We all want a radiant smile. While much of the radiance of a smile comes from within, whether we are letting our ‘Light’ shine or not, many of us still want a physically nice smile too. So when we turn our attention to dental braces, we come across another highly controversial subject in the oral health world.
Another article that relates to this discussion is how to stop two common habits that cause crooked teeth.
In this article, let’s dive into answering the following two questions:
“So, my teeth are already crooked, what can I do to straighten them?” and “My teeth are pretty straight but I feel them shifting. What can I do to keep them straight?”
If you’d prefer to watch a video tutorial that details this process, scroll down to the bottom of this article.
Let’s start by stating an obvious fact but one that many of us don’t think about commonly.
Foundation 1: Teeth shift.
Our teeth can and do move.
While we don’t want to encourage our teeth to be mobile, they can shift in the mouth.
The unhealthy way teeth shift – Abrupt or repeated pressure
For example, an abrupt shift of the teeth is graphically demonstrated in the comedy movie, the Tooth Fairy, (which, by the way, we very much enjoyed). If we fall or are in a car accident and the mouth is struck, teeth can shift abruptly even to the point of being knocked out.
Obviously, this isn’t heading in the right direction.
Repeated pressure would be like trying to make our teeth move by doing sets and reps of bumping them. This does cause teeth to become loose, but not in a good way.
A common example of this is bruxism (chronic grinding of the teeth). This regular habit of grinding causes the teeth to become loose and the gum to recede from the tooth. Again, not heading in the direction of optimal oral health.
The healthy way teeth can shift.
Teeth shift in a safe, controlled way by gentle pressure over a long period of time.
Examples of this would be how we can cause our teeth to become crooked over time like we discussed in the previous article or how braces function to shift teeth. Slow, incremental pressure is a safe, healthy way to cause teeth to shift to a more ideal position in the mouth.
The problem with braces
So if braces use this slow, safe method to shift teeth, what’s wrong with braces?
First, let’s be clear. We aren’t suggesting that all misalignment can be fixed with the following strategy. Sometimes braces may be helpful.
However, we see several issues with braces to cause closer consideration prior to going this route.
1. Traditional metal braces risk challenging the immune system
Dr. Hal Huggins stated it well to us, “Metals and mouths don’t do well together”.
Two main issues come to mind when we ponder metals in the mouth.
When we put two different metals in the mouth, an electrical current is created which can challenge and otherwise ’scramble’ the subtle electrical currents that flow through our bodies. (Traditional braces are made of metal alloy which is multiple metals.)
For more information on the currents in our mouths and the various internal organs impacted by these currents, check out our interactive meridian tooth chart.
The second issue with metals in the mouth again comes from the research of Dr. Huggins. He shared with us in our interview with him (that you can view for free here) that metals seem to cause otherwise normal bacteria in the mouth to morph into atypical bacteria that produce atypical toxins. Normal bacteria not exposed to metals in the mouth produce normal toxins that our immune systems have been dealing with for many, many generations.
However, once some thug bugs are exposed to metals in the mouth, they ‘morph’ into atypical thug bugs which produce atypical toxins. The rub is that our immune systems are much more challenged by these atypical toxins. We think that dental metals will be recognized as one among many causal influences in the explosion of autoimmune issues our global culture is just beginning to realize. (Autoimmune diseases are a very hot topic of discussion in the cutting edge of functional medicine these days. Some more well known autoimmune diseases are: multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and fibromyalgia.)
2. Plastic braces
We think that plastic braces like Invisalign are a step in the right direction as they avoid the issue with metals in the mouth.
However, before we can recommend plastic braces, we have to do some heavy research on what plastics are used. The problem as we see it is most oral health/dental products are not made from the mindset that the mouth is connected to the body. One obvious red flag would be if the plastics used contain BPA, which is a well-documented carcinogen.
3. Traditional braces and oral hygiene
We have heard a number of stories through the years of friends and customers sharing with us how braces either directly damaged their teeth or limited their ability to give their mouths the regular oral hygiene necessary to create optimal oral health.
While it’s confusing enough to know whether to brush, swish or floss first, traditional braces make regular oral hygiene that much more challenging.
Incidentally, we have a number of testimonials from happy customers whose children have braces, and they have reported that our awesome Bass brushes are a superior tool to help clean in and around braces. So, if you know someone with braces, consider sharing the info about our Bass brushes with them.
Ok, with all this info in place, let’s dive into the two-step strategy how to straighten teeth without braces.
Step one to straightening teeth: Align upper palate
The first step is to provide the structural support to align the teeth in the upper jaw.
Thankfully, we already have all the tools necessary to do this in our mouths! All we need is the knowledge of how to use the God-given tools.
Incidentally, this information originates from our studies of the Chinese longevity arts for the past 30 years.
We pay attention when there is common ground between ancient wisdom and modern science. Both traditional Chinese qigong (chi kung) and modern science of myofascial restructuring say the following guidance is supportive for not only straight teeth but greater mental clarity and a calmer, less anxious personality.
Providing support from the outside
Our lips provide the support to gently apply pressure to teeth that you’d prefer to have more inward. The most common example of this is the child who sucks their thumb for years and causes their front teeth to protrude.
It’s critical for this child to learn the habit to close their lips over their front teeth.
Incidentally, it’s very common for the child with this facial structure to habitually breathe through the mouth rather than through the nose.
Establishing the habit of closing the lips over the teeth and breathing through the nose will allow the lips to put the necessary pressure on the front teeth to provoke a slow shift of the teeth back to a more preferable placement. It will also teach the child to breathe through the nose, which provides much more support for optimal oral (and whole being) health.
Providing support from the inside – finding ‘home’ for your tongue
By a long margin, most of us deal with teeth ‘falling’ into the mouth rather than protruding like detailed above.
In fact, Weston A Price found this to be the prevailing way teeth ‘crowd’ in native peoples who are not eating their traditional diets. It’s as if the dental arch is collapsing and the teeth are ‘falling into’ the mouth.
To provide the slow, gentle pressure to support our teeth to be straight, simply rest the tongue ‘where it belongs’.
Before you click off this page thinking, “What are Will and Susan talking about?!?” let’s get you to be able to easily find the spot where your tongue was designed to spend most of the day.
Right now, take your tongue and place the tip on the back of your upper front teeth.
Now, while paying attention to what you feel, begin to slowly drag the tip of your tongue away from the upper front teeth along your upper palate. You’ll feel a number of bumpy ridges on your way to the soft upper palate.
Now go back to your front teeth and go through this again. This time, feel for the biggest ridge in your upper front palate. This largest ridge easily spans at least your front four teeth. Just ‘above’ this biggest ridge is a long, thin ‘ditch’ (for lack of a better word). This ditch is where the blade of your tongue is meant to sit.
The blade of your tongue is the leading edge. The very middle of the blade of your tongue is what we would call the tip. Try placing the tip of your tongue in this main ditch, then let the rest of the blade, that leading edge of your tongue, fill in the rest of the ditch.
Now that you have your tongue blade in place, using gentle suction, allow the rest of your tongue to curve and fill the upper palate. The whole tongue ‘rests’ in this space of the upper palate. The sides of the tongue gently press outward on the roots of your molars. The blade gently supports the front teeth outward.
By placing the tongue in this ‘home’ position as a regular habit, we support the upper teeth from ‘falling’ into the mouth so common in these nutritionally deficient modern times.
Let’s walk through this again just to be sure that you have the placement correct.
1. Find the biggest ridge in the front upper palate. You know you’ve gone too far feeling for it if you get to the smooth upper palate.
2. Place the tip of the tongue in the middle of the ditch just ‘above’ this biggest ridge.
3. Let the rest of the blade of the tongue fill in the rest of this main ‘ditch’.
4. Curving the remainder of the tongue into the upper palate, let the tongue rest on the roof of the mouth.
Making this place ‘home’ for your tongue when we’re not eating or talking will provide the long, slow, gentle outward pressure to normalize the alignment of the upper teeth.
Finding ‘home’ for your tongue combined with keeping the lips closed over the teeth supports ‘both sides’ of the upper teeth.
Aligning the bottom teeth
Aligning the bottom teeth is natural once we support our upper teeth in their ideal alignment.
We accomplish straightening bottom teeth simply by using them against our aligned upper teeth.
Another dentist friend of ours put this simply, “How to keep teeth in alignment is to use them”. In other words, chewing food that requires some work to chew is a great way to put the necessary demand on the teeth to help keep them well anchored in the jaw and aligned with one another.
Foods with lots of resistance to chewing, like veggies and jerky, provide plenty of demand for our teeth to get the work necessary to help straighten out misaligned lower teeth.
Will this fix my extreme misalignment?
Again, we’re not suggesting that this technique will straighten the most misaligned teeth in our culture. There is a time and place for braces.
