Tongue and lip tie can have an impact on your baby or child’s ability to breastfeed/bottle feed and, later on, with eating and speaking.
What is Tongue and Lip Tie
There’s a stretchy flap of skin underneath your tongue called the frenulum. Some people are born with that flap of skin being is really tight or short and it can restrict the movement of their tongue so much that it’s effectively anchored to the bottom of their mouth. This is called a tongue tie.
You have a similar piece of skin underneath the centre of your upper lip between your lip and gum. And when that’s tight or short, it’s called an upper lip tie.
Signs your baby or child may have Tongue or Lip Tie
Here are a few signs your child may have a tongue or upper lip tie:
- You had difficulty breastfeeding or bottle feeding them (the baby’s tongue needs to reach the roof of their mouth to create a seal over the nipple/teat).
- Your child was a gassy baby or had reflux.
- They have a heart shaped tongue when they poke it out.
- They have difficulties poking out their tongue past their lips.
- There’s a gap between their two front teeth.
- They have trouble brushing their front teeth due to discomfort or pain.
- They have difficulties chewing age-appropriate solid foods.
- They are prone to gagging, choking or vomiting foods.
- They have excessive dribbling/drooling.
- Their speech is unclear.
- They have dental problems starting to appear such as cavities in their teeth.
However, it can often be hard to detect so if you have any doubt you should make an appointment with Kids Chatter.
How Tongue and Lip Tie affects Babies and Children
Nothing can be done to prevent tongue or lip tie, but it can be treated (see below). Babies are either born with it or without it, and while it often runs in families, it can happen to anyone. People can have just a tongue tie on its own, however, chances are that if they have an upper lip tie, they will likely have a tongue tie as well.
Tongue and lip tie can lead to a number of problems for your child and continue on into adulthood.
At rest, the tongue should sit against the roof of the mouth. Over time, this constant pressure on the palate spreads it out flat so the upper jaw and teeth have a nice shape and meet top and bottom. But with the tongue tie anchoring it to the bottom of the mouth, preventing the tongue to sit against the upper palate, pressure from their cheek muscles will push their upper teeth inwards, making them angle inwards instead of being straight, causing crowding of the teeth.
It can also cause other dental issues. Lip ties can make the area above the top teeth harder to brush with a toothbrush due to pain or discomfort. Little pockets are created between the upper lip and gum where food collects over time which is difficult to keep clean, causing tooth decay and gum disease. A tongue tie can make it hard to move the tongue around the inside of the mouth and over the teeth to get rid of food that can get stuck in the teeth or cheeks, making it difficult to keep it clean. This can cause bacteria to build up and result in cavities.
From a speech perspective, the tongue tie may prevent them from making a whole range of sounds (when you say the sound /t/ you can feel your tongue on the roof of your mouth as you say it). It prevents them from moving the tongue up to the palate to produce the sound accurately. Unfortunately, no amount of therapy can change that, however, something can be done to correct the problem.
For more information, check out Consequences of Untreated Tongue Tie by Carmen Fernando who was a well-respected speech-language pathologist and author of “Tongue Tie – from confusion to clarity”. Also, check out the tongue tie infographic below from Myofunctional Therapist Sarah Hornsby for more information about tongue ties and it can affect children and adults if left untreated.
How we help babies and children with Tongue and Lip Tie
The solution is to surgically correct the tie, either with a scalpel in surgery or a laser treatment. The good news is that Kids Chatter is part of a tongue tie team with Dr Marjan Jones from Enhance Dentistry who is the only Brisbane dentist who uses laser to correct tongue and lip ties. While this can be done at any age, it’s best to do it as early as possible so your child doesn’t have too many difficulties to “re-learn” how to use their tongue.
Some people are born with a tie that has no functional impact. In these cases, it can be left uncorrected. But if your child is having difficulties with their breast/bottle feeding, teeth or their speech, this quick procedure can correct the problem and with some follow-up therapy (for an older child), we can help them learn how to use their “new” tongue.
If you suspect your baby or child has tongue or lip tie, please call us now to arrange an assessment on 0432 735 044.