If you eat like this, you need to watch THIS.

The way your tongue moves when you eat can tell us a lot.

If your tongue pushes forward, comes out between your teeth, or your lips have to open every time you swallow, that may be a sign of an immature swallow pattern that never fully transitioned into a mature swallow.

In babies, that forward tongue movement is normal because it supports nursing and early feeding. But as the mouth, jaw, and airway develop, the tongue should begin moving up and back against the roof of the mouth to help guide food into a proper swallow.

When that pattern does not shift, we often start looking at things like tongue thrust, low tongue posture, narrow palate, mouth breathing, tongue tie, open-mouth posture, snoring, jaw tension, and crowding.

This does not mean you need to panic if you notice it. But it does mean your tongue is giving you information.

A quick self-check: swallow and notice where your tongue goes. If it pushes forward toward your teeth or out of your mouth, that is worth evaluating. If it lifts to the roof of your mouth and moves back, that is closer to the mature swallow pattern we want.

This is exactly where myofunctional therapy can be incredibly helpful because these patterns can often be retrained with the right support.

Video credits to: phoebeisginger

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