However, learning where ‘home’ is for our tongue, making that resting spot the habitual spot to keep our tongue, and putting our lower teeth to work under aligned upper teeth will go a long way toward not only helping us keep our teeth straight, but also toward supporting realignment of teeth that are misplaced.
What about you? Do you find this information helpful? Have you had your teeth straightened using traditional braces or alternative, holistic methods like this? Please let us know in the comments.
Helpful, Related Resources:
How to Make Your Teeth Whiter (Without Destroying Your Enamel) [article]
How to Stop Two Common Habits that Cause Crooked Teeth [article]
OraWellness Meridian Tooth Chart [free educational tool]
Interview with Dr Hal Huggins [free expert interview]
Yes! After much research I found a dentist in my area who offers MyoBrace. It’s a training tool to teach where to put the tongue on “the spot.” I’ve noticed huge improvements in my eight year old, straight teeth, less snoring, and less tired during the day. MyoBrace is an excellent complement to OraWellness products.
What would you suggest for my 10yo whose lower jar is very narrow and she has a large overbite. She has a very pronounced lower lip tie almost to the tip of her tounge. At a holistic dentist they want to do the vivios system and mouth expanders then a frenectomomy followed by invisalign. I’m trying to decide what she should do.
Aloha Erinn,
We here at OraWellness aren’t medical or dental professionals, so we can’t treat, diagnose, advise, etc. Instead, what we can do is share information with you to help you become self-empowered on your journey. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see what information we can share to help. 🙂
Depending on your 10 year old’s situation and the treatment path you and her choose, it might be worthwhile to look into some alternative orthodontic treatments.
We’ve heard good things about the Vivos System that you mentioned.
Another option might be ALF (Advanced Light Force) orthodontics. We don’t have any personal experience with it, but a customer brought it to our attention. We did a quick Google search on it and found that, at a glance, it looked like a promising, more gentle alternative to braces.
Another customer brought up an orthodontic treatment called SOMA. Again, a quick Google search tells us that it also sounds like a promising alternative to braces.
And another option to consider might be Myobrace, a pre-orthodontic treatment that originated in Australia. We haven’t done a lot of research on this yet, but again, at first blush it looks promising, and we’ve heard good things about it from some folks whose children have tried this method.
So, there are definitely multiple options to consider.
It’s my understanding that if you ever go the route of orthodontics, no matter which option you find and end up choosing, it’s important to make sure that orthodontic treatments are done slowly and with gentle pressure over time, because treatment schedules that are too aggressive can result in issues like tooth root resorption. I’ve heard that resorption might occur more frequently in cases where the patient had braces for several years or when they were on a super aggressive schedule and the orthodontist applied a bunch of force to move the teeth quicker. So, slowly and gently seems to be the key.
We hope that you and your daughter will be able to determine the best treatment path for her with the help of orthodontic professionals. In situations where we feel uncertain about a diagnosis that’s been made or a procedure that’s been recommended to us, it can be helpful to get a second (or even a third) professional opinion. Here’s an article that explains how to find a dentist (or orthodontist): Helpful Resources to Find a Qualified Dentist to Assist You
I hope that helps! Aloha 🙂
Unfortunately, my son did not win the genetic lottery when it comes to teeth. Despite my traditional foods diet while pregnant with him and feeding him the same all his ten years, he still is stuck with my exact teeth and significant overcrowding issues. I do not feel we have a choice but to straighten his teeth. I opted out of pulling teeth to alleviate crowding as that just seems wrong to me. He will be doing Invisalign (not great, but the lesser of two evils I suppose) but prior to that, he will have a Carriere Motion appliance in his mouth for about six months. I understand the connection between metals and microbes, but unfortunately feel like we have no better option. Is there something you would recommend during those six months to mitigate this potential relationship with toxic microbes? Thank you for all you do.
Aloha Christina,
Thank you for stopping by. 🙂
We’re sorry to hear about your son’s dental difficulties!
We here at OraWellness aren’t medical or dental professionals, so we can’t treat, diagnose, advise, etc. Instead, what we can do is share information with you to help you become self-empowered on your journey. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see what information we can share to help. 🙂
Here are a few things we would do to mitigate the possibility of metals exacerbating toxic microbes in the mouth if our child had a metal orthodontic appliance:
1. We would encourage them to do what they can to help keep their detox pathways flowing well, such as staying hydrated and eating green foods. If green foods are an issue for your son, you could try finding a green smoothie recipe and/or a greens powder that’s palatable for him to support liver function.
2. Regarding microbes, we would encourage our child to keep their mouth clean on a consistent basis. We’d teach them solid oral hygiene and how to effectively clean around the oral appliance. An oral irrigator could work well for a child, as long as they know to use it on the lowest setting possible to avoid pushing thug bugs into the bloodstream.
3. We would also have our child swish vigorously for several minutes with one drop of HealThy Mouth Blend in a small amount of water at least once per day to help keep their oral microbiome healthy.
I hope that helps!
Feel free to holler with any other questions, Christina; we’re here to help. Aloha! 🙂
Thank you so much!!
You’re welcome, Christina! 🙂
Thank you for the info! Really well explained.. My top 2 front teeth have moved forwards so knowing where my tongue should sit is really helpful.. Here’s hoping it works!
Hello, I’m currently wearing braces and not sure if the mewing technique also helps with aligning my teeth.
Aloha Janette,
Thanks for stopping by.
You’d have to ask Dr. Mew to know for sure since he’s the dental professional and this is his technique, but we’re thinking that the force of braces might prevent the Mewing Technique from helping to align teeth.
However, we do still find it helpful to get into the habit of breathing through our nose rather than our mouth when we’re at rest (so, keeping the lips closed over the teeth), periodically exercising our mouth by chewing on something fibrous like a small bunch of parsley, and training our tongue to rest on the roof of our mouth. Getting into these kinds of habits now and continuing to use them going forward may help to keep your teeth aligned after the braces are removed. Feel free to check with your orthodontic professional and/or Dr. Mew to see what they think.
We hope that helps!
My teeths are not straight right from birth. I want to make it straight and I need help in doing that.
Will this technique be useful for me (19 years old) ?? And approx I have my upper teeth 40 degree outside then it’s original straighten position. So how much time will it take to get almost in original shape ?? As I’m afraid to go to dentist and ask for braces..I want to do it naturally.. Your informations are very helpful and gives us positivity towards this same thing.
Aloha Maitry!
Thanks for stopping by!
Each body (and mouth) is different, so when we start taking action to correct oral (or even whole-body) habits, individual improvement time varies.
If your misalignment is severe, in addition to working independently to correct any habits that might be contributing to the misalignment, it might also be helpful to work with a dental professional who can evaluate your specific situation and help you examine your options (although, it’s still important to find and address the root cause of the issue because if we get orthodontic treatments without correcting what caused the misaligned teeth in the first place, we might wind up back where we began a few years after the treatments have ended).
Depending on your situation, you might find it helpful to check out alternative orthodontic options such as Dr. Mike Mew’s Orthotropics methods and treatment techniques, an appliance known as the Myobrace, the Advanced Light Force (or ALF) dental appliance, the SOMA (Splint Orthodontic Myofunctional Appliance), the Vivos system, or even myofunctional therapy and/or speech language pathology (since things like improper swallowing can cause teeth to shift out of place over time and these folks can check for this and help you to correct it).
The more options we consider, the better equipped we are for finding the solution that’s best for our specific body.
Having said that, it’s our understanding that if you go the route of orthodontics, no matter which option you find and end up choosing, it’s important to make sure that orthodontic treatments are done slowly and with gentle pressure over time, because treatment schedules that are too aggressive can result in unintended long-term oral health issues.
We hope that information helps as you look within for guidance and decide what’s best for you and your body!
Aloha!
Thanks for this article! I just want to clarify – for teeth that protrude outward, we just need to make it a habit to close our lips over the front teeth, because the tongue ‘home’ position technique is only for teeth that go inwards?
Hi Maris,
Thank you for engaging here!
While you’re correct that for protruding teeth, the main component that’s important is to close the lips over the teeth, the benefits of learning to keep your tongue in the ‘home’ position are so great, that it makes sense (to me at least) to combine the steps.
I hope that helps!
Thank you for the info! When holding your tongue and mouth in this position, are upper and bottom teeth supposed to be touching, or not touching? I’ve always been a mouth breather and am trying to do better (getting off of grains and dairy have helped clear my nasal passages so I don’t feel like I’m suffocating any more if my mouth is closed!) I do find if I have my mouth closed and tongue in the correct position that if my teeth are touching I tend to unconsciously clench my jaw, so was wondering if the lower jaw is supposed to “hang” just a little bit or if the teeth are supposed to touch. Thanks for your help!
Aloha Lisa!
