Tongue posture and swallowing

Tongue posture

At rest, the tongue rests against the upper palate, so it can develop. If the tongue does not press against the palate, this becomes too narrow for the permanent teeth to position themselves correctly.

Swallowing

We swallow about 2000 times every 24 hours.

There are 2 types of swallowing:

• Primary swallowing, encountered in young children, where the tongue is placed between the dental arches.
• Secondary swallowing, with the teeth clenched, tongue against the palate, without moving the muscles in the face.

Primary swallowing is replaced by secondary swallowing when children are around 3-7 years old. The persistence of primary swallowing leads to malformation of the dental arches and jaws.

The most common causes of persisting primary swallowing are:

• Sucking the fingers
• Continued use of a pacifier
• Mouth breathing