SANTA CRUZ, SCOTTS VALLEY CA
Maintaining good posture when standing or sitting helps you stay balanced and lessens back discomfort. However, excellent posture is vital for more than your spine. Maintaining a healthy tongue posture is also crucial since it influences your speech, tooth alignment, and facial structure. Our Scotts Valley family dentists at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry share on the blog today information about correct tongue posture and its effects on your facial and teeth forms.
What is appropriate tongue posture?
Your tongue significantly impacts your teeth’ alignment and facial shape since it’s the strongest muscle in your mouth. If your tongue rests appropriately, your upper jaw or maxilla may enlarge and allow teeth to emerge in appropriate alignment, reducing the need for future orthodontic treatments like traditional braces. Our Santa Cruz oral posture dentists explain that your orofacial system is at rest when your lips are closed, your teeth slightly press together, and your tongue is softly resting against your upper palate. In addition, the tongue position promotes nasal breathing, which is the most efficient method for your body to absorb oxygen.
What could happen if I avoid treatment?
Our family dentists in Los Gatos encourage patients to visit the office for a dental examination of your tongue posture. If your tongue rests at the bottom of your mouth, your lower jaw may appear recessed or set back, resulting in a significant overbite or open bite when you close your teeth. Additionally, improper tongue placement can cause your chin and jawline to sink over time, giving you a “long face” look. Moreover, you could experience speech problems as your jawline adjusts. Not only does it impact your smile’s appearance, but also your eating patterns and oral health condition.
How can I correct my tongue posture?
Correcting your oral posture on your own can be challenging, even with extensive internet research. However, our family dentists in the Scotts Valley area possess the expertise and experience to effectively treat your tongue posture to prevent adverse oral health developments.
Each patient that visits our office requires different treatments to adjust their tongue posture, but we outlined below the most common treatments:
- Orthodontics – Orthodontic treatment may be the best option if poor tongue position causes overcrowding or malocclusion. The tongue’s pressure on the teeth may cause movement that interferes with your bite alignment and is correctable using braces or other orthodontic treatments.
- Orthotropics – Orthotropics corrects misaligned teeth by improving the tongue’s resting position to broaden the maxilla without using orthodontic tools. To establish a balanced profile, healthy, functioning jaw joints, and sufficient airway space, Orthotropics® first moves the lower jaw forward and positions the front teeth in their ideal positions.
- Myofunctional Therapy – Myofunctional therapy is a treatment that includes easy exercises that cause no discomfort to strengthen the tongue and facial muscles. Myofunctional treatment promotes airway expansion and the capacity to breathe through the nose rather than the mouth by assisting a patient in achieving or regaining the appropriate oral posture while at rest and breathing.
Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley, California
It may seem strange that your tongue can have such power and influence over skeletal and oral development. However, when you have the correct tongue posture, you can reduce the impact and improve your oral health while reducing your risk for advanced conditions. If you have questions about proper tongue posture or would like to schedule a consultation, please contact our Santa Cruz dentists at Ebrahimian Integrative Dentistry by calling (831) 438-4411 or requesting an appointment online.