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Great question! I’ve heard different opinions on this from different dental professionals. Some say that teeth should be gently touching (not clenching) and others say that the teeth should be slightly apart (to prevent the possibility of developing a clenching habit). But, what they seem to agree upon is that the lips should be together so we breathe through our nose and the tongue should be gently resting on the roof of the mouth.
If you find a good myofascial specialist (or maybe even dentist or functional orthodontist), they may be able to guide you more on whether your facial musculature would benefit from keeping your teeth gently together or just a little apart.
Thank you and Aloha!
Hi Will and Susan,
Thank you so much for this insightful article. I’m 50 and my upper teeth (which are all straight and not crowded) are all moving over to the left so that the center is 1-2 mm off center. My lowers are fine (I wear a plastic splint on the lowers because of teeth grinding at night). I’m quite alarmed and can’t afford braces. I stopped leaning on that side and started pressing my teeth to try and get them back in place, but I see no improvement. What can I do to fix this? Many thanks!
Hi Vivien,
Thank you for reaching out.
Here’s the thing. We can’t make suggested treatment. I hear your situation about braces. Honestly, also being over 50, I wouldn’t choose to get braces at this point in my life. The risks just simply outweigh the benefits from my view.
Really dig into what may be causing the shift. My guess is it’s probably your bite? Also, keep in mind that the shifts from naturally straightening your teeth will take time. Shoot, even braces take time and they can do it too aggressively at times! 🙂
I hope that helps!
Will this technique work while wearing splints (retainers)? I have one for the day (to prevent shifting) and one for the night (to prevent teeth grinding). Thanks! Love all the great information you provide!!!
Hi Nora,
Thanks for reaching out and asking such a great question.
Hmm, I don’t think that the techniques we describe here will work if there are retainers holding the pattern of the teeth in place. That said, not all retainers are created equal. Some are ‘just’ there to hold teeth or stop grinding. Others have the intent to help expand the maxillary (upper) arch which would be a tremendous supportive move for many of us with less-than-ideal dental archs. Check out the company Vivos for ideas on this.
What do you think about gently pressing the tongue against the top teeth to get them to shift? Due to the way I smiled when I was a young child, my front teeth were pushed inward by my top lip and gradually closed the gap from a lost baby tooth. Now the arch is closed and crooked and that new tooth is completely outside of it. In addition to the aesthetics, it made my jaw slightly crooked and my lower jaw sits farther back than it should, though I have a functional bite and no jaw pain. All the dentists I’ve talked to want to give me orthodontics and extract healthy teeth, and they seem oblivious to other options. I doubt there are any in this country that know anything else.
Hi Katie,
Thanks for reaching out and sharing your situation with us.
It sounds like you have some substantial misalignment. We encourage you to seek the support of professionals who can really assist you in your goal. Remember, you can always say no to their suggested course of treatment. You’re the boss, the MVP, of your oral health journey.
Perhaps look into myofascial restructuring or look at the work of Dr Mike Mew in the UK for inspiration.
We hope that helps!
I am in my seventies and have had straight teeth all my life…no braces. My hygienist tells me that the reason my 2 upper middle teeth and growing closer together…she said that this happens naturally. I now also see that tooth #9 [? rt upper middle front tooth] is also twisting just the slightest amount with the most middle part turning inward and the farthest right side of the tooth turning outward. Do you have any information about this and why it happens? I would really like to know. Thanks for all your informative newsletters..simply the best.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for stopping by and adding your voice to this discussion.
So you know, we can’t make any suggestions on how someone should or should not navigate a certain issue.
That said, it seems to us that given your age and the small amount of change occurring that this strategy we teach in this article and accompanying video would very much support you in maintaining straight teeth. The fact is, teeth shift. So, we all really need to practice maintaining the base habits of “close the lips, close the teeth, tongue to the roof of the mouth” as Dr Mike Mew so eloquently teaches.
We hope this helps!
Perfect timing! I have been working on nose breathing for years and just came across Mewing. Thank you for your explanations.
I’m 55 and have gum disease with severe gum recession (especially behind my bottom front teeth), gaps, some teeth look longer, and now my teeth are shifting. I’ve also suffered bruxism my entire life. Using antiseptic mouthwash calms the gritting temporarily, so I know my bruxism is related to microorganisms. I’ve been trying to battle this pathogenic bacteria with everything imaginable from various oils (coconut, oregano, tea tree) to vitamins (D3, K2 MK4, magnesium, carotenoids, sockeye salmon oil).
I’ve had perfectly straight teeth my entire life (without braces) except for ONE canine that leaned inward slightly. Now that I’ve lost gum tissue, that canine is starting to lift up into where it probably belongs, only there is no room for it and never has been, so it’s competing with the molar on the one side and the incisor on the other side, both much smaller teeth in comparison. The canine now sits higher than it should as it tries to straighten up. In the process, it is pushing the molar next to it outwards. This molar now sits lower than all neighboring molars too whereas before it was level with its neighbors.
The urge for this canine to lift and straighten is also putting pressure on the incisor next to it. The incisor next to it is now lifting and tilted towards the canine. Since there isn’t enough room, the incisor (at least part of it) will eventually be sitting in front of the canine.
How can I get this canine and molar back into place before things get worse? The molar is too low now compared to its neighbors and leans out. The canine sits too high as it tries to straighten, and it’s about to push my incisor outward.
To make matters worse, all of my incisors are ground down to nothing.
I’m 61 and my front left tooth has shifted forward and onto my bottom lip within the last six months. The second tooth from my front left tooth has protruded for years and rests over my lower lip. (Not all the way). I am going to try pressing my tongue in front of my front tooth trying to push my teeth back into alignment. I don’t understand about the placement of my tongue. It’s not clear as to where my tongue should rest, is it in front of the ridges or behind the ridges? I too would love to see a video /diagram of what you’re talking about. My dentist has me wearing a plastic upper braces but I think it’s just a night guard. Thank you for this information as I do not want to wear braces or Invisalign. Was wondering if there was something out there other than Invisaline that would help my front teeth from shifting forward and restore my front teeth to their original alignment and correct the crowding and spacing in my lower front teeth. Thank you for your advice.
Mewing. Look it up and they have diagrams, etc.,
This method was developed by Dr. Mike Mew. It is called Mewing and there ARE diagrams on their website and videos on YouTube. https://the-great-work.org/guide-to-proper-tongue-posture-mewing/
Going on four years since we requested & was promised a video. Look, you don’t need to create a video, just a few diagrams would suffice as to the position of our tongue. If anyone at OraWellness still reads these comments, please consider posting a few diagrams to illustrate this article on teeth straightening.
I’m so sorry for this being so slow Alma. We’re thrilled that we (finally) got the video made!
Interesting read! Once my tongue is in place should I keep my top teeth touching the bottom teeth closed together and my mouth closed or relaxed and slightly apart while my mouth is closed. Also, this video may help a little for those needing a visual.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6dAEE7FYQfc&feature=youtu.be
ok. No video. This is not helpful . Still we were waiting for a video..but nothing…
Hi,
I see that this post is very old. I’m wondering if you ever made a video or diagram showing the proper placement of the tongue. Lately I have been considering Invisalign to correct an issue that I’ve had with my top teeth since childhood. When one of my last permanent teeth was growing in, I had a peculiar way of smiling while curling my top lip under, which pressed against my teeth and caused them to shift and the gap to close so much that the new tooth didn’t have enough space to grow in. It subsequently grew in above the other ones, and the other teeth angled inwards, I believe, altered my bite by requiring the lower jaw to sit farther back than it should, in order to chew and completely close. I’ve been planning to get it corrected, but I have also read about risks of root resorption, which is apparently pretty common. So I’m not so sure anymore. I wouldn’t want to move that tooth down into its proper place just to have it or others have to be extracted later.
Would the proper tongue position help push my teeth outwards to make space for the out-of-place tooth? I don’t understand about the placement. It’s supposed to be behind the ridge, not touching the front teeth? Wouldn’t it help push them outwards more if I placed my tongue against the top teeth?
I think using these techniques in combination with braces would be especially effective. Or at the very least it’d help your teeth to remain straight after you have your braces removed.
This is the neatest thing! Love this idea . . .am doing it now as I write this. Very hard to swallow in this position however and I find it makes me yawn! lol I’ve clenched my teeth for years . .. anxiety I think . . . and just in the past two or three weeks I feel like all my teeth are shifting . . . have had to have a few teeth pulled on the top over the years . . . and my eye tooth on the right is stuck in the roof of my mouth so I have a space there but they have never shifted before like this . . . my two front teeth hurt all the time, my face and ears hurt all the time. My bottom teeth are are crooked . . always have been but feels like they are all pushing against each other . . . I wear a partial only when I go out because I can’t stand the metal taste. Would this techique of home position stop my teeth from shifting . . . help tmj and maybe even help straighten my bottom front teeth? I’ve always hated me teeth . . . my smile . .. I have short teeth . . . have come close a few times to just having them all pulled. So hoping this helps. so glad I found this webiste. Thankyou.
