Speech Therapy Treatments For Tongue Tie

New parents count the fingers and toes of their new babies to ensure good health and wellbeing.

However, some babies are born with medical conditions that aren’t so immediately apparent.

Tongue tie is one such example.

Whether you’re a new parent or not, learning your child has tongue tie can be a worrisome experience.

The good news is you’re not alone.

There has been a lot of research on tongue tie in recent years and interventions like speech therapy are highly effective.

Some, although not all, children with tongue tie undergo surgery to correct the condition.

Speech therapy for tongue tie can help your child develop their speech and language skills both before and after surgical intervention.

At District Speech and Language Therapy, our speech therapy services can also help children with tongue tie in a multitude of other ways.

Not sure if speech therapy is right for your child?

Or, are you looking for answers to your questions surrounding speech therapy for tongue tie?

RELATED ARTICLE: Frequently Asked Questions About Pediatric Speech Therapy

You’ve come to the right place.

In this article we’ll take a deeper look at tongue tie to help you make the best decisions moving forward for your family.

But first, we need to get a better understanding of what a tongue tie is.

What Is A Tongue Tie?

The human mouth has several interconnected parts that support your tongue movement and function.

For instance, your lingual frenulum helps keep your tongue in your mouth as it moves.

You can easily spot your lingual frenulum when you look in a mirror and lift your tongue.

It looks like a string of tissues running underneath your tongue.

Although it may look weird, it’s a perfectly natural and essential component of human anatomy.

Tongue tie may affect your lingual frenulum in multiple ways.

For instance, some babies with tongue tie are born with a lingual frenulum that’s too short.

In other cases, it’s too thick or tethered to the bottom of the mouth at birth.

Ultimately, tongue tie restricts the tongue’s ability to move around freely.

Tongue tie may also vary in severity.

Some cases of tongue tie are barely noticeable and go undiagnosed for years.

In other cases, it can lead to significant challenges with eating, speaking, and swallowing.

What causes tongue tie?

Keep reading to find out.

What Causes Tongue Tie?

For most people, the lingual frenulum separates from the bottom of the tongue before birth.

Babies with tongue tie are born with this string of tissue still attached.

Many expecting parents wonder whether their doctor can determine if their baby will develop this condition.

Prenatal testing can detect certain conditions before birth, such as Down syndrome.

However, this isn’t possible for tongue tie.

Unfortunately, the causes of tongue tie are still a bit of a mystery.

However, science has identified certain risk factors.

For instance, sex appears to play a role in the development of tongue tie.

According to Cedars Sinai, tongue tie is somewhat more common in boys compared to girls.

Tongue tie also has a genetic component.

Tongue tie is more common in babies with a family history of the condition.

Additionally, some cases of tongue tie have specific genetic factors.

According to Elizabeth Caughey, DDS people with tongue tie also frequently present with a MTHFR genetic mutation.

Researchers still have a lot to learn about the potential causes of tongue tie.

For now, parents can familiarize themselves with the symptoms so that they might identify the condition in their child as early as possible.

This helps ensure early intervention and the prevention of various complications.

In this next section we’ll look at the signs to look out for if you suspect your child is experiencing tongue tie.

Symptoms of Tongue Tie

Understanding the symptoms of tongue tie in babies can help prevent complications.

For instance, tongue tie can significantly impact oral development.

RELATED ARTICLE: Speech Therapy For Cleft Lip And Cleft Palate

Left untreated, tongue tie may contribute to the development of other conditions, such as tongue thrust.

Untreated tongue tie can also impact your child’s speech and language development.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, tongue tie can affect your child’s articulation.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Parts Of Speech: Articulation

Fortunately, there’s many signs of tongue tie you can look out for in your child.

For instance, breastfeeding difficulties are a common sign of tongue tie.

Babies with tongue tie often have trouble latching and getting proper nutrition.

As a result, some children with tongue tie experience poor weight gain and malnutrition.

You can also physically inspect your child’s tongue for signs.

Children with tongue tie often have a heart shaped tongue when stuck out.

Additionally, some children with tongue tie may have difficulty sticking their tongue out beyond their bottom front teeth.

RELATED ARTICLE: How Do Your Teeth Affect Speech?

Older children with tongue tie often demonstrate challenges surrounding speaking or eating.

Additionally, they might have trouble moving their tongue from side to side.

Are simple tasks that require free tongue movement difficult for your child?

It may sound like a silly question, but some children with tongue tie have trouble with tasks as simple as licking ice cream or a lollipop.

Consider taking your child into a speech therapist for an evaluation if you suspect that they might have tongue tie.

Or, if your child has already received a tongue tie diagnosis, a speech therapist can also help ensure proper speech and language development as well as prevent complications.

How Can Speech Therapy for Tongue Tie Help?

Have you noticed that your child is having a hard time making sounds that other children their age can make without issue?

Or is your child demonstrating some of the other signs of tongue tie?

At District Speech and Language Therapy, we can help.

Tongue tie can impact your child’s tongue range of motion and ultimately contribute to challenges and bad habits with their speech.

This is where a speech therapist comes into the picture.

Not all children with tongue tie have problems with speech, but for those who do, a speech therapist can help them explore what sounds are difficult to make and address the problem from a professional perspective.

Do you think your child could benefit from speech therapy?

If so, don’t hesitate to…

Book Your Appointment With District Speech and Language Therapy Today

A speech therapist is an excellent step forward for children whose tongue tie is negatively impacting their development.

Here at District Speech and Language Therapy, we can offer speech therapy evaluations to help understand whether it’s tongue tie or another related condition that’s causing your child’s speech and language concerns.

From there, your pediatric speech therapist will put together a treatment plan designed to address these issues, with the goal of helping your child to communicate openly and clearly.

We’ll include you and all of your child’s caregivers in every step of the way.

Book your appointment with District Speech and Language Therapy today to find out more about our services and how we can help you and your family.