Oral Habits

There is a pressure point behind our front teeth that help out body calm down. This is ideally where the tip of the tongue lives. Some kids with low tongue posture, will use the thumb to push against this pressure point instead of their tongue. This is why they may suck their thumb when upset.  Thumb sucking is tied to a physiological connection of stimulation of the palate. Myofunctional Therapy works to change the physiology and then we do habit elimination. 

Binkies saved my sanity when my kids were little. I was a parent that kept it tied to the shirt until my daughter was a toddler. I saw her bite opening, but reassured it would close with removal and ortho. Looking back, I regret how long I let her use it as we are dealing with a narrow, vaulted palate, deviated septum and sleep apnea.

The way a binky fits inside of the mouth, presses on the pressure point behind our front teeth needed for calming our bodies down. The problem with long term binky use is that when the binky is in, the tongue posture is low and probably remains low, which affects their swallow, the growth of their face.

Don't just rip the binky out though!  Please contact me for a game plan!

Know anyone who puts on acrylic nails only to stop them selves from biting their nails? Know anyone who chews on fabric or their hair? Just like with thumb sucking, an oral habit like biting nails is an attempt to stimulate our parasympathetic nervous system which makes us feel calm. When tongue posture is low, we will see increased oral habits of putting objects in our mouth. Myofunctional Therapy works on correct tongue posture, which stimulates a calming effect to eliminate oral habits like biting our nails.