Aloha Donna,
Thank you for reaching out to us and for your enthusiastic post here! 🙂
Yes, what you describe here is very common. At first, you may find swallowing different, even difficult, in this position. It’s possible that you developed a slightly different way of swallowing as a young child. Do you find that your tongue wants to jut forward when you swallow by chance? My guess is above…
And yes, yawning is common as you are forcing your body to breathe through your nose. Some people have chronic mucous inflammation which inhibits their ability to breathe efficiently through the nose. With practice, you will stop yawning. Perhaps try sitting up straight every so often and taking a few deep, smooth, full breaths while maintaining your tongue ‘home’ and breathing through the nose. This will help with balancing your oxygen/CO2 to help avoid feeling the need to yawn.
I believe that applying this strategy can help maintain straighter top and bottom teeth. It’s a softer approach for sure. It may help with the TMJ as well as it’s working on a holistic level helping to establish a healthier structure and function of the mouth and throat.
I hope this helps! We’re glad you found us too! 🙂
I cannot understand where is this “home”. Theres no ridge or ditch. I can’t find them.
Please can you provide a diagram?
Hello, great article.
It really got me trying this method and looking more on the internet ive found a common teqnique called Mewing or aka orthotropics.
In this method they suggest the proper spot for the tip of the tounge is in the incisive papilla which as I’m sure you know is the bump just behind the front teeth.
Well I like both of these ways, although on the incisive papilla is much more work to maintain.
Thnks, just curious on your thoughts, here’s a good link to the site I was looking at
https://the-great-work.org/guide-to-proper-tongue-posture-mewing/
Does this work on 20 year olds with overcrowded teeth?
Hi Ann,
Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry for our very slow reply. Yes, this technique most certainly can help a 20 year old!! It’s all about patience and persistence. Re-educating the body to hold this position as the norm as a habit is the game for us all. I hope this helps!
Hello,
Thank you for such a interesting website I’ve been going through the comments hoping that someone had asked a question that I had so, you won’t have to repeat an answer:)
What would you suggest if a child has a spacer on a 6 year old molar due to having had a tooth extracted? Is this spacer something that would cause more harm than good,or would there be a natural option to keep his back teeth from “sliding” forward (as the dentist puts it), or do teeth stay in their natural place even if one is missing? So many questions :)! The child is 9yrs old.
Also ,if an eye tooth erupts higher in the gum than the all the rest of the teeth,is this something that fat soluble viramins can correct?
I am all for anythinge natural and have been simply devouring all the wonderful info on your website. I agree ,God has created our bodies to heal themselves, so we are willing to try many things that could help!
I am excited to hear what you have to say and thank you!
Rosana — Since no one has replied I thought I’d share our experience. I am generally opposed to having metal in the mouth, but I’m sorry now we did not use a spacer when our daughter lost a canine tooth several years early. She wore an expander for years because her palate was very small and we wanted to avoid the eventual removal of teeth, but even with this expansion the gap caused by her early tooth lost closed up and now her canine doesn’t have room to drop down. We are trying to figure out how to avoid braces, but had we used a spacer I think she would not have such a big problem now.
A question:
If chewing helps “use” them…would chewing gum be a good practice to get into or to have your young child start doing every so often? Would that help a high arched pallet come down to have a more wide pallet for room for adult molars to grow in?
Aloha Anna,
Thank you for stopping by to add your thoughts here! I really like your thinking here.
You’re right. Chewing does help activate the teeth and ‘put them to work’ which helps both to realign teeth as well as keep teeth aligned. And gum may help some but we’ve found that gum doesn’t provide much chewing resistance. We prefer intentionally picking foods that provide our teeth (and jaws) a good workout. Depending on your dietary preferences, our favorites are organic beef jerky or a good pinch of parsley (including the stems which provide lots of fiber that resists breaking down from chewing).
I’m not sure if this would help spread the dental arch though. While exercising our teeth may play a role, the child also needs sufficient fat soluble vitamins (A,D,E,K2) and minerals to provide their growing body the nutrition required to fully express their genetic potential.
I hope this helps!
My Goodness am I glad to have ran across this information. I suffer from 1 of my front teeth protruding forward, almost out of my mouth. I am a teeth grinder and have been told that it is why this is occuring, will this method assist me? I’m much older than most of the posters as well.
Ps.. I would Love a video as well to pass this wonderful message on to others.
This website is awful. At least the comments are. Just tell us which way you should move your tongue when you say “above” the ridge. Is it closer to my teeth or closer towards the back of my mouth. Which side of the ridge should the tip of my tongue be on in that relation?
I’m sorry you feel that way Chef.
To answer your question, the blade of your tongue should go just above the main lateral ridge in the hard palate. So, away from/above/behind your front teeth. I hope that helps.
Any news yet on a video or a diagram for this? I have been plagued with crooked and misaligned teeth my entire life. Since I found your website, I feel like the health of my teeth has gotten better. Thank you for all your great information! Looking forward to the video! 🙂
I’d love to see a video demonstration, and images…..I’m more of a visual learner.
Thanks, Monica.
This information has been really helpful. I happen to be a carrier of a crooked smile and learning the home position for the tongue and proper lip placement may be just what I needed to fix that. So thank you and also I believe a video would go a long way towards clarifying further all the key points you’re making.
Does this technique push teeth outward? I have a crooked front tooth and this tooth should go backward, not outward. Is this technique good for me?
YOU GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
WHILE TRYING TO TEAR WITH MY TEETH, IT WAS DRAGGED OUTWARD AND SIDE WAYS , CREATING A SPACE BETWEEN ONE TOOTH AND CLOSING IN WITH the other. WHAT DO I DO TO RESTORE IT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION?
thank u very much
Thank you so much for the article. I am 38 years old. I am trying to keep my tongue position as per your instructions. Can you please send me the video.
thank you so much for this article. i have tried keeping my tongue in its home. i hope its kept as u instructed to do.
My mother always asked people how to close my teeth gap and her friend adviced Orthofill and they forced me to close my teeth gap. 🙁 But I think it’s okay because my teeth gap is big 😀 lol
Hey my front 1 teeth is moved out… I had braces long back 6 years back, den used retainers for 6 months… Now my one teeth is move back to previous position, I don’t want braces again as m 24 years now, pls help with some other option
My teeth gap was fixed because of orthofill. I was really amazed and thankful because orthofill helped me 🙂
Hey, nice blog. I’m sorry to bother you but do you have a video? If so, can you give me the link. I can’t find it anywhere
Hi there, I’m 16 and have one of my front teeth that angles forwards, where as the other one is fine. I recently went to my dentist, and he said it may be possible to straighten to tooth by placing my tongue in front of my two front teeth and applying pressure. I just wanted to ask if you’ve heard of this before and know whether it could work or not. And if so, how long would it take before it could start to show signs of improvement. Any feedback would be much appreciated!
Aloha Sam,
I applaud your dentist for telling you this! I agree with them that we can shift our teeth by applying gentle regular pressure to the teeth. While not as exact as having braces, it’s a simple strategy that can help balance many minor misalignments. How long it takes is simply a matter of how much you help it move.
Wow…Im almost eighteen and wearing braces seems a little too hassling having seen my friends wear them and complain all the time. My teeth as you mentioned point inward and I feel like my palate’s too narrow. I was wondering if the ‘finding a home for your tongue’ would really push my teeth outwards. Effective enough I wouldn’t need to wear braces?
Aloha Sajeeda,
Thank you for reaching out to us.
Many years ago I was in a similar position as you are now. I think I was probably 16 and the son of a single mom with not much income. The time came to ponder braces and I realized that my teeth were not in terrible shape so I passed on getting braces. Ironically, around that time I began studying kung fu, which is where we learned about the importance of tongue placement.
While I could have benefited from having my lower jaw brought forward a bit from orthodontics, who knows what kind of stress would have potentially occurred to my teeth and gum tissue as a result of having braces. I do not regret one bit avoiding braces.
We can’t make suggestions as to what another person should or shouldn’t do. I think you are very wise to consider your options carefully. Perhaps look into less invasive strategies?
THank you for this interesting article and blog! I have learned a lot about how to better care for my teeth because of you. I am nearly 37 and have receding gums (a recent, but disturbing development in the last 5 years) and large front teeth (which I seem to have always had since I was a kid). I have two questions.
First, I typically keep my lips closed in front of my teeth when not talking/eating without a problem, but when I tried placing my tongue further back so it rests on the palliate, I was able to do so, but now I find that unless I move the tongue back forward behind my front teeth, I can’t close my lips.
