Tongue thrust in 14 year old

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 9:14 am

My ds needs braces but orthodontst said he has a tongue thrust which should be corrected... Problem is I live in NJ and insurance doesn't really cover speech therapy. Additionally he is in mesivta and can't really afford to miss out if I were to take him out for sessions....he comes home too late at night for any evening sessions.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Is there an orthodontic device that can fix tongue thrust instead of speech therapy?

Please help.o

amother

Viola

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 9:18 am

I corrected my tongue thrust at 13 on my own. Maybe you can send him to a session or two and he can continue working on it on his own..

oneofakind

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 9:43 am

Then he should leave yeshiva during lunch. A tongue thrust and crooked teeth can really ruin someone's appearance.
Speech therapy is covered by many insurances.

amother

NeonYellow ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 10:17 am

amother OP wrote:

He may have a tongue tie. And/or a very narrow jaw and high palate. He should see an airway informed orthodontist who will guide you on the best way forward.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 6:03 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

He may have a tongue tie. And/or a very narrow jaw and high palate. He should see an airway informed orthodontist who will guide you on the best way forward.

Any recommendations? In NJ

saltandvinegar ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 6:17 pm

amother OP wrote:

Any recommendations? In NJ

Would you travel to NYC or Connecticut?
It is quite expensive to deal with everything but yes you do need an airway focused specialist

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 6:38 pm

amother OP wrote:

Any recommendations? In NJ

Dr. Barry Raphael in Clifton

yiddishmom

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 8:06 pm

amother NeonYellow wrote:

Dr. Barry Raphael in Clifton

I'm sorry for hijacking. Does Dr. Raphael work with infants too?

My baby has a visible tongue tie, but BH she breastfeeds beautifully. I'm therefore inclined to leave it as is, but I would like to hear from an airway specialist about the possible ramifications later on and get an opinion....

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 8:50 pm

saltandvinegar wrote:

Would you travel to NYC or Connecticut?
It is quite expensive to deal with everything but yes you do need an airway focused specialist

Can I ask why it's a given that he needs an airway specialist? Can't a tongue thrust just be a tongue thrust? ( I had one when younger and the speech therapist taught me where to keep my tongue and that was it)

amother

Tiffanyblue

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 9:32 pm

I am an SLP with a lot of experience with tongue thrust and facial structures. Many mesivta boys use their breaks once or twice a week to work on their tongue thrusts. The SLP should be able to tell you if the palate is narrow. I have not found short frenums to be correlated with tongue thrusts.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, Nov 20 2024, 10:30 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Are you in Lkwd?

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:05 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

Narrow palates are correlated with short frenums. The tongue is natures palate expander. When it cant move well and rest where it should, the jaw remains underdeveloped and the tongue doesn't have enough room in the mouth.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:13 pm

If my son has a very undefined jawline ( and sometimes breathes loudly when eating) should I suspect an airway issue?

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:17 pm

yiddishmom wrote:

He happens to have a new program for babies but I think for tongue ties you're better off seeing an ibclc that is tongue tie literate, they can assess if tongue function and movement is restricted.

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:21 pm

amother OP wrote:

If my son has a very undefined jawline ( and sometimes breathes loudly when eating) should I suspect an airway issue?

The fact that he needs braces means there isn't enough room in his mouth for all his teeth and that alone tells me that his tongue probably doesn't have a good range of movement. A recessed chin is another sign. Noisy eating probably means he's a mouth breather. An airway dentist doesn't mean he has an acute airway issue right now, but they do orthodontic work with the goal of widening the airway so that it doesn't become a more serious issue down the line.

↑ saltandvinegar ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:22 pm

amother Tiffanyblue wrote:

I’m surprised an SLP is saying this. Patients who have a restricted frenulum attachment frequently exhibit open mouth posture, tongue thrust swallowing, and mouth breathing. If the palate is narrow the tongue is unable to rest properly and can push forward

↑ saltandvinegar

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

You have to dig deeper to figure out what is causing the tongue thrust. If your son has a narrow palate that affects many other aspects of speech and oral development. It’s a journey! I’m dealing with it now too and it’s never ending

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:26 pm

saltandvinegar wrote:

I thought tongue thrust are extremely common. He speaks fine. He does have a recessed chin I think, is that an issue??

amother

↑ NeonYellow ↓

Thu, Nov 21 2024, 9:28 pm

amother OP wrote:

I thought tongue thrust are extremely common. He speaks fine. He does have a recessed chin I think, is that an issue??

It's an issue because it's causing the tongue thrust