Does a maxillary torus inhibit therapy?

Q:  I have a question for you. I just evaluated a lady who has a palatine torus located in the center of her palate. Have you ever known a torus to inhibit the tongue from achieving adequate suctioning during swallowing? I don’t know if this will be a problem with this lady yet, but just wanted to know what I may be up against. She has other OM problems that I will be working on. Any help you can give me will be most appreciated. Thanks so much.

A:  Hi,  There are some maxillary tori that are large enough and situated within the arch in such a way that they certainly would be expected to inhibit suctioning and correct lingual placement.  Very large ones are unusual.  If she has a small one it probably won’t impede suctioning.  Have her click slowly if she can’t immediately demonstrate a flat suction so you can at least “hear” her ability to suction.  If you take a photo, I’d love to see it.