If your child has (or has had) some of the following symptoms, he/she may be tongue tied. We are happy examine your child and provide you with treatment recommendations and resources:
Read this excerpt from “Tongue Tied” by Richard Baxter, DMD about his own experience being tongue-tied
“I myself had my tongue tie treated in childhood. I had nursing difficulties as a baby and speech issues as a child. These continued through adolescence and into adulthood. I needed a maxillary or palatal expander and had braces three times. I had jaw surgery to correct an underbite from an underdeveloped upper jaw, and had joint surgery in my TMJ to prevent joint issues in the future, which, I was told, could arise after jaw surgery. I had a night guard to keep me from destroying my teeth when I was grinding and clenching them every night. Then I was prescribed a muscle relaxant to help stop the grinding. After the jaw surgery, I had constant sinus infections requiring countless rounds of antibiotics and two sinus surgeries. Malformed sinuses from a non-expanded nasal airway (the palate is the floor of the nasal cavity) can result from a low tongue posture. It was not until I was in dental school that my tongue-tie was discovered by a periodontist because it was causing gum recession, a common finding with tongue-ties. He used a laser, but only released a tiny portion of it, which was right next to the tooth, instead of releasing the large string that was still there after all those years that no one saw (or was trained to identify and treat).
Years later, a lactations consultant brought tongue-ties to my attention after our girls were born and struggled with nursing. After learning everything I could about tongue-ties, including taking courses and performing releases, I had my associate release my tongue with our CO2 laser. My tongue immediately felt more mobile, making it easier for me to talk and swallow. I could talk faster and speak more clearly, and I no longer tired when talking or reading aloud. My TMJ pain, locking, and popping, which happened daily before the release, went away. Neck tension that I wasn’t even aware of also disappeared. I wish it had been discovered and corrected when I was a baby, or even as a young child. I saw at least 4 different dentists, 2 speech therapists, 3 different orthodontist, 2 oral surgeons, and 2 pediatricians, and no one identified or treated it.”
*From Richard Baxter, DMD, MS, “Tongue Tied” (2018). Alabama Tongue-Tie Center.
