Tongue & Lie Tie

Ankyloglossia, commonly referred to as tongue-tie is caused by a patient having a short lingual frenulum. The lingual frenulum is the fold of mucus membrane located directly under your tongue that connects the tongue to the floor of your mouth. It helps to stabilize the tongue and helps you perform important functions related to speech, eating, and swallowing.

Breastfeeding without tongue mobility:  A tongue-tie will often frustrate a mom’s attempts at successful breastfeeding. When an infant has a tongue-tie, it lacks the proper mobility to raise the tongue enough to create a sufficient vacuum for effective latching & sucking. 

This is why some infants will nurse for extended periods of time with only the smallest transfer of milk. This not only causes issues of undernourishment, but can also cause a mother’s milk supply to decrease, stagnate and/or become infected.  This can often result in blocked ducts, mastitis, or blebs/milk blisters.

Facial development without proper rest oral posture: When the tongue has limited mobility, facial development can suffer. The tongue is what drives the growth of the middle part of the face.  In order for the upper jaw and mid-facial bones to develop as they were designed to, a child must practice proper oral rest posture. Proper rest oral posture happens when the mouth is at rest, the lips are sealed, breathing is happening primarily through the nose and the tongue is resting on the roof of the mouth.  Because they bind the tongue to the floor of the mouth, Tongue-ties inhibit proper rest oral posture. 

The tongue as an orthodontic appliance: The tongue is a powerful muscle that, when positioned properly, shapes the upper dental arch and helps the upper jaw grow forward in the face. When the tongue is tied, the face doesn’t develop forward properly and the airway tends to be under sized. A smaller airway can lead to sleep related breathing disorders and other chronic health conditions.

Sleep Apnea and the tongue:  A tongue-tie can lead to an increased incidence of sleep apnea in not only adults, but in infants and children.  Research is now showing the infant sleep apnea can correlate with SIDS. This is why it is so important for the tongue to be free to function properly, so the face will develop as it was designed to.

Tongue-ties and speech problems:  The tongue must have full range of motion for it to be able to form certain sounds.  When the tongue is tied and tethered to the floor of their mouth, it can cause difficulty in making certain sounds and delayed speech. If a tongue is tied, speech therapy alone may not be enough to correct the issue and releasing the tongue may become necessary.

If you can identify with anything you have read about tongue ties, please contact us to schedule an appointment for an evaluation!