Tongue Thrust

A tongue thrust is when the tongue protrudes between the upper and lower teeth during speech or swallowing and/or the tongue lies too far forward at rest. A tongue thrust is considered normal during the infant swallow stage but this usually decreases and disappears as a child grows and transfers to an adult swallowing pattern.

If the tongue thrust continues, a child may experience the following:

• Difficulty producing speech sounds
• Improper chewing and swallowing of food
• Facial asymmetries
• Delayed or disordered dental development: open bite or overbite, misalignment of teeth and jaw, negative effects on the palatal arch
• Delay orthodontic treatment and lead to more relapses if not treated

The most common causes of tongue thrusts are thumb or finger sucking, cheek/nail biting, tooth clenching/grinding and prolonged use of pacifiers and sippy cups.

If your child is experiencing any of the above characteristics then myofunctional therapy may be extremely helpful in correcting their swallowing pattern. Through a variety of exercises, myofunctional therapy is designed to train the muscles of the tongue, lips and jaw to function properly. These techniques can positively affect one’s ability to swallow, chew and achieve typical dental development.