Tongue up, Lips closed, All Breathing through the nose

Let’s talk briefly about tongue position: What should it be, why is it important, and how do you change it.

Ideally, your tongue’s natural rest position should be the tip (front) and back of the tongue positioned up in the roof of the mouth and as far forward as possible. This pulls the tongue up and out of the airway, keeping it open for proper nasal breathing (daytime and nighttime).

As we’ve discussed before, nasal breathing is the cornerstone of whole body and dental health. Nasal breathing moisturizes air, filters bacteria and viruses, and produces nitric oxide which dilates vessels and improve oxygen circulation. Not to mention…most people find it harder to snore with their mouth closed!

The tongue needs proper muscle tone to sit in the roof of the mouth at rest, and it need adequate space. Gaining tongue space is a topic we will address in another blog. Let’s focus here on tongue tone. The tongue is a muscle and can be trained to rest properly in the mouth- think like physical therapy or exercise for your tongue!

The proper term for tongue exercises or tongue therapy is called Myofunctional therapy. There are many myofunctional therapists throughout the country who will offer consults and training via zoom. You can start the process at home learning a few simple exercises:

Research has shown that myofunctional therapy significantly reduces signs of sleep apnea (Apnea-hypopnea index) by 50-62% in adults and children. It has also been shown to reduce snoring and daytime sleepiness. The real treatment for many airway issues (aside from tongue space) comes from myofunctional therapy, however we often have to perform a tongue tie release to complete the work of myofunctional therapy if the tongue has restricted mobility from an overly tight/overly fused frenum attachment.

Learn more about myofunctional therapy here:

https://www.thebreatheinstitute.com/myofunctional-therapy.html

https://longbeachspeech.com/orofacial-myology

https://www.myofunctionaltherapy4u.com/about-carmen-woodland/