What is Tongue Thrust?

Tongue thrust occurs when the tongue pushes forward against or between the front teeth during swallowing.  This type of swallow is normal in infancy and usually disappears as a child grows.  When it is not replaced with a mature swallow pattern, tongue thrust may negatively affect teeth alignment and articulation.

What causes tongue thrust?

Tongue thrust may develop as a result of an open-mouth breathing pattern due to low muscle tone, excessive thumb sucking, allergies, and enlarged tonsils and adenoids. It could also be a result of individual variations in size and alignment of oral structures.

Does it affect speech?

Speech is not always affected. However, children with tongue thrust often present with errors on a certain group of sounds produced with a specific tongue-tip placement: /t/, /d/, /n/, /l/, /s/, /z/, “sh”, “zh”, and “ch”. In addition, if a tongue applies excess amount of pressure to teeth daily, this can have a negative effect on the placement and growth of teeth.

Treatment

Tongue thrust treatment requires joint efforts of medical professionals and speech language pathologists. Once underlying medical conditions are resolved, a speech therapist addresses the open-mouth posture, inadequate pattern of swallowing, and speech sounds utilizing series of muscular exercises, called orofacial myofunctional therapy and articulation therapy. To better concentrate on the needs of our youngest students, we use specific play therapy and programs adapted for children (e.g., Swallow Right ).

Please contact us if you have questions or to make an appointment.