TONGUE THRUSTING ORAL HABIT - A REVIEW

Tongue thrusting is a condition in which the tongue is observed thrusting between, and the tooth  do not close in centric during deglutition.  Tongue thrust is an oral habit pattern related to persistence of the infantile swallow pattern during childhood and adolescence and thereby produces protrusion of anterior tooth segment and open bite. Such habits are considered to be normal in children upto the age of 4-5 year. However if these habits persist beyond the eruption of permanent teeth it could lead to various deleterious effect on the teeth. Thus  identifying and treating tongue thrusting habit at an early age prevent the development of malocclusion in the future.