The signs you are experiencing tongue thrust are there. Whether you have difficulty with certain parts of speech, trouble swallowing, experience excessive snoring, or something else, tongue thrust can have a profound impact on your life. You may not realize that those things are related to tongue thrust, or you may not realize all the ways in which your tongue thrust affects your day-to-day life, so in this article, we want to help. We are discussing ways in which tongue thrust impacts your daily life, in order to help you identify whether you or a loved one is experiencing it, and what to do about it.
How Tongue Thrust Impacts Your Daily Life
Tongue thrust describes the condition where the tongue, while at rest and/or swallowing, pushes against or comes between your front teeth. You likely do not even realize it is happening or how much it is impacting your life from day to day.
1) Tongue thrust can cause mouth breathing that can lead to many different health issues.
Mouth breathing results in your body taking in cold, dirty air instead of warm, clean air, which is produced when you breathe through your nose. This can result in waking up tired, or with a headache. Difficulty concentrating or daytime sleepiness can occur. There are multiple sleep deprivation symptoms that may appear. Furthermore, if there are viruses and diseases in the air, you are breathing in their germs.
2) Tongue thrust can lead to dental issues
If the tongue is putting pressure on the front teeth when swallowing, it can push them out, causing an anterior overbite. The tongue is considered one of the strongest muscles in the body which explains why the teeth can remain protruding even if there are braces. This could lead to expensive dental procedures and corrections in the future, especially for children. If you or your child is experiencing tongue thrust, you likely will not know how much damage it is doing to your/their teeth until corrective retainers or braces are needed
3) Tongue thrust can lead to speech problems
A person with a tongue thrust may mispronounce the “s” and “z” sounds because their tongue is used to being near the front of their mouth and when they produce it, it sounds like a “th” so “sun” sounds like “thun”. This can be embarrassing and frustrating. Speech therapists who know how to treat a tongue thrust understand that they first have to build up the tongue muscles before learning how to produce those sounds correctly.
4) Tongue thrust can lead to snoring
If a tongue thruster breathes through their mouth while sleeping, this may result in snoring, which, over time, may lead to sleep apnea. That means that someone who snores is keeping themselves from sleeping just as much as their family. Unfortunately, tongue thrust, mouth breathing, and sleep apnea can lead to significant health issues related to fatigue.
5) Tongue thrust can lead to daytime fatigue
If you breathe through your mouth while sleeping, this will lead to poor sleep which can lead to fatigue and daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness is more damaging than just inconvenience. Fatigue leads to a number of other issues, including:
- Stress and irritability
- Lack of focus on common daily tasks
- Issues with driving and potentially falling asleep
- Lack of proper nutrition
- Lack of energy needed to exercise and perform daily functions
- Strain on relationships
Feeling tired all the time is something no one enjoys. If you can correct your fatigue, you should take every step possible to do so.
6) Tongue thrust can lead to teeth grinding
Teeth grinding occurs when you are not aligned properly. Grinding your teeth is, of course, not good for your chompers. It can also lead to tension in your jaw, neck pain, and upper back pain. When you learn how to keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth, this aids in aligning your cranial bones which can result in reduced teeth grinding.
If tongue thrust is a part of your life or the life of someone you love, IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust is here to help. IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust is a tongue muscle exercise program proven to stop tongue thrusting and snoring due to mouth breathing and incorrect tongue position. Our seven-week tongue exercise program helps correct tongue thrust without any medication, surgery, or invasive options. If you want to know more about our program, contact us, or order today.