Tongue thrust is the pushing of the tongue against the teeth while swallowing or at rest. The average person swallows 2,000-4,000 times per day and exerts pressure with each swallow. This can push the teeth out of alignment and may cause distorted speech sounds.

IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust is a step-by-step program that leads you through tongue exercises that are explained in written words and videos to correct your tongue thrust in only seven weeks.

What Causes Tongue Thrust?
Thumb sucking and/or nail biting
Mouth breathing
Premature loss of "baby" teeth
Lack of muscle coordination
Hereditary factors
Enlarged tonsils & adenoids

What Oral Behaviors May Be Present?
Sucks the thumb, fingers, tongue
Bites fingernails, pencils, etc.
Breathes through the mouth
Habitually rests tongue against or between the teeth
Drinks large amounts of liquid with meals, washing down the food

Why is the Dentist / Orthodontist Concerned?
Tongue thrust often results in an open bite and/or "buck" teeth. If a person is swallowing incorrectly, it will be difficult to maintain the full orthodontic result: the tongue will continue to affect the overall jaw development as well as the tooth alignment. Therefore, it is important to correct the tongue thrust before braces are removed.

What treatment is appropriate? The IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust goals are to:

Train the muscles necessary for a good swallow and correct resting posture
Teach the correct swallow
Make the correct swallow a habit
Eliminate undesirable oral behaviors

The exercises vary from week to week but take only 5-10 minutes and most of them can be performed while driving to work, reading, watching TV or vacuuming.

Recommended for ages 8 and over. A younger child may be able to perform the exercises, depending on their maturity.

Most people who have a tongue thrust also breathe through their mouth while sleeping, if not also while awake.  When mouth breathing, unfiltered and cold air enters the body instead of clean, warm air. This can result in congestion or other problems of the upper respiratory tract. Mouth breathers often have a short upper lip, making it difficult to keep the lips closed without thinking about it. The IJustWantTo® Correct My Tongue Thrust program provides lip exercises to increase nasal breathing.

What makes the IJustWantTo® Correct My Tongue Thrust program different from other programs?

The Tongue Stick™

"Remember" Bracelet helps you remember to do the exercises.

A major reason people are unable to keep their teeth closed is because their tongue is too wide for their mouth. Go to the mirror and stick out your tongue. Do you see small indentations on the sides of your tongue? This is a sign that it is crowded in your mouth.

One of the major exercises with this program involves stroking the sides of your tongue to stimulate and tighten the muscles, which can result in a skinnier tongue.

The Tongue Stick™ was specifically designed to perform two of these special exercises. It ensures that you are stroking the targeted tongue muscles.

The Tongue Stick™ is not available with the online only version.

Three versions of the program available:

1. Online instructions and videos Only - ORDER NOW
2. Online + CD Version + One Tongue Stick™ + One "Remember" Bracelet - ORDER NOW
3. Therapist Site License with Parent Instructions and Therapist Manual for teaching the program - ORDER NOW

Instant Access to Online Book and Videos
Optional CD available at purchase - recommended for dial-up users.