What exactly is a tongue tie?
The tongue helps with all sorts of things….eating and swallowing, speech, and breathing. But what if your tongue is literally tied down….unable to perform the necessary tasks? That is the definition of a tongue tie.
Everyone has a small tissue attachment under the tongue known as the lingual frenulum. It is normal, except when the length of the frenulum is shortened or the attachment is too close to the tip of the tongue. Both of these abnormalities can affect tongue movement. A tongue should be able to easily left to the roof of the palate when eating, drinking, swallowing, resting (this includes breathing….through the nose). However, if the frenulum attachment is too tight the tongue does not have the proper range of motion and so rather than rising up to the palate during function it will actually protrude out (known as a tongue thrust).
This picture shows a severe tongue tie. She was 16 years old at the time of her tongue tie release.
This is the flaring of her front teeth and open bite she developed as a result of tongue tie and improper tongue movement.
Improper movement of the tongue can lead to other issues. A continual tongue thrust can lead to the movement of teeth, creating an open bite. If the tongue is unable to lift properly to the palate to open the airway for nasal breathing it continues to sit low in the mouth which can contribute to narrowing of the airway and be a factor in causing improper mouth breathing.
Fortunately there is a fix for a tongue tie! A simple procedure can be done to release the attachment so that the tongue can function freely as it is supposed to. The earlier this can be done in babies and infants the better so that they develop proper feeding, speaking and breathing habits. However, the procedure can be performed at any age and can be quite freeing….literally! However, the older you are, the more your tongue has developed bad habits, and you may need several visits with an oral myologist to re-learn proper tongue function once it has been released.