What is a tongue tie or lip tie?

Tethered oral tissues (tongue ties and lip ties) are tight strings of tissues in our mouths that connect one structure to another, like a rubber band. They can attach from the inside of our lip to our gums or from the underside of our tongue to the floor of the mouth.  Often, these strings can become very stretched and lead to concerns over time.  While some ties can be very hidden (posterior tongue ties), other tongue ties are very visible. They can all affect how we eat, talk, breathe, sleep, swallow, digest our foods, and clean our teeth; for this reason, they can lead to more dental concerns (like cavities and gum disease) or even head and neck pain. Interestingly, we all have fascia that runs from our tongue to our feet, meaning that tightness or stress anywhere can lead to other pains and restrictions in the body.  That being said, some ties do not need to be removed and instead we can work together to improve the muscle tone around the ties.  Either way, it is best to do exercise before and after any tie release surgery for optimal long-term success.   

You may be wondering why ties are so talked about all of a sudden…

Well, since WWII, much of the country changed.  Women have started working more outside of the home (and breast feeding less), baby food has become a widespread product in homes with infants, and processed foods are now a staple (fast and easy to chew foods).  This, along with other changes in society, has started to affect how our mouths formed. These conditions and restrictions have then been passed on from generation to generation. 

I remember hearing “breast is best” when I was pregnant in 2009 and knew that’s what I wanted to for my baby, but I didn’t understand all the benefits.  What I did not realize at the time was that the entire process builds the muscles of the face, jaw, and tongue.  My daughter struggled to latch, and I had to have help from a lactation consultant, but she never once looked inside my baby’s mouth for any ties.  Knowing I had to go back to work within a few weeks, I started pumping and making bottles because it was easier and faster for my hungry baby to eat this way and kept my supply consistent.  My husband and I tried every bottle, yet she still suffered from colic; the pediatrician we consulted said it was probably from my diet. I took the pediatrician’s advice and changed my diet numerous times to no improvement - still, no one looked in my daughter’s mouth, instead I was blamed for making poor milk? 

Knowing what I know now, I see she has both lip and tongue ties...  so it wasn’t me after all!  And thinking I was giving her the best by breast feeding her via a bottle, but in reality, I aided in reducing the formation of her little muscles she would then need for a lifetime.  Later in life, we had her tonsils and adenoids removed and a few years later we saw ortho for palatal expanders, all of which was to increase her airway for better sleep and overall health.  Nobody every mentioned her lip and tongue tie.  Nobody ever mentioned her poor tongue posture and mouth breathing.  Nobody ever talked about the importance of teaching her to become a nasal breather now that her airway was corrected and restored. 

That is a downfall of the health profession.  We all specialize in our one areas of expertise, but often just keep sending patients to doctor after doctor when in fact we should overlap more and understand each role to provide exceptional overall care by working as a health care team, rather than staying restricted to our individual areas of specialty. 

This is my goal with Myofunctional Method. I hope to unite all the specialty areas and overlap them and provide a team approach to treat each person as a single unit rather than several distinct areas of the body.