Children
Does your child experience chronic ear infections, mouth breathing or trouble with speech and feeding?
Learn how a tongue tie is related to all of these problems, and more!
For optimal results…
We require that your child has Oral Myofunctional Therapy before and after a release.
*If you’re working with a Speech Lingual Pathologist or other therapist, you can ask them if they provide this therapy or if they have a therapist that they would recommend. Otherwise, please follow the link below to check out some of the ones that we work with.
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Speech
The tongue plays a vital role in how we produce sounds during speech. For instance, to make an “S” sound, our tongue must be able to coordinate properly with the roof of the mouth (behind the front teeth) to make the proper sound. Proper tongue movement is also needed to produce T, D, K, SH, N, L, R, S, & Z sounds. A tongue tie can also be associated with apraxia or stutter.
Sadly, kids who experiences problems with speaking tend to be labeled shy or under-confident.
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Sleeping
Snoring, Grinding at night, Bed Wetting, and day time behavioral issues can be related to a tongue tie - and are all signs that your child may not be getting the quality sleep that they need. The tongue aids in proper airway development. If the tongue is not resting properly in the mouth - the brain wakes up your child as a reminder for the body to breathe. In turn your child may grind to open up their airway and ultimately may have behavior issues due to lack of sleep. Which can lead to in an incorrect ADHD or ADD diagnosis.
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Feeding
Has your child been dubbed the picky or slow eater? Do they have problem with textures of foods like mashed potatoes and meat? When chewing our food, the tongue plays an essential role in how our food is broken down and moved properly to the back of our throat. If you find that your child is struggling with eating their food, they may have a tongue tie.
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Mouth Breathing
Mouth breathing is strongly associated with chronic ear infections, allergies, enlarged tonsils and adenoids. What does this have to do with a tongue tie? The tongue should be able to lift to the palate - which is under the nasal cavity. Proper tongue posture leads to proper development of the nasal cavity. If there is a tie, the tongue hangs low which leads to mouth breathing.
When we breathe through our nose, our sinuses release nitric oxide. Nitric Oxide is a vasodilator Vasodilators enlarge our blood vessel so that they are able to receive more oxygen. Our nose is also designed to remove foreign objects like allergens and viruses.
The combined effects of a poor tongue posture and improper nasal breathing results in chronic ear infections, allergies and enlarged tonsils and adenoids.
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Poor Oral Hygiene
When a lip tie is present it may be too painful to brush the front teeth. And also difficult to access the teeth properly with a toothbrush. A lip tie is also associated with gap formation.
If there is a tongue tie, the tongue has a difficult time cleaning food off of the back and sides of the molars - which can result in tooth decay.
Both lip and tongue ties can cause gum recession.
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Other Dental Issues
When it comes to braces - unfortunately a child’s bite may shift because of an incorrect tongue position and/or tongue tie. The most common result we see is an open bite that happens due to a tongue thrust.
As mentioned before, a tongue tie and improper airway development can lead to tooth grinding or clenching.
With a proper diagnosis, treatment plan and collaboration, we can help your child get the care they need.
After a tongue or lip tie release, parents often report improvements in sleeping, eating and speaking. However, in order to attain the best results possible it’s important that we as release providers, collaborate with you and your child’s therapists.
But what if my child doesn’t have the typical symptoms of a tongue tie?
“Some children may have little-to-no symptoms related to speech production, but they may compensate for the restriction by producing sounds in ineffective ways. These compensations and structural changes caused by a tie, such as a high or narrow palate, poor tongue resting posture, and others, can cause issues down the road, such as neck and back tension, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, and frequent sinus infections. Just because a child doesn’t have speech or feeding symptoms doesn’t mean the tongue-tie shouldn’t be released. Parents should work closely with their potential release provider, SLP, and other team members to make the best decision for their child.”
Hughes MS CCC-SLP, Lauren; Tongue-Tied: How a Tiny String Under the Tongue Impacts Nursing, Speech, Feeding, and More (p. 164).
The right instrument.
We use an instrument called the Light Scalpel to gently and efficiently treat your child’s tongue or lip tie.
“Dr. Ritter and the staff at Smile Solutions were all courteous and informative. They made us feel welcome when we made a last minute appointment for an evaluation and procedure for our son. Everyone patiently explained the details - from insurance (thank you, Brittany, at the front desk!) to post-procedure recovery details - without rushing us. Thank you! ”
— Audrey