Second, I have a son who is 4 1/2. About a year ago the dentist noted to me that his teeth are misaligned to the side. In other words, his lower jaw/teeth align to the side relative to his top teeth so that it looks as if he is holding his lower jaw shifted to the side and the teeth indeed do not line up. It looks very uncomfortable to me but he doesn’t notice it. This “traditional” dentist told me that this sort of thing does not correct itself on its own and he will probably need braces sometime later after he gets more of his adult teeth. I would like to think that there is something that I can do instead, beginning now. He also has some mild speech delays, possibly because of his teeth alignment/tongue placement. Will tongue placement help this situation as well?
At any rate, I eagerly await a video so I can show all four of my boys something that will explain to them the importance of tongue placement and also HOW to do it (for all of us)! In the meanwhile, I am going to try to establish a new habit of placing my tongue further back on the palate as you describe in this article and see if the problem of not being able to close my lips completely doesn’t resolve with time.
THanks again for your wonderful article!
I was a mouth breather all through my youth. No thumb sucking, but hay fever that often made breathing through the nose impossible.
After graduating from chiropractic school I started getting adjusted regularly and my allergies literally dried up. That took away my mouth breathing excuses, so I decided to close my mouth. I really had to stretch my upper lip to cover the teeth – at least that’s what it felt like at first. But quite soon it felt natural, and 28 years later it isn’t something I think about at all.
This tongue placement thing isn’t something I’ve ever thought about at all, either. Mine rests with the tip at the bottom of the incisors. I have no doubt that a couple or 3 weeks of repositioning it deliberately will create this new habit.
Kung Fu taught you this, Will? I would never have thought of that, either.
This post makes me wonder if I ever think at all!
Thanks for all you do.
HA Jonathan!
Yeah, the system of kung fu we study was pretty thorough. It’s born out of what is called a ‘school of hygiene’ from days gone by. It makes sense really, this notion of hygiene, from a holistic perspective, would include such fundamental aspects like postural awareness of the placement of the tongue in the mouth.
As a chiropractor, I’m sure you have a very keen sense of the importance of maintaining upright alignment. We have learned that the tongue to palate foundation helps to keep the head sitting on the atlas. Perhaps even more precious, the soft palate is impacted by gravity over time as well, so I have a sense that this tongue alignment helps to support sphenoid placement and impacts regulation from pituitary and pineal glands to boot! I have no data on this, but it’s a point that I plan to research more when the time is right.
Thank you for always providing such fun, engaging thought to the conversation Jonathan!
I’m having a lot of saliva collect in a pool under my tongue, since I’m essentially blocking the throat. Is this correct?
Aloha Jaime,
Thank you for stopping by to ask such a great question!
It sounds like you have your tongue ‘home’ properly. It’s not really that you are blocking the saliva from going down the throat like you suggest.We only want anything to ‘go down’ when we swallow it and having the tongue home sets the swallow reflex in the proper alignment. The way we know that you found home for your tongue is because of the extra saliva which is a natural result of having the tongue in the proper place in the mouth.
Excellent work! Now try keeping the tongue home for several minutes at a time while breathing through the nose. You can definitely also swallow from this position even though many people find it strange. Swallowing with the tongue here at home is retraining the entire digestive tract to function more properly. More on this in another article.
Great stuff! Thanks for asking!!
I am a 55 year old woman. I have ground my teeth all my life. I have worn a night guard every night for the past 30 years, but my teeth had already been ground smooth. I have had TMJ since I was a teenager. I think my bite guard causes me to clench my jaws at night, but I’m afraid to sleep without it because I grind my teeth. My bottom front teeth don’t sit behind my front teeth like I have found out they are supposed to, and I don’t know if I ever did, but I have began to notice that my bottom teeth are shifting outward. I have huge gaps in between all my molars and food gets stuck there all the time. I recently went to a biological dentist who told me that I don’t breathe correctly and this is causing my teeth to shift. I am not a mouth breather. I have oil pulled every day for over a year, and my gums are very healthy.
Will holding my tongue in the position you describe help me breathe correctly, get my teeth to realign and help with the TMJ and night grinding and tension?
Thank you for any advice you can give me.
Aloha Wendy,
Thank you for reaching out to us and for sharing your story with us. I’m sorry to hear that you fear sleeping.
I think this a very serious matter and one that definitely deserves your full attention.
Here’s an expert article that addresses the link between grinding and sleep. Please watch it as it may contain some very helpful gems within.
We hope it helps!
To answer your question, yes, I think developing the habit to keep your tongue ‘home’ will definitely assist in retraining the whole system from the top down to function better. Clearly, we need to get you to be able to sleep very restfully to restore adrenal health and reduce tension.
Thank you and Aloha!
Very Informative article. Has a video or diagram been created for this yet? I would love to get a visual on how this works.
Aloha Julius,
Thanks for stopping by to offer your supportive words. We’re still working on the video tutorial on this much needed subject. I hope to have it ready after the holidays.
Aloha!
Aloha Will & Susan!!
Your guys’ blog is awesome and informative always. I also have not heard information like this anywhere else. Orawellness is a one and only thing! Thank you guys so much for doing the research and for teaching us what is optimal. It’s so nice to find something you know you can trust. I wondered if you had a post that was about your oral routine? As you mentioned above it’s difficult to know whether to floss, brush, or rinse first. Also do you have one on healing bruxism? Thank you guys’ for all you do!
Aloha L!
Thank you so much for your supportive words! That caring people take a moment out of their busy lives to share their appreciation for our work is such a precious gift to us! Really, thank you so much!
Your idea for us to share our personal oral routines is a great idea. We forget that readers would like to actually hear what we personally do! 🙂 I’ll put this idea on our ‘to write about’ list.
Re: your question about which order to do your oral hygiene, we have written on this subject. Here’s a link to that article.
Thank you again!
Thank you for this article! I would really like to see a video demonstration too.
Thanks for letting us know Jennifer! We’re working on it already… Stay tuned and we’ll share it when we have it ready for you.
What do you think about palate expanders called the Homeoblock?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUleuw7N3Go
I would assume that it works because any gentle pressure over time would make changes. I found this when also looking into NCR (Neurocranial Restructuring).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mzeDNXoYr4
Would the the Homeoblock be harmful or different from what an orthodontist does? Also, nobody mentions how we would get our bottom teeth in alignment if we change our palate. What do you think about these?
Thanks,
A
Aloha A,
Thank you for stopping by to ask us here.
While we have no direct experience with these tools you reference here, they make a lot of sense to us. Palate expansion seems like an excellent way to go about shifting the structure outside of conventional orthodontics.
In our article, we do address how to shift the lower teeth. Essentially, it’s by getting the upper teeth in place, then putting the lower teeth to work against properly aligned upper teeth. That’s why the general strategy is to get the uppers in place first. 🙂
Thank you vey much for all these very useful information.
It is great to know God gave us tools to fix disalignments as well.
Very good idea to make a video!
Aloha Giovanna (that sounds nice together)
Thanks for confirming that you’d like to have more info on this through a video!
This is amazing info which I’ve never heard before. I’m doing it now & it feels different but right. I would love a diagram & video too. My upper teeth have gradually gotten more uneven along the bottom edges. I noticed that it also sucks up the saggy muscle under the chin, so we’ll all get great chin lines, ha ha.
Aloha Wandalea!
Thank you (as always) for stopping by to share your appreciation for our work.
We are so glad that you find such benefit from this information. (And we completely agree that habituating the ‘home’ position for the tongue does wonders for a natural toning of facial muscles! Hehe)
Thanks Will and Susan. Great practical and helpful information as always. Yes a video would be great!
Wonderful SheKaNah!
Thanks for confirming and letting us know!
just started with lingual braces with a well know orthodontist.
I’d really like a video/more explanations of this as I’m not a native english speaker and I didn’t quite understand it.
Thanks
Thank you for letting us know. We will post the video for this technique once we have it completed.
The Myo-Munchee appliance is an alternative to braces that might work for some people. It is made from silicone so it is a safe material and it is inexpensive($80 ). https://myoaustralia.com
Braces probably work for some people but they did not work for me. I wish I had known about the Myo-munchee before. I just started using it less than a week ago , to relax my mouth and try to undo some of the damage the braces did , and I already see improvement. Putting the tongue on the spot doesn’t work for everyone. My dental arches were pushed inward by the braces so now my tongue protrudes past my front teeth. If I put my tongue on the spot my face looks puckered and strange and it feels uncomfortable . Besides making me look weird the braces also took away my bite , gave me a cross bite , and made me have gum recession despite excellent oral hygiene . If I new there was any chance at all that something would go wrong I would never ever agreed to have braces.
Aloha,
Thank you for sharing your story with us and this excellent resource!
I’m so glad that there are alternatives in the market to conventional braces.
