The tongue plays a prevalent role on the teeth. This is the best way to start when faced with certain types of bite.

For example the “open bite”: mistakenly many parents think that the “gap” between the upper and lower incisors is due to the fact that the baby has used too much the pacifier or the finger inside the mouth. This may be a factor, but it is present in subjects that never had those habits. This gap is due to the fact that 2000 times a day (as they are the daily average swallows) the tongue pushes against the incisors instead of pushing on the “spot palatine”, where it will physiologically go.

This atypical swallow will cause an open bite and there will be no orthodontics able to overcome the strength of the tongue. Therefore, the dentist must realize the presence of an atypical swallow and, if present, send the patient to perform myofunctional therapy by the speech therapist specialized in this field.
The speech therapist has the task of educating and training the patient to swallow correctly. It is not only for an aesthetics impact and for the success of the orthodontic treatment, but it will also impact the respiratory capacity and the attention capacity of the subject.