Several months ago I had the TV on and a story came on the news about a boy in Texas who has some special needs, he couldn't talk very well or say many words. He went to the dentist for a routine check up and the dentist found that he had a tongue tie. The dentist lasered it and the boy started talking that night. As you can imagine I thought and said out loud, "Maybe Katie has a tongue tie!"
A few days later I took Katie to her chiropractor Rebecca Kleckner, (who I can't say enough great things about) and this story about the boy in Texas came up. She had seen the video. Looking in Katie's mouth is not an easy task (or getting through any kind of doctor appointment for that matter) but Katie laughed really big and Dr. Kleckner was able to see in her mouth. She said that she thought that she did have a tongue tie because her tongue was flat and came up on the sides, like a taco - as if something was holding it down.
"Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition in which an unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue (lingual frenulum) tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor."
In my layman's terms: It's the thing under your tongue (frenulum) that connects your tongue to the bottom of your mouth, and it can be too tight and restrict movement which can cause speech issues and more. Sometimes it's closer to the tip of the tongue (very easy to see), sometimes it's at the back of the tongue and hard to diagnose unless someone sees it who has been trained on what to look for. The latter is what Katie has and it is called a posterior tongue tie. I'd post some pictures I googled but they make me want to pass out so I will not do that to you. Google away!
Texas boy video
Texas boy story
Dr. Kleckner knew of a dentist (Dr. Ashley Bower) who travels around the area and does the tongue tie surgery with a laser, so we met with her and she confirmed that Katie does have a tongue and a lip tie.
"Lip Tie is a congenital condition wherein the presence of an abnormal frenum, between the lip and the front teeth mostly in the upper jaw, may result in pain, eating or speaking difficulties, or even cause the gum to recede. It is a common condition that is correctable through surgery, when needed."
My version: A lip tie is the piece of skin between your lip and gums on the top and bottom of your mouth, it can be too tight and cause problems.
So Katie has surgery in the next few days and I am hoping to see some results. I am not expecting her to come out talking but maybe it will, at the least, help her with more sounds. All she can say now is the m's and b's and once in a while a yeah. You don't need your tongue for those, so I have a little hope!
"Your tongue is such a crucial part of your body. The neuromuscular system is intertwined with the brain, digestive system, neck, spine, and teeth."
Tongue Tie Developmental signs
* Delayed speech, problem with certain letters or sounds
*Lisp
*Food and texture aversions
*Tooth decay
*Gagging or choking
*Squirreling food
*Difficulty talking fast
*Can't move tongue past lips
*Jaw joint and posture
*Jaw pain
*Migraines
*Neck and back pain
*Forward or slumped posture
*speech
*balance
*jaw tightness
*drooling (I think the lip-tie might help this)
*constipation (I can only hope 😏)
*texture aversions
And I wonder if it will also help with things such as not being able to purse her lips together, not really being able to lick anything, and clenching her toes most of the time. From what I've read it should instantly relieve tightness in the head, neck, and shoulders, and I bet throughout the whole body. It will be interesting to see if it helps this. I've seen videos of adults who had the tongue-tie cut who say that as soon as it was cut, they felt all of this pressure and tension leave their body. It helps with headaches too and sadly I have no idea if she has these.
We are not going the laser route because it will be an open wound that can re-attach so you have to stretch the tongue every 4-6 hours for 6 weeks afterward and if you know Katie, not going to be easy! I think they do this mostly on babies who can't kick and hit and spit at you. And adults.
So we found an excellent ENT - Dr. Simms, who will put Katie under anesthesia and put stitches in that go away and she should be healed with no pain in 3 days - we'll see! He is also going to see if her adenoids have possibly grown back and if they have, take them out again. This can be a cause of her mouth always being open, I believe.
I am crossing my fingers and hoping some good things happen for this girl!
A few days later I took Katie to her chiropractor Rebecca Kleckner, (who I can't say enough great things about) and this story about the boy in Texas came up. She had seen the video. Looking in Katie's mouth is not an easy task (or getting through any kind of doctor appointment for that matter) but Katie laughed really big and Dr. Kleckner was able to see in her mouth. She said that she thought that she did have a tongue tie because her tongue was flat and came up on the sides, like a taco - as if something was holding it down.
"Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition in which an unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue (lingual frenulum) tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor."
In my layman's terms: It's the thing under your tongue (frenulum) that connects your tongue to the bottom of your mouth, and it can be too tight and restrict movement which can cause speech issues and more. Sometimes it's closer to the tip of the tongue (very easy to see), sometimes it's at the back of the tongue and hard to diagnose unless someone sees it who has been trained on what to look for. The latter is what Katie has and it is called a posterior tongue tie. I'd post some pictures I googled but they make me want to pass out so I will not do that to you. Google away!
Texas boy video
Texas boy story
Dr. Kleckner knew of a dentist (Dr. Ashley Bower) who travels around the area and does the tongue tie surgery with a laser, so we met with her and she confirmed that Katie does have a tongue and a lip tie.
"Lip Tie is a congenital condition wherein the presence of an abnormal frenum, between the lip and the front teeth mostly in the upper jaw, may result in pain, eating or speaking difficulties, or even cause the gum to recede. It is a common condition that is correctable through surgery, when needed."
My version: A lip tie is the piece of skin between your lip and gums on the top and bottom of your mouth, it can be too tight and cause problems.
So Katie has surgery in the next few days and I am hoping to see some results. I am not expecting her to come out talking but maybe it will, at the least, help her with more sounds. All she can say now is the m's and b's and once in a while a yeah. You don't need your tongue for those, so I have a little hope!
"Your tongue is such a crucial part of your body. The neuromuscular system is intertwined with the brain, digestive system, neck, spine, and teeth."
Tongue Tie Developmental signs
* Delayed speech, problem with certain letters or sounds
*Lisp
*Food and texture aversions
*Tooth decay
*Gagging or choking
*Squirreling food
*Difficulty talking fast
*Can't move tongue past lips
*Jaw joint and posture
*Jaw pain
*Migraines
*Neck and back pain
*Forward or slumped posture
These procedures might help Katie with a lot of her issues including:
*breathing through her mouth (it's always open)*speech
*balance
*jaw tightness
*drooling (I think the lip-tie might help this)
*constipation (I can only hope 😏)
*texture aversions
And I wonder if it will also help with things such as not being able to purse her lips together, not really being able to lick anything, and clenching her toes most of the time. From what I've read it should instantly relieve tightness in the head, neck, and shoulders, and I bet throughout the whole body. It will be interesting to see if it helps this. I've seen videos of adults who had the tongue-tie cut who say that as soon as it was cut, they felt all of this pressure and tension leave their body. It helps with headaches too and sadly I have no idea if she has these.
We are not going the laser route because it will be an open wound that can re-attach so you have to stretch the tongue every 4-6 hours for 6 weeks afterward and if you know Katie, not going to be easy! I think they do this mostly on babies who can't kick and hit and spit at you. And adults.
So we found an excellent ENT - Dr. Simms, who will put Katie under anesthesia and put stitches in that go away and she should be healed with no pain in 3 days - we'll see! He is also going to see if her adenoids have possibly grown back and if they have, take them out again. This can be a cause of her mouth always being open, I believe.
I am crossing my fingers and hoping some good things happen for this girl!
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