Please keep us informed how it goes with fixing the damage in your mouth. I’m sorry to hear it when a person shares how the industry actually caused more harm than good. It’s an unfortunate reality and we the public really don’t know how common it is.
I believe this is something that should also be considered: http://www.teethperfect.com/
Thanks for your enlightening posts and website.
Thank you for sharing this link!!
Thank you so much Will and Susan for all of your helpful articles. They have been a tremendous blessing to me and my family. I have one question. When you say the tongue should be place “above” the ridge, do you mean further back away from the front teeth, or further forward towards the front teeth? I am thinking you mean further back, but wanted to be sure. Thanks again for all you do!
Karoline
Aloha Karoline,
Thank you for the kind words of support!
I think a video would really, really help clear up so many of the questions that words can’t. But until we get the video completed, let’s see if we can get you ‘home’ with your tongue. 🙂
The way you describe it here is actually very clear. So, thank you for putting it this way. The deep groove that we call ‘home’ for the tongue is just above (further away) from the front teeth from the biggest ridge (in my mouth anyway!). That said, I really do think that the internal ‘architecture’ of the mouth and upper palate can vary substantially person to person. So, it’s a bit of an exploration and solving a mystery to find where ‘home’ is in your mouth.
If I feel for the biggest ridge on my upper palate (which for me is the first prominent ‘something’ as I slowly move my tongue off from my front upper teeth), the groove ‘home’ is the ditch just one bit further away from the front teeth.
I hope this helps Karoline. If not, please sit tight and we’ll get that video done soon I hope.
Thanks again for asking!
I LOVE this one of a kind information! Can you please explain what collapsed teeth are?
Aloha,
Susan
Aloha Susan,
Thanks for your support.
The concept I’m trying to communicate with the term ‘collapsed teeth’ is when the tips (biting/chewing ends) of the teeth are pointed slightly inward. It’s the opposite of ‘buck’ teeth where the tips of the front teeth are pointed slightly outward and cause the lip to protrude slightly.
Does that help?
I had braces from a very young age (I think 8) with the goal to widen my jaw and upper palate to make room for teeth rather than pulling teeth to make room. After that, I went through 2 different sets of braces, always having a nightguard in between rounds. I was given 2 night guards (one for right away, the other for when the first one wore out) for after my complete set, but when I switched to the second guard it was so tight that I didn’t take the time and pain to wear it. I also have a metal retainer behind my front lower 6 teeth In the last few years (I’m now 30), I’ve noticed that my top teeth are shifting. The teeth directly beside my first 2 teeth have slipped inward like your article is talking about. My bite especially feels wonky, my jaw is tense. Braces don’t feel like the answer, but I’m not sure how to make positive changes either. I didn’t sleep on my face, but I have made efforts to stop leaning on my hands. I’ll practice these habits as well. Do you have any other resources for jaw/bite issues?
Aloha Nichole,
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
If you scan through the comments on this article, you’ll find what we consider to be some really excellent alternatives to braces from others commenting on the blog. I’m particularly interested in hearing more about the tools (almost like a mouth piece) that help restore healthy alignment.
Thanks for stopping by to ask! We hope this helps.
Thank you for this! I had braces in middle school and went to a holistic dentist in my mid-twenties who said my palate had a very high arch. I’ve always felt that I couldn’t rest my tongue or teeth (top molars to bottom molars) comfortably and love the idea of a gentle realignment.
Awesome Alison! So glad to hear that our words gave you some direction and insight.
Aloha!
My husband would like me to add this comment: He has had a few seizures in the last two years, including both grand mal and partial seizures. The docs attribute this to his having a cavernous hemangioma in his brain (which sometimes, but by no means all the time, cause seizures). They said he’s probably had it since birth, and for some reason it’s now causing seizures (he’s 62, had first one at age 60). He also has at least two root canal teeth left, and another two or three have been removed after they had root canals. I write this because he has noticed that there is often a relationship between the position of his tongue in his mouth and the onset of a seizure. He will have the sensation that his tongue is too large for his mouth, and that if he puts the tip of his tongue toward the front or side of the roof of his mouth it will cause a seizure. When he does have a seizure, his throat starts to close up and then his jaw locks up strongly. I post this only because we thought you would find it interesting! Not asking you for medical advice on this topic. His seizures are controlled by medication, but as is often the case in these conditions, sometimes the effect wears off and breakthrough seizures can result, leading to need for higher doses or different meds.
Aloha Joyce,
Thank you (and your husband) for taking the time to offer your story.
This makes a lot of sense to me that where he puts his tongue would provoke a seizure or not. You see, in the Chinese medical model, there are energy pathways that flow through the body. Putting the tongue in this position ‘connects’ two main pathways. For most people this is a very health giving habit as it encourages more flow. However, if a person has challenge neurology (in the case of your husband or someone with epilepsy for example) this flow can offer enough of a change in brain chemistry to cause someone with a challenged system to go haywire.
I think your story is a very important piece to this subject and we really appreciate you taking the time to offer it here so others can learn from our combined effort. We wish you well along your journey!
Thank you!
And thank you! for this kind reply that sheds light on what is happening..
Thanks for addressing this topic! I’m wondering if you can ever write about Crozat appliances vs. traditional braces (for those that do have severe misalignment such as two bites.
I too would appreciate a diagram and/or video.
Aloha Krissy,
Thank you for stopping by to ask and sharing your appreciation for the work.
We haven’t done any research on Crozat appliances vs traditional braces. Perhaps that’s yet another subject that we can dive into in the future!
Stay tuned for a diagram and video to help learning where ‘home’ is for our tongues. 🙂
So basically, this is mewing. Right? This information was very helpful btw. Thank you. 🙂
Yes, I’d love to see a video tutorial and diagrams! thanks!
Thanks for letting us know Jacqui! We’re working on it already given the strong ‘yes’ we have received from our wonderful readers like you!
Thank you for this post! People need to be aware of the risks of orthodontics. It can, and most often does change your face. Yes, your entire face. One of the main reasons for this is the common practice of tooth extraction in order for room to be made in the perfectly aligned mouth. I had four teeth extracted prior to braces. Now that I am older I would gladly trade slightly crooked teeth for all of the irrepairable damage to my mouth, meridian points, and facial structure. It is very common for braces to elongate the face, narrow the lips and chin, and not in a flattering way. Many people feel they were more attractive prior to braces. I feel outraged that parents, and children are not informed of these potential changes. My chiropractor has a picture of a set of identical twins. One of the twins had braces, and the other one did not. The face of the girl after braces now has a long narrow face, but her identical twin who did not receive braces is by far prettier, and has a more attractive jaw and facial structure. An unnecessary tragedy in my opinion.
Also, I agree about the position of your tongue. After my braces were removed I was sent to an orofacial myologist to correct tongue thrust, posture, and the proper placement of my tongue. My doctor put a piece of dissolving tape where I was supposed to place my tongue. At night I had to put the tape there, and in the morning if it had dissolved, I had kept my tongue in the proper position, but if it was still there, then I did not. I highly recommend orofacial myology. My doctor took before and after profiles of my face, cheeks, and lips, and the results are astounding. However, these practices are up to you to maintain, such as keeping proper placement of your tongue, etc.
I understand people may need braces, but at all costs avoid tooth extraction, and only do the bare minimum to please your own personal smile.
Aloha Wanda,
Thank you SO much for sharing your story and experience with us!!!
Nothing like a person like you who has ‘been there, done that’. Sad story on the twins indeed.
Thanks again!
I am a physical therapist, and as a side note to this info, it might be helpful for people to know that having the tongue in this position creates a gentle suction to hold the bottom jaw up, which minimizes tension in the jaw muscles. So, the muscles don’t need to work much at all for this position to be maintained, which can help prevent or minimize pain in the TMJ. TMJ issues are multifactorial, however, so this positioning info isn’t a silver bullet.
Aloha Jenn!
Thanks for stopping by to add to the discussion! Excellent point about tongue position and the impact on jaw relaxation!!
We are so blessed to have awesome folks like you stop by to add their expertise to the discussion.
I love this kind of information and being a visual person, would love a video or even an illustration to make sure I’ve found the ‘biggest ridge’.
excellent material everywhere on your site.
Thank you!
Thank you for your caring, supportive words Carrie! We’ve already gotten started on the video given all the positive feedback! 🙂
Your articles are a breath of fresh air, thank you so much for sharing such great self-care information. Any ideas on teeth that want to protrude?
Also, I would really enjoy hearing your take on Dr. Joseph Phillips blotting technique. I saw his ancient video on YouTube and was fascinated. Have you seen it yet?
Aloha Laure,
Thank you for your kind words on our work. If teeth have a tendency to want to protrude, the game is to develop the habit to keep the lips closed and breathe through the nose (still learning to keep the tongue ‘home’ as we explain in the article). In this way, you are putting gentle inward pressure on the teeth. Be sure that you aren’t pushing against the inside of the teeth with your tongue while you find ‘home’ as this would inhibit the pressure the lips will place on the front teeth.
