Tongue Scalloping
When the tongue constantly pushes against the teeth, especially in adults, the tongue develops indentations on the side. Scalloping is very common in people who have OSA or a restricted oral volume as in certain malocclusions.
OMT
HELPS
During an oral examination it’s easy for a OM therapist to identify the scalloping and to flag it to the referring physician, along with other probable signs or symptoms of sleep disordered breathing.
IF NOT
TREATED
Scalloped tongue per se is not a worrisome condition, but because it’s caused by a chronic tongue thrust in adults, it suggests possible insufficient nasal breathing, or sleep disordered breathing or dental malocclusion as the trigger for the tongue thrust. Therefore a multidisciplinary assessment and treatment of the underlining causes of scalloping is needed.
23. Scalloping of the Tongue
–Weiss TM, Atanasov S, Calhoun KH. e Association of Tongue Scalloping with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Related Sleep Pathology. Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery 2005. 133:966-971.
–Yanagisawa K, Takagi I, Sakurai K. In uence of tongue pressure and width on tongue indentation formation. J Oral Rehabil. 2007 Nov;34(11):827-34.
–Lee YC, Eun YG, Shin SY, Kim SW. Prevalence of snoring and high risk of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in young male soldiers in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2013 Sep;28(9):1373-7. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2013.28.9.1373. Epub 2013 Aug 28.