Friday, June 17, 2011

Tongue Thrust Progress!


My jawline with the tongue thrust, it was actually worse before, this is just me trying to show you guys now


To anyone who doesn't know, I've been trying to correct my tongue thrust. It will be a lot easier after I have jaw surgery, but I'm doing what I can, it has made a huge difference in my side profile when looking at my jaw line. The tongue thrust caused the area under my jaw and chin to sort of bulge out.



Also, just wondering if any jaw surgery patients out there are runners? I'm a runner, and I run long distance. I've noticed that now with my jaw worsening its really hard to keep my bottom jaw shut and not vibrating as I run. I guess because my jaws don't fit closed its causing some shock. Its horrible, I'm hoping this will improve post surgery as I would really love to run without my jaw hopping around. I got new runners, haven't tried them out yet but they are soo comfy, and super cute.

Hope all you guys are doing well.

I have an adjustment on Wednesday and I'm hoping I can get an idea of when I'll be surgery ready. Wish me luck everyone! Can't wait to get this done!!

Also, thanks so much to all the wonderful bloggers that have been so helpful and have provided so much information. I love love love it!! I'm going to do a very awful post with my orthodontist pictures of my face, they are horribly ugly and I hope you guys don't have nightmares.

Terra

11 comments:

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  2. I think I had a tongue thrust issue too! What exactly does it mean again? Is it when you tongue doesn't sit comfortably in your mouth and moves around. Sometimes I feel as though my tongue is too big for my mouth. haha

    Great shoes!!! I used to be a cross country runner at school, but because of my breathing problems and my deviated septum it became extremely hard to run long distances without getting totally out of breath. I just couldn't get the right amount of airflow through my nose to run comfortably. I would like to get back into it, because my breathing has now significantly improved since the surgery! Yay :)

    Do you have any breathing issues caused from your Open bite? I too found it hard to close my mouth with all the strain while I exercised. Always had to have my mouth open :(

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  3. I have so many horrible photos from the orthodontist. I NEVER makeup or do my hair to the orthodontist which doesn't help either. But it's not like I'm meeting any cute guys when they are all like in middle school LOL!

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  4. Wow, the new jawline pic is amazing. I didn't have a recessed chin like dani and rihanna but I think you, just like them, are going to be thrilled with your new profile.

    I am also a runner but have taken some time off it because of a stress fracture I got in my foot last year from too much running. I never noticed jaw problems while running but i'm likely focused on my tight knee, lol. I cannot even imagine running now that my face is held together by screws. I did some running in place and some jumping jacks in a workout class the other day and it was creepy feeling!

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  5. Hey Terra,

    I do a lot of running. When I started running my regular path back on my 5th week post op, I was really worried about a screw coming loose(that's a first while running), and my bottom jaw hitting my top jaw making shock. Although it was worrisome, it didn't pose a problem at all, my teeth did not make much contact. Something that has changed is that I have moved from a mouth breather to a nose breather. It certainly helped while running surprisingly. I was over my usual time by a lot but was happy to be running again.

    If you do worry about impact, treadmills are much easier on the knees.

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  6. Thanks for the comments guys.

    Rhianna, the tongue thrust is when instead of putting your tongue at the roof of your mouth and putting pressure there you put your tongue either behind your top or bottom teeth or between your teeth. You probably did have a tongue thrust, they usually cause an open bite. Do you find that you keep your tongue at the roof of your mouth now?

    Gordon, I can't even imagine breathing through my nose while running, it think that will be amazing. I noticed over the years that my mouth breathing has worsened and it really kills my stamina but I keep fighting it. I'm thinking of getting a treadmill, fortunately my knees have been really good to me since I switched to running on a dirt trail.

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  7. Hey! Yes I did have a tongue thrust issue pre surgery! My bite splint that I wore as night had little pieces (like long surgical hooks) at the front that kept my tongue from pushing against my top teeth.
    My tongue NOW, sits comfortably at the roof of my mouth, There seems to more room for it now since my top jaw was moved upwards :)

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  8. Hey Terra!
    just wondering, did you surgeon/ortho say anything about the surgery helping to improve your Tongue thrust problems. Mine never even mentioned it and I believe I had one/still have one. I am really worried that the underlying cause of my open bite might have never been really addressed, and I would hate for my teeth/bite to move after the braces are removed. I have been reading up on it and never realised how much damaged it can cause :(

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  9. Hey rhianna! My surgeon said that the tongue thrusts dO sometimes go away with surgery. He didn't seem concerned about it but my orthodontist was. My orthodontist said i should do speech therapy to avoid having a relapse just in case because i've already relapsed since my orthodontic work 10 years ago. I'm going to just book an appointment with a sppech therapist anyway after i'm healed to make sure i stop thrusting. You should bring it up with your orthodontist and surgeon to make sure. Its really hard to tell how much you've progressed as i notice a lot of my thrusting is when i sleep or when i'm concentrating on other things like reading. Hopefully your thrust is gone but its always best to check.

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  10. I feel since my surgery and having my upper jaw moved upwards that there is more adequate space for my tongue to rest at the roof of my mouth. I am trying to make a conscious effort to make sure it DOES rest there now. However when I swallow food I can feel my tongue pushing towards my front teeth, instead of pushing away and towards the back of my throat. I definitely think I have a reverse swallow issue. I sucked my thumb constantly when I was little and this properly started up my tongue thrusting. I got a plate to stop me from sucking, but really I should have had myofunctional therapy too to stop the thrusting. I think I am going to book into seeing a speech therapist also to get a better idea about it. It might also be helpful for my lip competence too. I do not want any chance of teeth relapse. I have gone through so much already! I am just so annoyed that I wasn't aware of the therapy before now. I could have gotten this fixed ages ago and maybe prevented getting such a severe Open Bite. Are you doing exercises at the moment to help your tongue thrusting?

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  11. Hi Terra, I hope you're doing well...you're progress has been amazing, congrats. I wanted to ask you something. I'm about to start the same process you're undergoing; and I also do have a tongue thrusting issue. I just started seeing a speech therapist in order to correct the problem. However, did your speech therapist tell you approximately how long it takes to fix it? How long have you been in therapy? Thank you very much for your reponse...Alexx

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