Make sense?
Phillips blotting technique is another great technique like the Bass brushing method we teach. We think they both have merit. The Bass technique is just easier to adopt as it’s similar to how we want to brush whereas the blotting technique feels weird until one develops the habit. Both help, so whichever one feels better is fine. Just keep with a habit of disrupting and disorganizing the bad bugs! 🙂
Wow, Will! Keeping the tongue “vacuumed” to the roof of the mouth dramatically improves my airway while lying down! I wonder if practice can help my tongue stay well positioned all night…
And thanks so much for your feedback on Phillips blotting technique. Are blotting brushes any different than your brushes?
I’ve been rinsing and/or brushing with different essential oils, baking soda. And clay for awhile now…your Orawellness blend is a really nice blend, I’m enjoying it a lot!
Aloha Laure,
Yeah! I’m confident that you found ‘home’ for your tongue given the level of excitement in your words here! 🙂
I’ve found that with practice, the tongue can stay home while sleeping (depending on the sleeping position… I still catch myself with my mouth open if I’m on my back at times.)
Yes, the different brushing techniques require different brushes. Our Bass brushes are a unique design.
Glad to hear that you are navigating your path to greater oral health! We are honored to be part of your path!
Aloha!
Thank you for sharing this news! My tongue is in the new position as I type this and I am happy I do not have to entertain the idea of braces anymore! So glad to have found out about you and the work you do. Thank you for explaining how we can use our God given tools that are already in our own mouth! Also using the Healthy Mouth Blend instead of toothpaste is wonderful and my teeth feel exceptionally clean after! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Yes, I would be interested to see a video about the positioning.
Thank you SO much N for your kind words. With practice, the tongue will very happily find ‘home’ on its own. After many years of this habit, when I’m not talking or eating, my tongue naturally sits in this position. In the upcoming video, we will explore many other benefits of maintaining the tongue ‘at home’.
This is very interesting! I have been using your brushing blend and toothbrush and tongue scraper, as well as dietary changes and supplements, in hopes of helping my teeth get stronger. I have crowns on my two front teeth, which I broke pretty badly when I was about 11. I had braces after that for a couple of years, and when my braces came off, my dentist told me my molars were splitting apart from the pressure, and he applied sealants several times. My gums are inflamed and receding a bit, I have tooth pain when eating certain foods, my teeth often feel loose. It’s very discouraging because I don’t know how much they can be “healed.” I also had my wisdom teeth out a few years ago.. I’m only 25.
I wear my retainers (plastic) every night to keep my teeth from shifting. Do you know of any evidence that these retainers put unnatural pressure on gums or stop the teeth from remineralizing/healing? I am tempted to stop wearing them and let my teeth shift back to their natural position so that they won’t feel loose all the time. Any thoughts anybody? Any experience with similar things?
Aloha Kassia,
Thank you for sharing your story with us. I’m sorry to hear that at such a young age you have already experienced so much dental trauma.
You have enough going on here that I really encourage you to find a professional who can help you navigate this path. I’m curious what’s causing your teeth to feel loose (at your age). I think it wise of you to question the long term impact of a retainer on your teeth and gums.
Anyone else here have any words of encouragement for this person?
At 34 years old I quit wearing my retainer from high school. I was ready to let my palette expand and give my tongue some room to breathe! Things went really well the first several months, then I started to notice my two front teeth really protruding. I hoped it would correct itself, but it only got worse. I quickly got a new retainer just to stop the decline!
Come to find out…since I LOVE sleeping on my stomach/face, I had inadvertently been narrowing my jaws and pushing the front teeth forward. So my advice would be to make sure your sleeping habits support a widening jaw before getting rid of the retainer. Or else you may find you’ll need to get another retainer before things get ugly. ha!
Thank you for sharing your story with us and confirming that sleep posture is critically important to maintain straight teeth!
Mrs. Paul, so did you have your ortho make a custom retainer after your teeth had shifted? What type of retainer is it? My bottom teeth are shifting, have some mobility due to bone loss. Just wondering what my options are when braces were 20 years ago and I don’t see that ortho any longer.
Thank you guys! I would love to see a video. Funny that you should post about tongue position as I came across this topic months ago and have been trying to convince my kids to be more aware (my 4 year-old is a mouth breather, too). Any tips on how to get them in the habit of “caring” about their tongue position? I guess I can empathize – as a four year-old I most likely wouldn’t listen either 🙂 Thank you again for these helpful posts!
Aloha Viv!
Thanks for your thoughtful, supportive response!
I would help a 4 year old understand why it’s in their best interest to learn this positioning. Once an individual understands ‘why’, we are much more likely to follow through with the ‘umphf’ it takes to establish a new habit. I think the game with any habit change is understanding the reason why it’s important to make the change. I hope that helps!
I would like to add that besides letting the children know the why it is extremely helpful to get ‘practicing’ and noticing when the tongue gets into its ‘dock”. I was a mouth breather child and when information about the tongue position reached me I had no strength to hold the tongue in the groove !
So ‘going for the dock’ and noticing when it was parked there worked for me. Over several weeks of spending just very brief few seconds in the spot with my tongue, I finally noticed it started to venture to the ‘parking dock’ even at night. And that was of course the key, as it improved my ability to keep my mouth shut completely even in deep sleep.
Hello,
1. Yes, videos and other visual information would be very helpful for “natural” straightening of teeth.
2. You mentioned Bass toothbrushes for cleaning teeth. Can you explain the difference between Bass toothbrushes and “Blotting Brushes?
Thank you.
Aloha DB,
Thank you for stopping by to ask your excellent questions.
As you know, we’ve received quite a bit of positive feedback letting us know that a video tutorial will help and we’ve already begun preparing for this.
Re: your questions to compare the Bass brushing method with the Phillips blotting technique, both are helpful strategies. Let’s step back for a moment and see that when it comes to navigating to greater oral health, the game is to consistently disrupt and disorganize the bad bugs implicated with gum disease. As such, both methods function to accomplish this task.
The difference is simply how to go about accomplishing this ‘disrupt and disorganize’ strategy. Blotting uses a different motion to apply which is frankly why we prefer the Bass method. Also, the Bass brushing technique feels more gentle on the gum line than repeatedly ‘jabbing’ into the gum pockets like blotting suggests.
I hope this helps to illuminate the differences between these strategies. Both work and it’s really a matter of personal preference whether one wants to use micro lateral motions to wiggle into gum pockets (Bass method) or small ‘blotting’ (aka jabbing) motions via blotting technique.
I would love some more information on this subject. We are being told by an orthodontist that our 10 yr old will need braces “for sure” – apparently he does not have sufficient room for his adult canines to come in. We would like to get a second opinion – how can we find a more naturally minded dentist/orthodontist close to us?
And the concerns about the metal in the mouth are exactly what I was wondering about and thinking could be a concern having him in braces for a couple years.
The other suggestion they had for us was to pull the “first molar” giving room for those canines to come in, however, they felt he had enough other minor issues, he would benefit most from the braces.
Would appreciate your thoughts – or advice I could find more information!
thanks
Aloha Jen,
We empathize with your situation. Since we haven’t found ourselves in this situation personally, what we offer here is strictly from our desire to help, not from first hand experience.
The bottom line is any dentist/ortho who says that a child needs to have teeth removed isn’t aware of all the options. Now, I realize this is a pretty strong statement. But the fact remains that there are very valid alternative dental/ortho treatments to expand the dental arch to provide the space necessary for all our teeth. After all, God gave us 32 teeth for a reason. I see no reason to have otherwise healthy teeth removed to make space when other options exist. (whew, off my soapbox now)
So, if we were in your shoes, we would get another opinion. If indeed you choose to go braces, why not wait a few years until the second molars are completely in the mouth? The general push has been to put kids in braces earlier and earlier. However, I’m not convinced that putting kids in braces earlier is the answer. We have heard from plenty of parents who did have braces on younger kids that the changes didn’t ‘stick’ and the teeth shifted when other teeth came in.
We haven’t pondered this notion of how to find a more helpful dentist for orthodontal work. I’ll have to give this some thought.
Thanks again for asking!!!
Will, you might like to add a resource to your list: Joy Moeller, orofacial myologist, wrote a book with Samantha Weaver called, “Tucker the Tongue Finds His Spot: An Introduction to Tongue Placement Therapy” It has great illustrations by Kathleen Gaudet.
Also, my nutrition mentor, who recommends eating very similar to you, has found that if both parents eat a whole foods, nutrient dense diet for about 1 – 2 years before getting pregnant, their children can have broad jaws even if the parents did not grow up with broad jaws. Of course, some kind of detoxification of chemicals and heavy metals is also sensible before getting pregnant now. Beatrice Trum Hunter, in “Our Toxic Legacy” reports that it is normal these days to find over 200 chemicals in umbilical cord blood, and that research shows toxins in the mother become even more concentrated in the foetus as it grows. Prevention is the best strategy! So much less work than a sick child or a child needing dental treatment.
