Proper Tongue Positioning When your mouth is at rest, your tongue should be against the roof of your mouth, but it should not be pressing against any of your teeth. Your teeth should be slightly apart, and your lips should be closed.
When your tongue pushes against your teeth as you swallow or when enunciating certain words, it is called tongue thrust, and the condition could cause teeth to protrude or a narrow airway that leads to snoring.
Rubbing the tongue against the teeth can be an unconscious habit that some people engage in as a means of self-soothing or self-stimulation. This behavior can be particularly appealing during stress or anxiety, as the repetitive motion and sensory input can temporarily distract from anxious thoughts and feelings.
Simply put, proper tongue positioning occurs when someone gently rests their tongue on the roof of the mouth and away from the teeth. During rest, the lips should also be closed, and the teeth slightly parted.
First, lets look at the correct tongue rest posture (day and night when not eating, drinking, or talking). The tip of the tongue should sit on the bumpy tissue of the hard palate directly behind the top front two teeth (the oval shape on the picture below). It should not be touching the teeth.
The tip of your tongue should rest gently behind your top front teeth. The border of your tongue should be gently in contact with the roof of your mouth, right where the teeth and gums meet. Your teeth should be slightly apart with your jaw very relaxed.
The most effective way to stop tongue thrusting is through a comprehensive treatment plan that includes myofunctional therapy exercises, aimed at retraining the muscles in the mouth and jaw, along with braces or other orthodontic treatments to correct misalignment of teeth.
A healthy tongue is pink in color. If your tongue color is white, yellow, orange, red, black, purple, gray, green or blue, it could mean you have an underlying health condition. If you have tongue discoloration that doesn't go away, tell your healthcare provider. They can help determine the best course of action.
Rubbing and thrusting of the tongue against the teeth occurs as a manifestation of anxiety in the tense, apprehensive, pent-up individual; it occurs par ticularly when the person is subject to emo tional stress.
Your jaw opening and closing is the mechanism that allows us to bite, chew, and speak properly. The mandibles are strong bones that can generate a lot of power when they open and close. This power is the exact reason why your teeth should only touch when you're eating.
Oral anxiety isn't being stressed, anxious, or depressed about your oral health. Instead, oral anxiety is the effects these mental health problems end up having on your oral health. This is especially true if you struggle with depression.
Overgrowth conditions such as Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and vascular anomalies of the tongue can lead to its enlargement. Other conditions such as Down syndrome, trauma, inflammatory conditions, primary amyloidosis, and congenital hypothyroidism may also be associated with a large tongue.
This can cause the tongue to put constant pressure on the teeth and make them shift, become crowded, or create a bad, sometimes painful, bite.
Ideally, your teeth should feel smooth even when you run your tongue over them, especially after brushing.
Actually, your tongue should be resting entirely on the palate. Not just the tip of the tongue, but the middle and posterior sections should be resting up. Your lips should be together, and your breathing should be through the nose 95-100% of the time.
Anxiety has also been linked to tongue swelling and scalloped tongue, which is a condition that causes waves or ripples along the sides of the tongue.
Signs of your body undergoing excessive stress can show up on your tongue as unusual redness, sores, and ulcers. Also, if your tongue appears to have marks around the edges, that could signify consistently biting your tongue as a reaction to stress.
Colors of an Unhealthy Tongue
Red - A red tongue can be caused by many things, such as inflammation, infection, a blood disease, an underlying heart condition, or vitamin B12 deficiency. Scarlet fever, eczema, and Kawasaki disease may also cause your tongue to turn red.
A white tongue is usually caused by a white coating over the tongue. The coating can be due to a buildup of dead cells on the surface of the tongue, food residue, or an overgrowth of bacteria. It can also be from dried and caked saliva, damaged tongue tissues, or a combination of all of these things.
Most people's tongue will end up on the roof of their mouth or along their gums behind the upper front teeth. However, some people's tongue ends up going between their upper and lower teeth when they swallow. This trait is called tongue thrust.
If caught early, tongue thrust can be corrected with speech therapy. Treatment will likely focus on changing tongue placement to improve the habit of pushing the tongue against teeth and position as well as retraining the muscles to correctly place the tongue when speaking or swallowing.
Tongue thrust can be treated with several different orthodontic appliances. Depending on your child's condition, Dr. Touni may recommend treatment to move their teeth into proper position or to protect their teeth from excessive tongue pressure.