Taming the Tongue: How Tongue Posturing Affects Orthodontic Treatment

I don’t know what I don’t”…. When I finally realized this truism, accepted it, and became okay with it, life became better! I have been practicing orthodontics over 20 years now, and I know by clinical experience that anterior open bites created by the tongue (or any anterior open bite for that matter) are hard cases to treat, hard cases to complete to a totally ideal bite, and hard cases to retain. And this I know!

I also know that form follows function: the tongue swallows between 1,800-2,000 times per 24 hours; the tongue is one of the strongest muscles in the body; the older the patient is, the harder it is to break the tongue of mal-positioning; and I believe the tongue to have its own brain. After all, how many times have you said something, which you immediately regretted and yet it just slipped right out of your mouth? You ponder a moment and mutter with remorse, “I wish I hadn’t said that!” Now you have an excuse. Blame it on the brain in the tongue! Well anyway, the last statement may not be true, but you can bank on the others. I have had many tongue wars. I do not think I have ever been totally satisfied with my final results. I have used many techniques to tame the beast within the mouth, yet the beast remains active, like a wild animal in a cave ready to pounce out 2,000 times a day.