Jamilla presented to our office in 2002 seeking preventive and restorative dental care. Her medical history included a history of anemia but no known allergies or hospitalizations. Her dental examination revealed dental caries, gingivitis and a severe open bite due to a tongue thrust. Tongue thrusting in its most simple form is the habit of thrusting the tongue forward against the teeth or in between while swallowing. A tongue thrust is very easy to identify, both during swallowing and during speech. In the past the belief was always that a tongue thrust was the cause of open bites but many studies1, 2, 3, 4 have shown that the tongue will find an open space and occupy it preventing the teeth from properly erupting.
No one specific factor has been determined for the development of a tongue thrust problem, but the following causes have been reported:
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