Have you ever thought about what your tongue is doing while at rest? If not, one dentist warns you could be holding it in the wrong position.
Placing your tongue the wrong way in your mouth can cause dental and jaw problems - and even displace cartilage in your nose - Dr Priya Mistry, a dentist in Vancouver, Washington, said.
Proper tongue posture includes having the tip, middle and back of your tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth with a light suction.
This is the only position that supports the rest of your oral structures and, in turn, keeps your palate, gums and teeth healthy, she said.
But if you let your tongue sag to the bottom of your mouth, Dr Mistry explained, you could develop breathing issues.
Dr Mistry said that improper tongue posture can lead to mouth breathing and may be linked to an underdeveloped palate. This can harm mouth health overall, leading to tooth decay and gum inflammation
Dr Mistry said that there is some correlation between TMJ and poor tongue posture. TMJ disorders cause jaw, neck and head pain and can be debilitating chronic conditions
She said: 'When the tongue is in the right position, it exerts light pressure on the roof of the mouth — the palate.'
Having poor tongue posture can make you more likely to breathe through your mouth, instead of your nose, but by keeping your tongue close to the roof of your mouth, it can keep the nasal passages open and clear.
'You cannot breathe through your mouth and still have the tongue in the correct position — it’s impossible,' Dr Mistry told Goop.
Mouth breathing has been linked to problems with saliva production, which can lead to cavities, tooth decay and gum inflammation.
That's because saliva provides a protective coating against the bacteria that live in the mouth and produce acid that eats away at teeth.
When you breathe through your mouth instead of your nose, it causes your mouth to dry out, leaving your teeth and gums defenseless against the bacteria, Dr Bryan Hill, a Washington based dentist, wrote.
In addition, Dr Mistry, whose practice focuses on treating people with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), a condition that affects the jaw joint, said most of her patients with TMJ have poor tongue posture.
Between five and 12 percent of American adults have a TMJ disorder, according to Cleveland Clinic.
It causes intense jaw, face and neck pain and can lead to migraines, toothache, ringing in the ears and jaw clicking. Sometimes, it also causes lock jaw, arthritis and can change the way your teeth fit together in your mouth.
'I see a link between low tongue posture and TMJ disorders very regularly in my practice,' Dr Mistry said on her YouTube channel.
This, she explained, is because keeping your tongue in proper position, tight to the roof of the mouth, helps support the shape of the roof of your mouth, called your palate.
The light upward pressure helps mold the palate into a broad, shallow structure big enough to hold all your teeth.
This support is important, especially while you're young, to ensure your mouth develops into its ideal shape.
'The tongue is an absolute keystone of our entire face and our heads, ' Jessica Luffey a certified specialist of orofacial myology, which is essentially physical therapy for the mouth and jaw, said.
The correct tongue posture requires you to keep the entire tongue pressed lightly to the roof of your mouth with a gentle suction. Incorrect posture includes a slight sagging of the tongue.
If your tongue support is lacking, it can cause your palate to develop more narrowly than it should, which can stress the surrounding structures, Ms Luffey said.
Dr Mistry told Goop the anatomy of the mouth and nose can actually change from improper tongue posture. The roof of the mouth can become narrow and arched, pushing up against the nasal cavity.
This could potentially cause a deviated septum, when the wall of your nose becomes displaced to one side, making one nasal air passage smaller than the other, resulting in breathing difficulty and disorders.
This could be the link between TMJ and tongue posture, Dr Mistry said.
Experts cite a few a few reasons why someone might be lacking proper tongue posture.
First, tongue ties. A tongue tie occurs when the stringy membrane that connects the bottom of your tongue to your mouth is shorter or tighter than it should be, limiting your tongue's range of motion.
Many people are diagnosed with this condition as a baby, and it can be fixed with a minor surgery.
Another reason your tongue may be slumping is because you have allergies or enlarged tonsils. If you're congested from pollen, or have a cold causing your tonsils to swell, you won't be able to breathe through your nose, which will make you drop your tongue posture to add extra space in your mouth to be able to breathe.
Finally, other nasal conditions, like a deviated septum, may make you inclined towards poor tongue posture.
If you're not sure what your tongue is doing in your mouth, Dr Luffey recommended a test for tongue strength during a YouTube presentation.
This involves gently placing one hand on your chin, opening your mouth as far as possible, then sticking tongue straight out of your mouth, 'like a surfboard.'
You should be able to hold it out in the air without support from the lips or clenching the jaw, Dr Luffey said. If you're struggling to do so, this could be a sign that your tongue isn't used to sitting in the proper position.
If you think you may have problems with tongue posture, Dr Mistry cautioned you should see a dentist, not try and correct the problem on your own.
If you do, you could inadvertently strain the muscles in your mouth and neck, hurting yourself, she said.
