A Patient's Tongue May Be Causing Crooked Teeth

Even a small amount of pressure when exerted over a long period of time can create big changes -- like pushing a patient's teeth out of alignment. That’s exactly what can happen if there have a tongue-thrusting habit. The patient may not feel it happening and may not know it’s happening, but the tongue is a strong muscle and if pushing against the patient's front teeth repeatedly, chances are their teeth are shifting.

Tongue thrusting can be an especially problematic in young children. As they lose their baby teeth and adult teeth begin to grow in, the new teeth are vulnerable to outside pressure. If you notice that your young patients have a habit of thrusting thier tongue forward when they talk, you may want to recommend using an appliance to stop the tongue thrusting.

As a dentist, you may recommend a special device called a fixed tongue loop. Placed in the patient's mouth, it acts to make tongue thrusting impossible and help re-train your patient's tongue. And if that habit has persisted into adulthood, fixed tongue loops  work for grownups, too!