Discover What Your Mouth Really Does
The mouth does more than help you talk. It also helps you breathe, eat, swallow, and even stand tall.
If one part isn’t working well, it can affect the rest of your body.
That’s why we look at the whole mouth, not just speech.
A thorough mouth exam helps us find what others miss.
The Functions of the Mouth
Speech
The tongue, lips, and jaw help us speak clearly.
Breathing & Focus
How we hold our mouth affects your breathing, sleep, and focus.
How you feel and act
A relaxed well-functioning mouth helps you handle stress and feel calm.
Balance and body control
The tongue and jaw help your body stay steady and move smoothly.
How Your Face Grows
How your mouth rests shapes your face, jaw, and comfort.
Eating
Strong mouth muscles help you chew, swallow, and get the nutrition you need.
How Long Has Your Mouth Been Sending You Signals?
Problems can start early and change over time.
Here’s what to look for at each stage.
Speech
Birth – 12 Months: Little babbling or vocal sounds
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Speech delay, small vocabulary, hard to understand, drooling, stuttering
Children (4–12 Years): Lisp or slurred speech, trouble saying certain sounds, hard to understand, talks with mouth open
Teenagers & Adults: Sound errors, lisping, stuttering, hard to understand, avoids speaking
Breathing & Focus
Birth – 12 Months: Noisy breathing, snores, restless sleep, frequent hiccups
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Mouth breathing, snores, tosses in sleep, prefers tummy sleeping
Children (4–12 Years): Mouth breathing, trouble staying asleep, daytime tiredness, frequent ear infections, dark under-eye circles
Teenagers & Adults: Poor sleep, daytime fatigue, headaches, jaw clenching, teeth grinding, CPAP Machine
Eating
Birth – 12 Months: Trouble latching, gags or chokes, long feeds, milk drips from mouth, prefers bottle, shallow latch
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Messy eating, picky eating, gags on food, chews slowly, avoids certain textures
Children (4–12 Years): Picky eating, chews on one side, drooling or spilling food, avoids tough textures, eats slowly
Teenagers & Adults: Trouble chewing, avoids some textures, chews on one side, coughs or chokes when eating, jaw discomfort while chewing
Balance and Body Control
Birth – 12 Months: Weak head hold, rolls late, W-sits, delayed crawling or walking
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Falls often, poor balance, W-sits, awkward running
Children (4–12 Years): Trips often, poor posture, difficulty with sports, clumsy in play, tires quickly during activity
Teenagers & Adults: Forward head posture, neck or shoulder pain, reduced movement in neck or shoulders, poor balance during exercise
How Your Face Grows
Birth – 12 Months: Flat spot on head, uneven face shape, tight jaw, small mouth, high roof of mouth
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Open mouth posture, crowded teeth, small upper jaw, narrow palate
Children (4–12 Years): Narrow upper jaw, jaw tension or pain, forward head posture, uneven facial shape, early orthodontic needs
Teenagers & Adults: Jaw popping, facial pain, uneven jaw or chin, open mouth at rest, teeth shifting after braces
How You Feel and Act
Birth – 12 Months: Needs sucking to calm, fussy after feeds, startles easily, long crying spells, upset in car seat
Toddlers (1–3 Years): Frequent tantrums, needs help to calm, chews on clothes or toys, difficulty settling at bedtime
Children (4–12 Years): Trouble focusing, chews nails or clothing, anxiety in groups, seeks extra oral input, restless in class
Teenagers & Adults: Trouble managing stress, low focus, low energy, nail biting, tension habits (lip or cheek biting)