What Is A Tongue Tie?

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 A tongue-tie is usually very obvious and easy to spot. If your child has it, you will see a strong, thick flap of skin beneath the tongue, which connects to the bottom of the mouth. However, the severity of this case differs from one person to another. In some severe cases, the person cannot move the tongue properly, and the tongue might not reach the roof of the mouth.

Causes Of Tongue-Tie

The cause of tongue tie is, essentially, a lack of separation between the tongue and the bottom of the mouth. When an infant is in the embryo stages, these areas of the mouth are fused. As the embryo grows, the tongue and the bottom of the mouth differentiate. Tongue tie occurs when this differentiation process is left incomplete.

When the tongue is not sufficiently separated from the floor of the mouth, several common activities can become challenging for infants and children.

Treatment for tongue tie can take several different forms. In some cases, a simple surgical procedure can sever the tissue tethering the tongue to the floor of the mouth. A surgeon will then provide the child with exercises that are designed to develop muscle movement and build kinesthetic awareness. 

• Feeding can sometimes be more challenging for infants, as the tongue can be limited to its ability to latch onto the breast or bottle.
• Children attempt to compensate for limited lingual range of motion so they create compensatory behaviors creating tongue movements that do not enhance feeding skills or speech sound productions
• It can affect the ability of a child to eat correctly. Food can get caught beneath the tongue, leading to poor oral hygiene.
• Difficulty making some common speech sounds, such as “l,” “r,” “th,” “d,” “z,” “s,” “n”, and “t.”
• It might result in issues such as poor sleep, mouth breathing, snoring, and poor attention span.
  

How do our Myofunctional Speech Therapists help? 

Whether parents opt for surgery or not, children will likely benefit from speech therapy. For kids who have undergone a surgical “tongue clipping” procedure, a speech therapist will:

• Help develop new muscle movements that can help with enunciation.
• Improve awareness of the total range of motion that the tongue can present. Your child may have become quite accustomed to a limited range of motion.
• Address other speech delay issues that may have been inaccurately attributed to your child’s tongue tie.

Likewise, kids who have not undergone surgical correction may find speech therapy provides an essential avenue to develop vital speaking skills. For these children, a speech pathologist will:

• Work with your child to address speech delays that might be associated with tongue tie.
• Develop alternative tongue positions that your child may not have discovered on their own.
• Address other speech delay issues that may be inaccurately attributed to your child’s tongue tie.

 Any time a child has had surgery on a part of their body that could affect their speech, they should be re-enrolled in speech therapy. Remember, if he was used to using his tongue in a modified way, he never had the experience of using his tongue in the way that would make his speech more intelligible. 

If you have questions about what to expect if your child has tongue tie,  our speech language pathologists will be able to tell you how the condition may impact certain speech capabilities. The speech language pathologist will also be able to recommend therapy options both before and after possible surgical treatment.

With the right approach, your child can enjoy meaningful communication and you can make informed decisions about your child’s tongue tie. Please contact us  to learn more or schedule an appointment.