A tongue that comes forward and between the front (and sometimes back) teeth during swallowing and at rest is called a tongue thrust, reverse swallow, immature swallow or tongue thrust swallow.  As babies, we are born with a tongue thrust reflex which helps with breastfeeding and usually by the age of 6 months has disappeared.

An enlarged tongue, large tonsils, thumb, finger or dummy sucking, tongue-tie and low tongue resting posture may contribute to tongue thrusting, along with allergies and nasal congestion.  The consequences of a tongue thrust may include:

• messy, noisy eating habits

• speech patterns - lisping

• low self esteem - negative cosmetic effects, spitting when talking

• jaw size

• facial growth/appearance

• teeth development - open bite, over bite

Smile Tone offers individually tailored myofunctional programs that can help correct this habit.