Tongue Ties in Children

What is a Tongue Tie?

Tongue ties are not new, they have been around for thousands of years, but we are beginning to hear more and more about them. I actually grew up with a tongue tie so severe that I now have a split tongue. I also had a lip tie (which is an entire post on it's own). My tongue tie was released, however, I actually do not recommend jumping to a tongue tie release, which is the motivation behind sharing this information. Swipe through to the end of this post to see why.

Anyways, back to tongue ties. A tongue tie occurs when there is functional limitation in addition to an anatomical finding under the tongue. This dynamic often slips through the cracks and is missed, even when many symptoms appear in a baby because the symptoms happen to be common.

But common does not equal normal or optimal and allowing this to slip through the cracks into adulthood often leads to chronic symptoms + misdiagnoses.

Newest research is also connecting tongue ties with environmental factors + the MTHFR gene which is really important to keep in mind when we consider the approach we take when it comes to tongue ties because it goes deeper than we think.

I hope the information mentioned in this post encourage you to dig a bit deeper.

Here is more info on each symptom listed:

Behavioral Problems:

A tongue tie impacts tongue position + a child's airway, which impacts quality of sleep. Lack of sleep quality can lead to ADHD like symptoms such as hyperactivity, difficulty focusing + listening.

In Australia for example, it is common practice that providers should have a sleep study on a patient before ever prescribing ADD/ADHD medication. For more on this topic, check out the video called "Finding Connor" on Youtube.

Speech Impediments

A tongue tie does not always cause speech problems in children. For example, I mentioned that growing up, I had a severe tongue tie, but during that time, I had no problems with speech. (I have found as an adult though, this is not the case and I trip over words, which is one thing among many that has made me dig deeper and explore myofunctional therapy).

However, in some children, tongue ties do impact speech. This is a common dynamic in children who are slow to speak or are hard to understand. This is due to difficulty with co-ordination of tongue movements. It impacts the way in which children start putting words together in sentences and causes unclear speech.

Tonsils + Adenoids + Mouth Breathing + Snoring

Our entire body is interconnected. Our tongue position for example plays a huge role in how Eustachian tubes drain.

In addition, when a child's airway is blocked due to a tongue tie, they often develop the habit of breathing through their mouth instead which not only changes the structure of the mouth but also puts a lot of stress on the tonsils + adenoids, sometimes leading to frequent infections. Finally, if a child's nasal airflow is impaired and turbulent, it can cause microtrauma to the adenoids and tonsils, leading to increased inflammation of these tissues.

Check out this source for more info.

Reflux

The God designed mouth is the beginning of the GI tract. In infants, there is excellent data to support that infant gastroesophageal reflux is, in many cases, related to swallowing air. This is often called aerophagia (literally “eating air”). This is impacted by tongue position.

In 2016, it was termed AIR, or Aerophagia Induced Reflux, by Dr. Scott Siegel. Dr. Bobby Ghaheri also studied infant reflux and tongue-tie in 2017 (PMID: 27641715), 2018 (PMID: 29787680) and 2022. His prospective cohort study with nursing babies and randomized controlled trial with bottle-feeding babies showed a significant reduction in infant reflux after a proper tongue-tie release.

Dental Issues

As I said, I had a tongue-tie + lip tie growing up, so my tongue rested on the floor of the mouth instead of on my palate. This resting position impacted the growth of my upper jaw, or maxilla. I had to have a palate expander, and needed braces and ended up with a lip + tongue release. Why did this happen? Because tongue position impacts the structure of our mouth and most children born with tongue ties are born with high-arched palates due to the restriction. This leads to very little room for teeth to grow + often leads to crowding + crooked teeth.

This is important to pay attention to because teeth + mouth structure impacts airway and oxygen the body receives. And oxygen well, impacts every cell + process in our body.

Why I Do Not Personally Recommend Jumping to a Tongue Tie Release:

Our entire God designed body is interconnected. That includes our tongue, musculoskeletal system, brain + nervous system. Simply releasing a tongue tie does not correct the underlying roots that caused it. As I mentioned, newest research is also connecting tongue ties with environmental factors + the MTHFR gene which is really important to keep in mind when we consider the approach we take when it comes to tongue ties because it is more than we think. Nutrient deficiencies for example, need to be taken into conservation.

As a child, I had a tongue tie release (As I mentioned, my tongue tie was so tight I now have a split tongue), but I did not have myo-functional therapy + nervous system work after + I am now having to revisit it later in life.

Which is why, in my opinion, I would recommend starting with body work, myo-functional therapy with a heavy focus on retraining muscles, breathing patterns, + nutrient repletion. While also keeping in mind that your child mimics your body movements + breathing patterns, and the nervous system plays a huge role in this entire process.

Keep in mind, this is not medical advice and the severity + grade of each case varies. I also realize these are vague recommendations (it is impossible for me to address you as an individual or your child in a social media post).

But I will be sharing more in upcoming posts on how I am actively addressing this in my life as an adult and will be providing resources for children.

Have a question about tongue ties? Email us at megan@refinedwellness.org and we will be sure to cover it in a post!