Tongue thrusting is the reason that myofunctional therapy is needed. Tongue thrusting is usually first noticed when children go to the dentist for the first time around the age of 6-8.

Though tongue thrusting and thumb and finger sucking can be started as infants, it just hasn't have been fully diagnosed.

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It all begins from when infants begin to breastfeed, it's when the transition from the breast to real food where infants can completely adjust.

When they start going to the dentist is when there has already been damage to the teeth because your tongue pushes up on your teeth and difficulty swallowing is also a problem.

The dentist can take action by installing a type of mouthguard that corrects tongue thrusting or you can go through myofunctional therapy.

This therapy is a treatment that corrects the muscles in your mouth and throat so that tongue thrusting can be corrected and swallowing patterns can be properly adjusted.

Because we swallow about 2000 times a day it is something that is very difficult to correct because of how many times we repeat this necessary action. This therapy involves exercises and stimulation to slowly correct this swallowing malfunction.

A therapist's goal is to modify and eliminate these bad habits that children learn as infants and help to create a positive practice of swallowing.

A great practice that is taught is to have their kids breathe through their nose because having a mouth open is a significant side effect to tongue thrusting.