcity of consistent studies and scientific evidence supporting the use of OMT in combination with orthodontic treatment to achieve better results in the correction of dentofacial disorders in individuals with orofacial abnormalities.
authors.forename: Márcio Alexandre
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Homem
authors.forename: Raquel Gonçalves
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Vieira-Andrade
authors.forename: Saulo Gabriel Moreira
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Falci
authors.forename: Maria Letícia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ramos-Jorge
authors.forename: Leandro Silva
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Marques
mesh_terms: D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000628:therapy*; D020247:Myofunctional Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Malocclusion; Myofunctional therapy; Orthodontics