Tongue Scalloping
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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
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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
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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.
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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.