[redka]

What about the tongue? After reading something strange in a book about meditation, where it said I should keep my tongue at the roof of my mouth, I got curious. Actually I was baffled because I couldn't do it. I literally could not keep a significant part of my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth without significant effort and actually strain. I did a survey between my friends and only one of them (my brother) actually kept the tongue in the described position naturally. Surprisingly (this is highly anecdotal, but still interesting) he's the only person that I know that doesn't have any teeth issues - only once he'd visited a dentist with a small cavity. This got me researching and there's actually a British orthodontist (Dr. Mike Mew) who actively pushes the idea that we should keep our tongue at the roof of our mouth and that it's actually our natural tongue position that _would_ develop if we kept our ancestral dietary habits, e.g. chewing hard foods like meat from since we were little.

[dorkwood]

This sounds like an interesting theory. I'm not really sure where my tongue could rest that wasn't on the roof of my mouth. The vacuum kind of naturally sticks it up there. I'd have to force it down otherwise.

[arm]

That’s quite interesting! When my mouth is closed, at least half of my tongue is always naturally touching the roof of my mouth. Despite my oral hygiene not being the best (I brush my teeth every day, but rarely floss), I’ve never had a cavity (I did have to get my wisdom teeth removed though). I notice it’s much easier for my mouth to produce saliva when my tongue is touching the roof of my mouth, which definitely helps (quoting the linked article: “saliva buffers the teeth against acid attack and bathes them in calcium and phosphate to remineralize their surface”).

[clydethefrog]

My orthodentist referred me to a logopedist (specialist that deals with speech and swallowing disorders) to train my tongue position to prevent my teeth from getting crooked again. This indeed included training to position my tongue to the roof of my mouth, but also training to click loudly with my tongue and straining my lip muscles with a button and a rope. This was around ten years ago. I thought this connection between ortodentics and logopedists was already common? A quick search calls this myofunctional therapy.

[elric]

I've been wondering about Mew and this tongue position thing for a while. I've been keeping mine on the roof of my mouth for well over a decade now, after getting scolded by a martial arts instructor for failing to do so naturally. But from what I understand, it's usually the lower half of the jaw that's too small. Mandibular advancement is sometimes done to treat sleep apnea. But if anything, keeping your tongue on the roof would expand the upper half, not the lower?

[missedthecue]

Wow this is the first time I've heard this. Anecdotally, I have relatively less than perfect dental hygiene habits compared to my wife and family, but despite consuming the same diet as them, I have had no dental trouble and only one cavity in my life, which was back in my teens. We often joke about how unfair this is.

My tongue naturally rests on the roof of my mouth.

[missedthecue]

Wow this is the first time I've heard this. Anecdotally, I have poor dental hygiene habits compared to my wife and family, but despite consuming the same diet as them, I have had no dental trouble and only one cavity in my life, which was back in my teens. We often joke about how unfair this is.

My tongue naturally rests on the roof of my mouth.

[mierz00]

Like others have said that is incredibly interesting and the first I have also heard about it.

I happen to rest my tongue on the roof of my mouth all the time but I’ve also been vegetarian my entire life. So no hard meats for me.