Anybody have problems with tongue thrust....

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gary
Posts: 118
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:19 pm

Anybody have problems with tongue thrust....

#1 Post by gary »

...and/or resting tongue position? I have never once thought about this in my life until reading about it on this forum. I think it may be part of the reason that my bite is off (tip to tip). I am now fairly certain that I have been swallowing incorrectly for my entire life. I read online that your teeth should always be completely closed when you swallow and the tip of your tongue should hit the roof of your mouth. This may sound like a ridiculous discovery to make, but I'm being honest here. This is something I now realize that I need to work on if I want my ortho work to be effective. It seems abnormal to me now but I'm hoping I can make it involuntary. What about resting tongue position? I also read that it's basically always supposed to be on the roof of your mouth. This seems impossible to me! Does anybody else have this seemingly absurd problem??

sauerkraut
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
Location: Germany

#2 Post by sauerkraut »

Yep. My daughter. Only today the ortho assistant was impressing upon her the need to keep doing her tongue exercises, always, all the time. Apparently they've had patients whose teeth relapsed completely after their braces were taken off, simply because they couldn't control their tongue! It's a strong muscle, and if it's in the wrong place it applies constant pressure on the teeth to push them out of position. That was the gist of today's pep talk, anyway!

You probably need a speech therapist to assess what your tongue's doing wrong (if anything) and to show you the appropriate exercises, because there are different ones for different problems.
SARPE: Sept 2007
Braced: May 2008
BSSO: Nov 2010
Debraced: March 2011

dezlorelle
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:23 pm

#3 Post by dezlorelle »

I'm about 5 months into treatment, 30 years old, and at my last appointment was told that my over bite that has turned into an open bite is because of tongue thrusting. So I am right there with you! Shocked to find out that I have been swallowing wrong for 30 years!

My ortho just installed "spurs" on the back of my 2 front top teeth to encourage me to place my tongue on the roof of my mouth when swallowing. It has actually been incredibly helpful. Before they were installed and after I was told I was swallowing wrong, I consciously tried to put my tongue in the right position and it was almost impossible. Now with the spurs, I know exaclty where my tongue needs to go, and it is becoming second nature, which I imagine is the point.

As far as the resting position of the tongue, I would like to hear from someone about that as well. I end up leaving it up top currently just to get used to where it belongs to swallow. I doubt thats the resting position though.

daffodil
Posts: 80
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 3:40 pm

#4 Post by daffodil »

My orthodontist told me at my first consultation that I'm a tongue thruster and will need speech therapy. I just got my braces on today, so I'm not sure when I need to follow up on this. I don't think I tongue thrust when I swallow though. I had a hard time making the 'th' sound when I was little and had to go to speech therapy, where they emphasized striking the back of my teeth with my tongue. So I think I might just be doing something wrong when I talk :/

gary
Posts: 118
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:19 pm

#5 Post by gary »

Aaarrggghh.....if it's not one goddamn thing it's another. I've been practicing swallowing with my tongue hitting the roof of my mouth all day. It's not too bad, and hopefully it'll become natural. Are you closing your teeth every time you swallow dezlorelle?? Also, the whole tongue resting on the roof of my mouth thing seems crazy to me. Being that, ya know, my tongue is connected to the bottom of my mouth.....

nuttynat
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 4:07 pm
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

#6 Post by nuttynat »

pardon my naivity, but what is tongue thrusting?

I tend to find my tongue ,when resting, sits at the roof of my mouth, but I tend to think this might be the reason I have an open bite. I've heard that open bites are generally assosiated with some 'misbehaviour' of the tongue.
8/Jan/10 Wired up, but no place to go
4/May/10 Full upper & lower brackets put on

nuttynat
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Jan 09, 2010 4:07 pm
Location: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

#7 Post by nuttynat »

ok so I've been reading up on tongue thrusting, and I think I am a tongue thruster!! ERG

My dentist hasn't actually raised this to my attention, however I might need to get help from a speech therapist or something?

I wouldn't mind hearing from other people who've had tongue thrusting as a problem and have successfully been able to correct their tongue use
8/Jan/10 Wired up, but no place to go
4/May/10 Full upper & lower brackets put on

sauerkraut
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:57 pm
Location: Germany

#8 Post by sauerkraut »

gary, has the doc actually told you you've got this problem? I'd see a speech therapist if I were you. The therapist my daughter saw had pages and pages illustrating various different tongue exercises, and marked a select few of them specific to my daughter's case. I don't know, but I suspect you can do more harm than good if you practise the wrong thing.
SARPE: Sept 2007
Braced: May 2008
BSSO: Nov 2010
Debraced: March 2011

gary
Posts: 118
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 11:19 pm

#9 Post by gary »

sauerkraut wrote:gary, has the doc actually told you you've got this problem? I'd see a speech therapist if I were you. The therapist my daughter saw had pages and pages illustrating various different tongue exercises, and marked a select few of them specific to my daughter's case. I don't know, but I suspect you can do more harm than good if you practise the wrong thing.
Nah I just started thinking about this today and did some research online. But I looked at what my tongue was doing while swallowing, and compared it to what I found online and it seems to be the case. I go for my first adjustment in a few weeks, so I will without a doubt bring this up. I can't imagine that I am not a thruster though (lol that statement is funny to me).........What do speech therapists generally run in this day in age by the way? Will insurance cover any of that perhaps??

dezlorelle
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Joined: Wed Aug 19, 2009 5:23 pm

#10 Post by dezlorelle »

Gary- I try to close my teeth every time I swallow, but my bite is currently a bit off so I dont always close all the way. I think its pretty easy to self diagnosis, as you can feel what your tongue is doing while swallowing. The revelation comes when you find out the way you swallow is not correct.

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socksy
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Location: Los Angeles

#11 Post by socksy »

I had a tongue thrust, which was contributing to my open bite. I have corrected it myself, just by finding information on the web and doing exercises that were recommended. When resting, my tongue now rests on the roof of my mouth.
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gary
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#12 Post by gary »

I still can't keep my tongue up top. It seems so out of whack to me. Do you recommend a good site that you used socksy? This is seriously frustrating....

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socksy
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#13 Post by socksy »

Sorry, it was over a year ago so I don't remember which site in particular I looked at. I just googled it and found there were plenty of techniques. Just keep practicing and it should start to feel much more natural. I don't even think about it anymore, and my tongue is even in the proper position overnight. Good luck!
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gary
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#14 Post by gary »

Thanks. Just outta curiousity, how do you now it's in proper position over night??

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kay2010
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#15 Post by kay2010 »

Did you ever get an answer to your final question. I have the same issues and while I am practicing proper placement on the top gum, I have no control over what happens while I sleep, and I also tend to be an open mouth breather, especially when sleeping. My OD seems to be against appliance on adults for tongue thrusting (age 39) said in his experience it doesnt work, and the best thing for me to do is see a speech therapist and practice self control as much as possible.

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