Curious about tongue-ties (ankyloglossia)?
Tongue ties occur when the lingual frenulum (tissue fold under the tongue) is short and/or tight enough to affect the function of the tongue needed to eat and speak! It can also affect the growth and development of other oral structures and the jaw.
Tongue ties are unusually short or tight lingual frenulum (connective tissue between the bottom of the tongue and the floor of the mouth). They restrict tongue mobility which affects functioning for speech, feeding, digestion, dental health, swallowing, and respiration (mouth breathing) and sleep (disturbances).
Tongue ties are assessed by both appearance and function of the tongue. It's crucial to assess the tongue's ability to perform various movements like elevation, lateralization, palatal suction, and moving the tongue tip to different spots to help determine how much a tongue tie is impacting the required movements of the tongue for necessary functions. It's also important to look out for: other tethered oral tissues or TOTs (lips and cheeks).
Here are some signs/symptoms of tongue ties:
Newborns
Reflux, excessive spit up
Frequent feeding but unsatisfied
Low tongue posture
Open mouth sleeping
Nipple pain or damage when nursing
Clicking sound when baby drinks
Infants and Toddlers
Sleep difficulty
Pacifier or thumb-sucking reliance
Open mouth posture
Difficulty starting solids
Delays meeting speech-language milestones
Children
Picky eating or feeding difficulties
High, arched palate
Teeth crowding and cavities
Difficulty producing some speech sounds
Teens and Adults
TMJ, clenching or grinding teeth
Sleep difficulties
Digestive issues
If you have concerns about tongue ties, here are professionals who can help:
Lactation consultants, dentists who specialize in TOTs, ENTs or otolaryngologists, orofactial myofunctional therapists, and SLPs with knowledge of TOTs.
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