Do tongue and lip ties cause any issues beyond struggles with infant feeding?
Are there really any other lasting complications that spill over into other areas of health?
Do health professionals just want to line their pockets with the “big bucks” so that is incentive for them to refer to a release provider?
Tongue, lip, and buccal ties can contribute to many health issues over the life span! SAY WHAT?? It’s not just an infant feeding issue. It’s an overall health and wellness issue.
Let’s start with breathing. We could argue that correct breathing patterns are the base of all other health issues. If we can’t breathe we can’t live, right?
When our airway is compromised, there will be lasting complications to areas such as sleep, cognition, and more. Oral tethers (tongue, lip, and buccal ties) have a direct impact on the integrity of our airway. Often, if a tongue is “tied,” it may block the airway, especially at night when sleeping.
If our tongue and lips are restricted in movement, this has a direct impact on where the tongue sits in the mouth. Low tongue posture affects jaw growth and development, leads to mouth breathing, difficulty chewing a variety of foods, controlling food in the mouth, and abnormal swallow patterns. (I think it goes without saying that we NEED a healthy swallow pattern!)
We prefer to address these issues head on as early as they are identified for the best outcomes. However, there are still corrective measures that can be taken when they are identified later in life.
If you have concerns and your child is between infancy and age 3, seek out a speech pathologist or occupational therapist who work with infant feeding and have a myofunctional therapy background. When seeking help for children ages 4+ years through adulthood, you should seek out a myofunctional therapist.
To answer that last question, are health professionals in it for the big bucks?
Absolutely not.
We are in this field because we care deeply for you and your health.
After hundreds and sometimes thousands of hours of additional training after graduating, we understand the lasting impacts tethered oral tissues can have on overall health and wellness. We want to assist you in finding the answers you have been looking for and working with the right health professionals for YOUR concerns.
We got into this specialty because we are passionate about helping you feel better. While it’s true that oral tethers can affect overall health and wellness, it’s also true that the field has evolved so much and there are so many answers to the challenges one faces when they are diagnosed with tongue, lip, or buccal ties. Stay tuned in as we will have a directory soon where you can find vetted professionals in your area!
