Quick poll - who else has been doing this wrong all their life?

[Stickywhitelovepiss]

So I found out yesterday that my tongue has been in the wrong place all my life (I'm 40 something) and I've been blissfully unaware all this time.

Apparently poor tongue posture can:

• Worsen teeth crowding/open bite
• Narrow palate & alter facial structure
• Promote mouth breathing & airway issues
• Affect speech/swallowing mechanics
• Contribute to head-forward posture
• Impair sleep quality via snoring/micro-arousals

My mind is boggled. Is it really just me. Feels very weird and wrong to put my tongue up there - is everyone really walking around with their tongue up at the roof of their mouths...?? How weird.

Curious to know!

You are being unreasonable = Of course my tongue is in the correct position, you myofunctional weirdo.

You are not being unreasonable = What? No one told me my tongue was supposed to be there either!

Funny, I was reading about this a few weeks ago and ever since then have made a conscious effort to put my tongue on the roof of my mouth and breathe through my nose. I’d say it’s now becoming second nature although not sure what the obvious benefits are. I do feel I snore less and wake up with a less dry mouth so I think my tongue is moving more to a better position when I sleep which can only be good. But yes, I wish I’d known this earlier.

I thought the tongue being on the roof of your mouth was a sign of stress.

I have no idea where my tongue normally lies. Just now I am stressed, so not the time to find our.

My tongue has (always, as far as I'm aware) sat naturally on the roof of my mouth. However... I had 5 teeth out due to crowding, have a bit of a head-forward posture and had to train myself out of (sometimes) mouth breathing.

I can’t imagine my tongue flapping about loosely at the bottom of my mouth. It would feel like I was constantly poised ready to speak. The back of the tongue would get in the way of my breathing, almost like a snore.

Thing is, physiologically we are different. When my mouth is closed my tongue rests at the top of my mouth. I have to relax my jaw for my tongue to leave the roof of my mouth and that feels all slack and dopey/vacant looking. I’d drool!

My tongue naturally rests even lower so it's more between the teeth rather than top teeth 😮

Edit
I would feel like I was constantly poised ready to speak.
Well yeah... I am a bit of a chatty Cathy 😬

My tongue has always sat on the bottom of my mouth.

Until last year I was never able to breathe through my nose due to sinus issues. I had surgery and I’m now undoing a lifetime habit of mouth breathing!

Oh this is hilarious. I can't believe you all fell for it. Next there will be an advert for a 'tongue correction aid' at 300 quid. (Basically a modified bit guard)

I remember as a child I read about mouth breathers so I consciously chose to breathe through my nose instead, but that wasnt to do with posture etc. It was more i didn't want people laughing at me. That change was a bit of an effort, as my sinuses aren't great, but it comes naturally now.
Also I'm a naturally tense person so my tongue automatically goes to the roof of my mouth. I read once a sleeping tip that said to relax the tongue to help with the falling asleep process. I most don't need to do that anymore.

My tongue feels weird wherever I put it now I'm conscious of it. I think it rests gently touching the top just behind my front teeth but not all along the hard palette.

I feel like I'm at the dentist now and can't keep my tongue still.

I have scalloped tongue from years of poor hypothyroidism treatment, so presumably mine squishes out the sides instead. I've never heard that we are supposed to keep our tongue in a particular spot. Who would teach people such things? Surely the point is that your tongue goes where it's comfy, but if it's comfy in the "wrong" place then you have issues.

As long as it isn't lolling out the side it's fine.

I've heard about this thing called 'mewing'. Nothing to do with cats or their tongues. It's named after the conman dentist who came up with it. I can't remember much of the specifics but it has something to do with the tongue, possibly soft food not giving our mouths enough of a workout leading to narrow jaw and crowded teeth. I think it's a bit more active than this though. Iirc you're supposed to push your tongue against your teeth...?

I waste enough time on MN so I don't go near tiktok but I think there are, generally male, 'fluencers on there who are all over it. They believe it sculpts their faces.

@Rattyandtoad nothing to sell here! Just genuinely curious.

I am trying to remember to put it up there but feels all manner of wrong to me!

Do you sort of suck your mouth closed?
I create a kind of suction in my mouth, maybe by swallowing the saliva, and then ignore it. Everything stays put. It isn’t a conscious effort.
There’s no air in my mouth. I think that contributes to bad breath.

Of course YABU 🤣

My tongue rests like the 'wrong' picture.

My teeth are not overcrowded.
My bite is perfect.
I don't have a narrow palate, if anything I have a wide jaw.
Nothing wrong with my facial structure.
I mostly breathe through my nose. (No idea what's wrong with mouth breathing, anyway. Don't most of us breath through our mouths if we're so deeply asleep that all our muscles relax, including our jaw muscles?)
My speech is clear and my swallowing is fine.
I never snored until I was pregnant. It's normal to snore in pregnancy.

Anyway, the tongue falling backwards to rest against the back of the palate causes snoring.

Tongue position causing those issues is complete gubbins.

This all sounds bonkers! 😂

Just be glad we aren't like dogs with long tongues hanging out the sides of our mouths and dripping! "You're a side-dripper, that's wrong!" "Do you lick your nose with your tongue in company?" "How many drips is rude when you're on a new date?" 😂

Honestly my tongue is just fine where it is. Humanity is nuts. LOL! 😆

There is a whole science behind it - myofunctional therapy. Which I'm not selling!

How are you doing it @toastedteddy? I'm trying to but no idea if I've got the tongue position in roof of my mouth correct and it feels so odd!

Yeah, seems popular with incels for they kid themselves giving them a rugged square jawline.

I read about this a while ago and was surprised that’s not where everyone’s tongue sits. I’d never given it any thought before but that’s where mine just sits, it feels uncomfy otherwise.

@pinkpony when you breathe out is it through your mouth or nose? If through your mouth, what happens to your tongue- where does it sit then?.thanks

Yes I suck my mouth closed too. Particularly when I’m going to sleep

I have a deviated septum which means I snore and can’t breathe through my nose really at all. My tongue rests behind my bottom teeth naturally. I was in my 20s before even realised that most people breathe through their noses.

So you breathe out through your nose too? Thanks

Might depend on the size/length of your tongue depth of your mouth as much as anything else.

Also, I have a bumpy nose - Norman ancestry - which has definite bearing on breathing.

Wish I hadn't opened this! My jaw always aches so I was searching for reasons and came across this a few months ago. Got super stressed about my tongue position for weeks. Forgot about it. And now, here I am, wondering whether I have a 'tongue in the wrong postion' face.
Mine is neither on the roof or bottom of my mouth. It floats in the middle.