possible to break a tongue thrusting habit before braces?

[Tyrantblade]

I don't know if I tongue thrust when I swallow, but I seem to have this nervous tongue thrusting habit of moving my tongue from the front of the roof of my mouth to the back and repeating this

I really never knew this was tongue thrusting and that it results in open bites until my consultation last Friday and now im trying to break the habit, but I keep catching myself doing it again or almost doing it again and im trying my best to stop, but its a struggle.

[ortho74]

It's hard to break those old habits, especially if you didn't even realize you were doing it. If they caught it in the consultation then I'm sure it will be addressed. Sometimes they can put something on the back of your teeth to train you to break the habit which is apparently effective.

[jfriend33]

I don't know if I tongue thrust when I swallow, but I seem to have this nervous tongue thrusting habit of moving my tongue from the front of the roof of my mouth to the back and repeating this

I really never knew this was tongue thrusting and that it results in open bites until my consultation last Friday and now im trying to break the habit, but I keep catching myself doing it again or almost doing it again and im trying my best to stop, but its a struggle.

Sure you could break the habit. It would take some hard work and dedication though!! So most of the issue is from where your tongue rests, not from the thrusting btw.

Get on youtube and find some myofunctional therapy videos. They wont cure you but it could help.

Have you considered locating a Speech Language Pathologist or a credentialed myologist/myofunctional therapist?

I could try uploading some of my old homework sheets that my therapist gave me. It was a huge help! But most importantly, the youtube videos were a big help before going in so I knew what to expect.

You may be able to break the habit with tongue tamers, or something with spikes. But the key is resting position.....

[ohnonotjilli]

I was told that the reason I had spacing in my lower jaw was due to the way I swallow, and that I would need to fix this before braces are over to help prevent relapse. I'm trying to rest my tongue in a new position consciously, and I've read some online articles from speech pathologists about proper swallowing technique.

My first adjustment is this Friday - I plan on asking questions at that point.