Narrow jaws seem to be a phenotype, not a genotype. That is, narrow jaws are not caused by genetics, rather they are caused by environmental factors. If the parents’ gametes (ova and sperm) are very healthy and the environment of pregnancy is very healthy, it is very likely that the child’s health, including dental health, will be robust – assuming they also are fed a nutrient dense diet. This will then mean orthodontic treatment is not necessary. Thumb sucking past age 4 also needs to be avoided, and orofacial myologists have information about how to help with this.
The nutrient dense diet I’m refering to includes pastured and wild meats, eggs, chicken, plenty of vegetables, seaweed from safer seas and fermented raw vegetables, healthy fats and oils e.g. coconut oil, butter, omega 3 oils, olive oil, sesame oil, ricebran oil, cod liver oil, whole grains soaked to remove phytic acid content (in water a day with a dash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice), legumes and nuts soaked to remove anti nutrients (nuts with salt). This diet avoids sugar, flour (you can’d soak out the phytic acid from flour or rolled oats), nightshades – potato, tomato, eggplant, capsicum, chilli and alcohol or any other toxin.
PS
It is possible to use fermentation processes to remove phytic acid from grains instead of soaking, that is what sourdough bread does, and Sally Fallon recommends fermented milk products to remove phytic acid from porridge. I don’t eat a lot of grain myself, but from Weston Price’s nutrition research, there were societies who ate whole grain foods as part of their diet who had excellent teeth with no cavities or gum disease, and excellent overall health.
Any other toxin includes caffeine (coffee, tea, green tea), theobromine (cocoa, cacao, chocolate), food additives, pesticides, herbicides…
Aloha Susan!
We interviewed Joy and plan to have her interview as one of our expert interviews soon! 🙂
Such a wealth of info she is. It was really fun for me to compare notes of her description of where ‘home’ is for the tongue and what we have learned and practiced for the past 30 years studying qigong. It’s precious when old knowledge and new knowledge both agree and line up!! Definitely worth listening to when they do!
Check out myobrace.com this is how we’ve straightened our kids teeth.
Aloha Sadie,
This looks SUPER awesome! Thank you for sharing the link! And since your family has used them, you are pleased with the results??? Are these appliances available in the US? It seems from the small glance that I took on the site that it’s based in Australia perhaps? (the accent of the young woman in the video was pretty telling :))
Thank you again!! You sharing this information with us is exactly why we are so thrilled to do this work. Sharing together what each of us have found beneficial is how we can all learn from one another!
Myobrace and expansion orthodontics are available outside Australia. Expansion orthodontics uses plates, and tends to start young to grow a narrow jaw wider. Starting later makes this harder to do, making braces more likely. It is amazing the transformations that are possible with plates and myobrace.
It would be interesting to actually check what plastics Invisalign are using. Invisalign is not suitable for every situation needing braces.
Agreed on all points Susan. Thanks for offering your input here.
We would also like to research what plastics Invisalign uses. This is definitely on our ‘to research and write about’ list. 🙂
Susan, I studied the site of myobrace, and some of the exercise children are doing to work with their jaw, and teeth, we did as children growing up in Europe. Children in their video look so happy while making various sounds, using their tongue.
Even though I am an adult my mouth started to move as I followed through with the video. And for days after I caught myself doing some of these activities while on walks, and even washing dishes,etc. It is a wonderful way to move muscles that
we usually don’t move, and those that help to WIDEN the mouth so teeth can fit better.
Yes, I would love a video tutorial. I have two young children who are both going to need plastic night guards. So any information on natural teeth straightening is appreciated.
Aloha Kerstin,
Thank you for confirming that you’d benefit from a video detailing this technique. We’re already working on it due to the great feedback we’ve received from folks like you today. 🙂
Yes, it will be most helpful if a video tutorial was made on this technique. Thank you.
Thanks for letting us know Tamika!
We’ll get to work on this video for you. 😉
I would love to see a video. I’m not sure I understood your directions. I’m more of a visual learner.
Thanks for letting us know Lottie! We will let you know when we have the video done and available for ‘us’ visual learners!
Can you guys maybe find or create a diagram or something about the “home” for the tongue? I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re describing. I can’t feel multiple anything in my own mouth. Just one single “hill” of bone or whatever, and then the soft palate. I’d really like to be able to put this into practice — and teach my children — but I’m not finding this “in between” location you describe.
You got it Rachel!
I’ll see what we can create for a diagram of the inside of the mouth. BTW, teaching your children this technique is a HUGE gift to their future health! Incidentally, some people don’t have multiple ridges just ‘above’ the front teeth. The one single ‘hill’ is what you want to feel for as just ‘above’ that ‘hill’ is the groove where the tongue wants to sit. I’ll post an image and let everyone know when we have it up!
Thanks for the idea!!
I had no idea that we could keep our teeth from collapsing. A video tutorial would be very helpful, or illustrations. I have two sons who’s teeth don’t merit braces, but I know in time they will continue to collapse, because that is what has happened to my husbands teeth. Thank you for this timely information:)
Thank you for letting us know that this info is helpful for you and your family Brenda! Hearing that others are sharing this info with their families is SO fulfilling and motivating for us! I’ll get started on the video right away! 🙂
Thank you for this, it is very interesting! I think it is too late for me and my wonky bottom teeth. My top teeth are nice and straight but a video would be very useful to show my granddaughter. i am so very pleased that I found your web-site, I have learning so much from it.
Thank you for your kind words of support Gillian! Yes, PLEASE teach this to your granddaughter!
Pictures or diagrams would be very helpful
Thanks for letting us know Grace! We’ll get to work on a diagram and video!
Also…..I have not had braces ever, and YES, a visual/video tutorial would be very helpful.
Wonderful Joyce. Thanks for letting us know!
Hello, I have one teeth on the upper left side of mouth which I really wish to shift without using braces .i will be thankful if I get any advice from you
I would enjoy seeing a video demo of this. We were patients of the late Dr. Huggins. He was instrumental in helping us with our autistic son who had less poisoning. Now he has two cavities and we are venturing to heal them on our own before we go with expensive fillings from a holistic dentist. Really appreciate all your great info!
The ‘Doc’ was a great man, wasn’t he Heather? We’ll get to work on a video tutorial covering this information. In the meantime, did you catch our recent video on removing heavy metals from the body? Given your son’s experience, it may be very helpful for you.
Thanks so much for this post! This is information I’ve never really heard elsewhere…I have heard that the tongue should rest “behind the upper teeth”, but it’s never been explained in such detail. I carefully tried what you suggest above, and find that it positions my tongue much higher than I usually have it. (I have very crowded and misaligned teeth, particularly upper, probably because I have all my molars in a jaw not broad enough to really contain them). So this feels very different and “odd”, and almost feels like it interferes with breathing a bit. Is it normal that this position feels so different? Just a matter of getting used to it? Or am I doing something wrong? I’d say that the place I usually feel my tongue rest is where the tip is right at the bottom of my upper front teeth, and the middle of the tongue presses against what you call the ridge and “ditch” of the upper palate. I’ve often noticed that this habitual position sometimes feels very “tense”, and I relax it by dropping my tongue to the bottom of my mouth, but it won’t stay there! (And probably shouldn’t). Sorry for this long detailed reply., but I actually do find this quite interesting.
Aloha Joyce,
Thank you for the confirming words that this is helpful information for us to share!
Your feelings that this position is strange is VERY common. The goal is to have the blade in the groove we detail, then top of the tongue supporting the upper palate, then the rest of the tongue naturally relaxing down so as to not cause a feeling of blocking the nasal sinus pathway for breathing. I can see that a diagram would be very, very helpful and we will get to work on that right away.
We will email when we have some images/diagrams and video available to help with this.
Please make your diagrams/video available for all, I too am having trouble finding the correct spot, the bumpy ridges on my palate are not very pronounced and I feel I may be missing the mark!
I love your website soo much, by the way, it’s a gem of sanity amidst what feels like a plethora of cruel and torturous dental norms.
The video would be great to see for helping to assist the realignment of the front teeth. I am 52 years old my two front teeth are shifting still very pretty and white. 2 middle front teeth are shifting, slightly one tooth going inward but at a slow pace. Video would be great. Thank you.
There’s a potentially awkward relationship between the tongue and the airway. The collapsing of the upper palate also narrows the airway — so there’s room to breathe around the tongue. But in order to re-widen the airway, you have to keep your tongue in this position. Kind of a catch-22. It would be simpler if we all just knew this from toddlerhood and got it right the first time!