There are several issues that can happen in your body. But one of the most common kinds is what we call being a tongue tie. The good thing though is that you can get an effective tongue tie treatment as well.
But before going into that, let me just talk about what is tongue tie basically.
It is basically when a child’s tongue is still intact with the bottom of his mouth.
This can cause them several discomfort and make it hard for them to chew or eat.
As the name suggests, because your child’s tongue is not having the freedom to move freely, it can cause several problems.
One of the main ones being that your child will not be able to breastfeed properly.
Also speech impairment can happen if your child is not getting a proper treatment, they will most likely go through speech impairment as well.
Hence it is important that you get a complete checkup to make sure that a timely treatment is in order.
In this article I want to cover tongue tie, how it impacts your growing child and effective treatment.
So let’s begin:
What is Tongue Tie?
The condition also goes by the name ‘ankyloglossia’. It is actually a congenital condition.
This means that a child is most likely to be born with it. And what happens is that your child’s tongue is going to be attached to the bottom of the mouth.
We even call it to the foot of the mouth.
How that happens?
It is because there is a very thin strip of tissue which we call lingual frenulum is actually shorter than normal/
This is not as common and happens in limited children. But it can definitely be a major hassle for you.
For one thing it relates to having very limited tongue mobility. It can also concerns with having to speak.
If your child is suffering from this condition. And you did a diagnosis early on.
It only makes sense that you get treatment for it soon too. So you have to ensure that a child is not going to be suffering from this for long.
When that happens, the recovery from it becomes less likely. As your child is going to be having major complications from this by then.
Who Gets Affected?
Now comes the question who will be getting impacted by this.
So the thing is the condition can take place in anyone.
But in some cases you will likely be suffering from it because of hereditary issues.
If these kinds of genes are in the family, chances are you will or your children will be suffering from it.
However overall it is not a very common health condition.
In fact about 10 percent of the children get this in their lifetimes. This means it will be impacting infants and even younger children.
But older children and adults may also have to live and suffer from this condition.
That is true in the case a child who is suffering from this condition did not get the treatment in a timely manner.
Failing to do so means that certain complications may be arising that you cannot combat.
So now that we know what it is and how it can happen, I want to now talk about the causes of this condition.
Causes of Tongue-Tie
As we have spoken of this already, tongue-tie happens due to one reason only.
See the tongue and the floor of the mouth are actually connecting, This is a fusion which happens when the embryo is growing in the womb.
However overtime what happens is that the tongue will separate from the floor of the mouth.
And when that is happening, there will be just one thin line of tissue which is connecting the two together.
This is what we call the frenulum or lingual frenulum.
But in some very rare cases, this tissue line is very short. It is because it begins to shrink in size.
In some children, it can also be the opposite situation. It will be very thick and it is not receding.
When that is happening, it becomes impossible for you move the tongue even more.
Either way it is not allowing the tongue to move about in a free space.
So how do you know whether you are suffering from this condition or not?
Symptoms of Tongue-Tie
Looking at the signs, these are also going to be different for different children.
Also they can be either to mild or very severe. This is important to know before getting tongue tie treatment.
In some cases, you will notice that the tongue is also going to be appearing in the shape of a heart. Or it is having a notch.
While if the symptoms are mild and they are not interfering with how you lead your normal life, in other cases you should be intervening.
I want to now share some of the leading symptoms of this condition in an infant.
- There is issues when them latching for breastfeeding.
- This makes them cranky and they will be crying continuously.
- When the baby is not getting a proper feed, they will be in constant hunger. This makes them anxious.
- Not getting proper feed means that they will not be gaining proper weight.
- In some babies, it becomes constant that they will be making a clicking sound.
And what about issues in young children?
The conditions may be slightly more complicated. For instance they will be suffering from:
- Speech impairments. This means they will not be able to speak and become vocal.
- As the time progresses, it is possible that a child is regularly going to be suffering from swallowing problems.
- They will not be chewing their food in a proper manner.
- There is also the difficulty of moving the tongue toward the roof of the mouth.
- Many will not be able to lick ice-cream or any other food items properly
- It also becomes very tough for a child to be able to stick their tongue out
- Kissing also becomes a concern
Impact on Breastfeeding Moms
When it comes to how it is going to be making an overall impact on how moms are breastfeeding their children, remember that it can affect them too.
Some of the ways that these mothers have to suffer is that they will be having very cracked and sore nipples.
They also go through major pain as they try to nurse.
Insufficient milk supply can be yet another reason to worry about.
They also have to go through major pain as they nurse. This is again due to the cracked and very sore nipples.
Also the baby gets cranky as their will not be sufficient milk supply which is making the babies even more irritable.
Knowing the symptoms and how it is affecting not just the children but their mothers too. I want to now talk about the diagnosis of this condition.
As well as what is the effective treatment for tongue-tie.
Diagnosis of Tongue-Tie
So this is something you have to get sorted after meeting with your lactation consultant.
They will be looking into the undersurface of the tongue.
And this is going to reveal what is the major problem. That is whether the tongue is really tying down with the mouth or not.
How It Impacts Breastfeeding
This is due to the simple fact that a baby is going to be extending their tongue over the jaw line.
And when a child is tongue-tie, they do not get to do it properly. And this is going to be affecting the gums. As well as the mouth, causing irritation and concern over how proper breastfeeding is done.
How It Is Impacting Speech?
In the same manner, a child is going to be needing the contact of the roof of the mouth when they are trying to make lingual sounds.
When they can’t do that, it is going to give the child articulation problems.
And this means proper pronunciation is getting affected. And you need tongue tie treatment to resolve this issue.
Tongue-Tie Treatment
Now let’s finally look into what can be done to treat this condition.
While in some cases it is not very severe, in others you have to get some treatment to ensure that feeding, swallowing and speaking are not getting majorly impacted.
In such cases, a surgery is done. In this the lingual frenulum is going to be cut.
And this process is what we call frenectomy.
It is actually quite painless for the infants. However in older children and adults, it may have certain complications like bleeding, infection and even scarring.
So you may be getting general anesthesia before the process begins for tongue-tie treatment.
This is why many specialists suggest not to delay your treatment.
Conclusion
Tongue-tie is a condition in which the tongue is not able to move around freely.
It so happens because of a thin tissue which is connecting the tongue with the floor of the mouth.
While in some cases, it is quite mild and does not need any interference.
In other cases, it is going to be impacting your ability to speak, eat and swallow.
This is when you need to get some kind of treatment done.
In this article, I spoke at great lengths on what is tongue-tie. How it is going to be impacting you. And the most effective tongue-tie treatment to go for.
