The SWITCH™ test looks at how well the swallow and bite support the rest of the body.
What can your smile do for you?
The SWITCH™ test looks at how well the swallow and bite support the rest of the body.
The SWITCH™ test looks at how well the swallow and bite support the rest of the body.
The SWITCH™ test looks at how well the swallow and bite support the rest of the body.
A NeuralFORM™ assessment, taught by The Synergy Academy.
SWITCH stands for Strength With Influence of Trigeminal and Cranial Harmony. That is a mouthful, so here is the short version.
Every time you swallow, and every time your teeth meet, your mouth sends messages to the brainstem, the part of the brain that quietly runs the body in the background. The trigeminal nerve carries most of those messages. It is the largest of the cranial nerves, and it has a lot to say.
Think of the brainstem as a mixing board, with a volume dial on every channel. When the messages coming in from the mouth are clear, there is less background noise, and the body can hear itself think. When they are noisy, the body has to work harder to be heard.
The SWITCH test is a simple, gentle check, done in the dental chair, that shows how the body responds when the swallow and bite change. It helps your provider see whether those messages are coming through clearly.
SWITCH lets your body show you, in real time, how your swallow and bite are supporting you. Many people find it easier to understand what is happening when they can feel it for themselves, rather than being told.
SWITCH is a quick chairside check that adds a functional reading to the structural records you already take. Structure tells you what is possible. Function tells you what is probable.
We swallow hundreds of times a day, awake and asleep. Each swallow is a small, full-body event: the tongue lifts to the roof of the mouth, the teeth touch lightly, and the muscles of the face, jaw and neck work together as a team.
When everything is working well, that steady rhythm is like a stream of welcome guests, each one bringing good news. When something is off, such as low tongue posture (the tongue resting low in the mouth instead of up against the roof of the mouth), or a bite that does not meet evenly, the messages change. The body often adapts so well that nobody notices, until it starts to show up somewhere else.
The SWITCH test was developed by Dr. Angie Tenholder from her years of clinical experience, and it is used by many providers. A formal research study is currently in the research and development stage. We would rather tell you that plainly than promise more than we can show.
SWITCH is taught to dental providers and their teams through The Synergy Academy. A map of providers with current training is coming soon. In the meantime, please call (618) 281-9729 or email admin@thesynergy.academy and we will help you find someone near you.
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