I’ve seen new patients that have excessive space between their front teeth, top and bottom. I ask them to close their teeth but not their lips, and swallow for me. Out peeks their tongue between each front tooth! A powerful muscle, the tongue has literally moved the teeth forward with each swallow. Sometimes, a lisp exists when they speak.
These people need to learn how to swallow differently, of course, so I work with orthodontists and speech therapists to accomplish this. Often a “cage” is cemented in the mouth, for several months, while the patient sees a speech therapist. The cage makes the patient aware of thrusting and the therapist teaches them proper tongue positioning when forming words. Once successful, the patient usually needs orthodontic treatment to move the wandering teeth back into the proper position.
Contact Winterset Dental today to find out which treatment is right for you.