Tongue/Lip Tie

Speech Pathology Group and Myofunctional Clinic located in Los Gatos, CA

Tongue Tie services offered in Los Gatos, CA

A short lingual frenulum (ankyloglossia) is recognized as a factor that limits tongue mobility, which can lead to abnormal development of the oral cavity and significantly affect maxillary and mandibular growth. Morphological changes gradually occur during childhood, resulting in a smaller upper airway and the potential for developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) later on. Early recognition and treatment may prevent the onset of the syndrome and its associated conditions.

Other symptoms and long-term effects of improper orofacial muscle patterns due to tongue and lip ties include tension and pain in the head, neck, and back, TMJ pain, bruxism, speech impediments, and swallowing and feeding dysfunction.

Recent studies explore the safety and efficacy of lingual frenuloplasty and myofunctional therapy for treating ankyloglossia. Findings reveal that after tongue-tie releases combined with exercises to restore proper tongue function, most children experienced functional improvements in speech, feeding, and sleep. Overall, speech improved in 89% of patients, solid feeding improved in 83% of patients, and sleep improved in 83% of patients.
A study by Zaghi et al. concluded that lingual frenuloplasty with myofunctional therapy is a safe and effective treatment for mouth breathing, snoring, clenching, and myofascial tension. This study showed an 87% improvement in quality of life through the alleviation of mouth breathing (74.8%), clenching (91.0%), and/or myofascial tension (77.5%).
Limited tongue mobility can lead to dysfunctional compensations, which, due to low tongue posture, may contribute to jaw and facial pain and tension associated with temporomandibular joint dysfunction.

Tongue Tie Q & A

What is tongue-tie?

Tongue-tie, also called ankyloglossia, is a condition in which you have limited tongue movement because of a short or tight lingual frenulum — the thin strip of tissue that attaches your tongue to the bottom of your mouth.

Tongue-tie affects the development of the orofacial muscles, which can lead to problems with swallowing, speech, and breathing. Myofunctional therapy strengthens and retrains these muscles to restore muscle balance and orofacial function.

What are the signs and symptoms of tongue-tie?

Signs and symptoms of tongue-tie may depend on how short or tight the lingual frenulum is and the age of discovery. A newborn with a tongue-tie may have a hard time breastfeeding. They may struggle to latch on and feed for long periods of time. They may also make a clicking sound when feeding.

In children, tongue-tie symptoms can cause many other oral problems such as speech issues, neck and back pain, sleep-disordered breathing, airway dysfunction, TMD (temporomandibular dysfunction), and feeding and swallowing difficulties. Your child may have a hard time producing sounds that require contact of the tongue to the roof of the mouth, like “t,” “d”, “l,” “n,” “ch,” and “sh,” to name a few.

If left untreated, Adults with tongue-tie may experience sleep and breathing issues, neck, back and shoulder pain, migraine headaches, TMD/TMJD, and continual misalignment of teeth.

What happens during an orofacial assessment and treatment sessions for the tongue?

The team at Strategies for Success starts with a comprehensive evaluation for tongue-tie to understand the needs and goals of you or your child. They review medical history, assess orofacial form and function, and observe functional patterns that affect speech, breathing, sleep, feeding, joint pain and tension, and swallowing.

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