Does Tongue Positioning Affect Breathing?

When people think about breathing problems, they call to mind things like asthma, respiratory infections, and other illnesses. But there are many other factors that can also have a bearing on how well you breathe, including the positioning of your tongue. What role does your tongue play in your ability to breathe easily, and if your tongue is not in the correct position, what can you do to make improvements? This blog post explains.

Tongue Positioning and Breathing

There are a few ways in which your tongue might affect your breathing:

• If your tongue rests in a low position, you may be inclined to keep your lips open, which can contribute to chronic mouth breathing.
• If your tongue is set higher than normal, it runs the risk of blocking your airway during sleep. This can lead to symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea.

What Causes Poor Tongue Positioning?

Most of the time, your tongue should be flat against the roof of your mouth and rest gently against the back of your front teeth.

If it is not in its proper place, the problem may be due to a few different factors. For example, if you have a tongue tie, it can cause your tongue to rest too far forward in your mouth. Even if you undergo a frenectomy, it may take some time before you learn to rest your tongue in the correct place. Proper myofunctional therapy is recommended to help with retraining your tongue both before and after the tongue tie release.

Misalignment of the teeth and jaws can also affect where your tongue rests. For instance, if your teeth are crowded, there might not be enough space for the tongue to sit in the correct place. If your lower jaw is naturally set too far back, it can increase the risk of your tongue blocking your airway while you are asleep.

How Can Tongue Positioning Be Corrected?

Dr. Thomas is happy to help patients who struggle with improper tongue positioning. First, she always strives to determine the cause of the problem. From there, she can recommend a solution. You might benefit from orthodontic treatment, which can relieve crowding of the teeth and encourage proper jaw alignment. In addition to offering traditional orthodontics and clear aligners, she can also provide the ALF appliance, which is excellent for improving overall oral function.

If tongue tie is causing your problem, Dr. Thomas can perform a laser frenectomy and work with a myofunctional therapist who can help you retrain your oral structures to function optimally.

Poor tongue positioning can affect your breathing and your quality of life! If you have this problem, you should take action to correct it as soon as you can.

Meet Dr. Thomas

Dr. Preetha Thomas is a highly accomplished holistic dentist who has an in-depth understanding of how the tongue should be positioned for optimal oral function and breathing. If you believe you could benefit from her services, she and our team would be pleased to serve you. Contact Enclave Dental at 817-912-1218.