- Through breastfeeding, the child will develop a tongue posture which keeps the tongue comfortable with feeding and resting firmly upon the roof of the mouth/palate. In order to pull milk from the breast, the child must push the breast into the upper palate firmly and suck back into the mouth with the tongue. This trains the child to use the tongue as the primary method of swallowing, an act which is repeated hundreds of times per day to inject excess saliva.
- As the skull develops, it requires the proper functioning of the muscular system in order to guide its development forward and up. A child with proper posture will have the tongue pressed underneath the maxilla (the roof of the mouth) providing sufficient support to promote forward growth. There is a constant downward force of gravity which pushes the craniofacial complex downward; The proper tongue posture of the child counter-balances this force which will cause forward growth as opposed to downward growth.
- As the child moves onto hard foods, the muscle with which the lower jaw/mandible chews (masseter and temporalis) will develop and strengthen. As the bicep is the opposing muscle to the triceps, the tongue pushes up into the roof of the mouth in order to oppose the growing strength of the masseter. Both will work together to provide the upwards and forward force which drives the maxilla/palatine bones up and forward instead of down and backward.
- The child grows into an adult with the skull which fits into the development of the rest of their body. The strong masseter muscle keep the mandible/lower jaw firmly up and forward, and the strong tongue in turn keeps the teeth barely in contact and transfers all remaining force into the upper jaw/maxilla in order to counteract the downward pull of gravity on these bones. The child develops a fully growth craniofacial complex and has a large airway and sinus area allowing for easy breathing.
In order to restore proper development, you must restore proper posture: A Guide to Proper Tongue Posture
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