Tongue placement and TMJ why you should care.

Tongue placement affects your TMJ. Having the tongue in the wrong place can cause a lifelong series of problems. Though that may or may not stop at the TMJ. The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), is a unique joint. It works like no other in the body. Having your tongue in the wrong place can put unnatural pressure on the ligaments, tendons, joint, and muscles holding up the whole show.

If your tongue’s in the wrong place, like tied to the floor of the mouth, your mouth needs to open to breathe. This simple movement in a growing child puts unnatural stresses on that connective tissue. This tissue is now supporting the TMJ stretching in unnatural ways. If you know of a child who is breathing with their mouth open most of the time, contact an orofacial myofunctional therapist. They can get that habit replaced with nasal breathing. Just telling them to close their mouth may not work there may be a good reason they’re mouth breathing.

If you’re not a kid anymore, you’re not totally out of luck. Before you have surgery or spend thousands on dental appliances for TMJ see an orofacial myofunctional therapist yourself. Primal Air therapist, Shirley Gutkowski, works with the tongue and all the muscles in the snoring complex – nose, mouth, throat – to take the pressure off the TMJ and surrounding connective tissue.

This therapy can eliminate jaw pain and replace it with the joys of smiling or eating an apple. Consequently, you may still need a dental appliance but it’ll work better if your muscles know how to be.

Call Phillip at Primal Air, LLC OMT and Breathing Retraining to schedule a complimentary evaluation with Shirley.  (608) 318- 2800.