What is Tongue Tie?
Tongue ties happen when tethered oral tissue restricts the movement of the tongue, which can happen at any stage of life, whether in infants, children, or adults.
Our approach towards treating a tethered oral tissue is one of collaboration with other health care providers to allow for a comprehensive team-based care towards yours or your child’s health. By working alongside other providers, we can strive towards better, healthier, and stable outcomes. Depending on the age of the patient, our team could potentially consist of working with an IBCLC, a body worker such as a chiropractor and/or a CST, Speech Language Pathologist (SLP), an Oral-Myofunctional Therapist (OMT), Orthodontist, ENT, Sleep Physician, among others.
The signs
of Tongue ties
While you may ask, “what is tongue tie?” there are several signs that can point to this problem. The indications of tongue ties and tethered oral tissue can vary depending on the patient. Schedule an appointment to learn more about how we can improve your sleep wellness and quality of life through oral health!
SOME Indications in
Babies
- Poor latch or unable to nurse
- Acid reflux
- Frequent spit up
- Gassiness
- Colicness/cries a lot
SOME Indications in Children
- Speech issues
- Open mouth breathing
- Prone to cavities regardless of good oral hygiene
- Messy/slow eater
- Poor sleep
SOME Indications in Adults
- Poor sleep
- Headaches
- Neck and shoulder aches
- TMJ discomfort
- Open mouth breathing
Sleep Wellness
Our methods towards promoting sleep wellness are rooted in foundational health by addressing Airway and Nutrition. Establishing good nasal breathing and opening our airways are fundamental in attaining good sleep. What we eat plays a huge factor on whether or not we are promoting anti-inflammatory processes towards good health. We look for individual solutions for our patients.
For our pediatric patients, we go beyond “what is tongue tie” in order to discuss the role of expansion and tongue-posture. In our adult patients, we discuss addressing root causes, but also look for improvement in our sleep health by adjunct therapy, such as oral sleep appliance therapy. We meet the patients where they are at- and customize our approach depending on the patients needs.