Tongue thrusting? Mouth Breathing?

[lisabees]

So - I just figured out that dd9 thrusts her tongue and breathes through her mouth. That's why she has an open bite; that's why she eats with her mouth open; that's why the sides of her tongue are all chewed up. The dentist never mentioned anything about her tongue. I couldn't quite put a finger on what was different about her until I started researching open bites and the causes. We do have an appointment with an orthodontist at the end of this month, but I think other intervention is preferred first.

 

Anyone who has been there/done that? Any advice on who to see about this? Or can we do exercises at home?

[Denise in Florida]

My only btdt is probably years out of date, both my sister and I have reverse thrusting.

 

We did some sort of physical therapy as children but I don't remember many details.

 

It might have worked for a while but it must not have lasted. I still occasionally reverse swallow, several of my dentists have noticed and remarked on it but no one has suggested I do anything about it. :001_smile: My sister does it more than I do and it has caused her teeth to misalign again even though she wore braces for years as a child.

 

I am sorry this is not very encouraging. :glare:

 

One positive thing though, I do remember learning to hold my tongue properly 'at rest' which stopped the mouth breathing, the odd position of holding my jaw, and fixed the close your mouth while you chew thing. It was part of the therapy.

[Seasider]

Has anyone taken a good look at the size of her tonsils lately? We have experience with tonsils/adenoids causing that type of breathing issue (not sure about the tongue thrusting). Sleep apnea was also involved. Just something to rule out.

[Hot Lava Mama]

We took him to a speech therapist when he was 4 because he was very difficult to understand. Speech therapist was very good and diagnosed "tongue thrust", referred us to a "Myofunctional Therapist", and said we had to get that fixed before any real progress with speech could be made.

 

You have to be careful with these type of therapists. Some still use weird devices (like sharp things....kind of like braces with sharp points on them) to correct the tongue going forward. The lady we used taught us exercises for him to do everyday.

 

It took about 4 years, but he is fine now.

 

If you PM me, I can give you the phone number of the lady we used so you can discuss it with her even if you aren't close enough to use her. (I didn't look to see where you are located.)

 

You need to get this fixed because any ortho treatment will be reversed because his tongue will continue to push his teeth out.

 

Good luck. It was a lot of work on both of our parts!

Hot Lava Mama

[Denise in Florida]

We took him to a speech therapist when he was 4 because he was very difficult to understand. Speech therapist was very good and diagnosed "tongue thrust", referred us to a "Myofunctional Therapist", and said we had to get that fixed before any real progress with speech could be made.

 

You have to be careful with these type of therapists. Some still use weird devices (like sharp things....kind of like braces with sharp points on them) to correct the tongue going forward. The lady we used taught us exercises for him to do everyday.

 

Yikes....no no no. I did not know they still did this. My sister (older) had these it was horrible and DID NOT WORK.

Yes, to the exercises. I remember them they helped many symptoms but apparently, for me, the swallow pattern is persistent. :001_smile:

 

 

It took about 4 years, but he is fine now.

 

If you PM me, I can give you the phone number of the lady we used so you can discuss it with her even if you aren't close enough to use her. (I didn't look to see where you are located.)

 

You need to get this fixed because any ortho treatment will be reversed because his tongue will continue to push his teeth out.

 

Yep, my teeth are fine but my sister's are a mess. She had braces as a teen, but now as an adult her teeth are pushed back out of place. Very discouraging.

Good luck. It was a lot of work on both of our parts!

Hot Lava Mama

 

see responses in red. ha

[lisabees]

Thank you all. I will ask the orthodontist for his advice. And I will call the speech language pathologist we used years ago. I have also found some exercises online that we can try until we get the professionals involved.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences! ;)