Could Sucking Be a Therapeutic Process for Rehabilitation of Speech andSwallow

Abstract

We know the act of nutritive sucking in normal full-term infants is reflexive and can be elicited immediately following birth. The primary articulators involved in nutritive sucking are the tongue, lips, hard and soft palate, and jaw. The articulators function in the following manner: (1) the movements of the tongue and mandible express milk, (2) the lip seal assists in generating the negative intraoral pressure associated with sucking, (3) the piston-like tongue protrusion and retraction movements toward the hard palate assist in squeezing the nipple, and (4) the soft palate elevates to form a velopharyngeal seal. And finally, if sucking is to be nourishing, it must be accompanied by regular rate and force generated by the jaw and tongue.