Re: tongue thrust and proper swallowing

[Guest guest]

Hi

I feel your pain!! I've been trying to fix my tongue thrust since I

was in grade 2...I had a crib, which is a basket type affair

further back than your front teeth to 'catch' your tongue before it

hits them, for quite a few years. what I have found after years of

speech therapy and having the crib, and now having had the surgery,

is that it was basically impossible for me to swallow 'properly'

while I had an open bite...It was extremely difficult for me. Now

that I've had the surgery, I find it much much much easier to swallow

properly!! Not to say that I " m in the habit of doing it yet, but it

makes it possible for me to do, at any rate (I'll be seeing a

therapist on friday to begin working on this just to make sure I'm

getting into the right habits). What I would recommend to you

though, if you're not sure where to place your tongue, is to see a

therapist. Your orthodontist should hopefully be able to recommend

one, and I personally found it the most effective means of

treatment. It's really something you have to think about for a long

time before it becomes natural for you, at least in my experience.

Good luck with it!!

-

>

> I just got braces on today for the second time in 10 years. Lucky

> me.

>

> The main problem I have is an open bite. That plus a class III and

> crossbite, but the openbite is what really bothers me because my

> class III is not so bad---it's more like edge to edge than the

lower

> being in front of the upper.

>

> To try to fix the open bite, my orthodontist installed these sharp

> lingual " reminders " on the back side of my lower front teeth. They

> are very sharp and if my tongue hits them, it basically stabs my

> tongue. Not pleasant but that's the idea.

>

> However, I have NO CLUE how i am actually supposed to swallow.

They

> didn't really tell me. The result is that it just took me an hour

> to eat/drink my soup.

>

> Is there any good info on this? I don't want to adopt an incorrect

> swallowing position since I already have one. Anyone else suffer

> from this?

>

> Thanks,

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

I am now 8 months post surgery ( lower advancement) for an open bite.

Prior to having braces and surgery I saw an orofacial myologist, a

speech therapist with special training, she helped me to learn how to

swallow correctly. I went weekly for months and did my exercises at

home, but it apparently takes 7 years to relearn how to swallow and I

did get discouraged. I moved during my treatment and my new ortho said

that everything would fall into place after the surgery. It hasn't

quite, but it is a lot easier to swallow correctly now. My first ortho

told me that my condition could reappear if I didn't get my tongue

thrust under control. I took a break to recover from surgery, but I

just got my braces off and plan on resuming my exercises and seeing a

therapist again. I'm glad my treatment is over and I don't want to

repeat it!

I would ask your ortho for a recommendation, if that doesn't work,

call up a speech therapist and ask if they know of any orofacial

myologists. I believe there is also a orofacial myologist website.

http://www.iaom.com- check it out, there is some good info and a

directory of therapists. The therapist I saw was in San Diego, if you

are in that area? It cost over $40 for each 15 minute visit and was

not covered by insurance. Good Luck!

Clare