The everyday observation of the orthodontist into the etiology of malocclusion has caused the desire to investigate more thoroughly the cause of the perverted swallowing habit. It is strange that very little appears in the literature regarding a habit that occurs with such frequency and causes sever malocclusions. However, Truesdell and Truesdell in 1937 advanced several theories on the cause of the perverted swallowing habit, although nothing has been published statistically to substantiate any theories on the cause of it. However, the literature is quite comprehensive on the act of deglutition. The word “deglutition” is derived from the Latin words deglutito and degulture, to swallow down, and is defined as the act of swallowing. It may occur during the ingestion of foods, either solid, or liquid, or at periodic intervals throughout the day.

The purpose of this study is to survey the principle papers in relation to tongue habits and the cause of the perverted swallowing habit.

Click here to read the full article 

 

Walter J. Straub

This article originally appeared in American Journal of Orthodontics