Our Approach to Tongue & Lip Ties

Do you have a an oral tie? Many people do and never knew! They’re kind of a big deal. Let’s talk about why.


What is it?

A tongue-tie is when the lingual frenulum (i.e., piece of tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is too short or tight, thus restricting the tongue from achieve appropriate resting posture and/or range of movement. A lip tie is present when the piece of tissue that connects the lip to the gum is attached too closely to the teeth, thus restricting the movement of the lip. It’s very common for someone to have a tongue-tie when a lip tie is present. A less frequently occurring tie is a buccal tie. These are present when the tissue between the cheek and gums is too thick or tight, thus negatively impacting the cheeks’ ability to function appropriately for feeding and swallowing.

Unfortunately, tongue ties are often missed upon evaluation due to lack of awareness and knowledge. So often we have parents tell us their child was cleared because they can stick their tongue out. It’s so important for a specialist to evaluate when ties are being considered as a potential concern.

What is impacted by a tie?

Not all ties have a functional impact. Not all ties need to be released. However, ties often do impact almost everything about us: feeding, swallowing, articulation, craniofacial development, muscle tension, dentition, etc. You just need to know what you are looking at.

How can a specialized speech-language pathologist/orofacial myologist help?

We do WAY more than your typical speech-language pathologist and have extensive training in aiding and correcting orofacial myofunctional disorders. We are an important part of the team for pre-surgical interventions when considering the timeline of a tongue or lip tie release. If you’re going to get it done, why not just do it once and do it right? There’s also several additional benefits to facilitate maximal non-surgical and post-surgical outcomes! Treatment can offer improvements in…

  • Normalizing tongue and lip resting postures

  • Establishing nasal breathing patterns

  • Eliminating improper chewing and swallowing patterns

  • Stabilizing the dentition from extraneous orofacial muscle movement

  • Eliminating persistent speech sound patterns

  • Addressing harmful oral habits including:

    • Prolonged pacifier use

    • Thumb and/or finger sucking

    • Fingernail, cheek, or lip biting

    • Tongue sucking

    • Clenching or grinding of the teeth