A tongue-tie is a thick, tight, or short strand of tissue behind the tongue that inhibits mobility and produces a functional problem. Tethered oral tissues refer to tongue ties and lip ties taken together.
Sleep is often impacted, beginning in infancy. If tongue ties are not corrected, they can cause structural and functional abnormalities in the craniofacial-respiratory complex, as well as disrupt sleep throughout life.
Mouth breathing is frequently caused or exacerbated by tongue knots and low tongue resting positions. Mouth breathing keeps the brain from falling asleep at its lowest level. As a result, people who mouth breathe at night are frequently tired when they wake up. Even if children and adults obtain the recommended amount of sleep at night, many may not get the quality of sleep that they require. Snoring is a warning flag that you may have obstructive sleep apnea or sleep-disordered breathing.
Whether or not your kid has a tongue tie, you should always consult your pediatrician about your child’s snoring. We’ve turned snoring into a societal issue, but you shouldn’t accept it. Snoring can signal far more serious sleep-related breathing problems, such as obstructive sleep apnea, which affects 2-4% of youngsters.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Tongue Tie
There are several ways that tongue tie might lead to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA):
Mouth breathing is frequent
Many people who have a tongue tie also breathe through their mouth all of the time. Mouth breathing can cause micro damage to the tissues in the back of the throat, especially the tonsils, if done for a prolonged length of time. The tonsils may then expand, causing breathing blockages while sleeping. This is a significant contributor to sleep apnea.
The tongue is in a lower resting posture
When a youngster is physically growing, their tongue should make contact with the palate, which is the roof of their mouth. The tongue tie forces the tongue to rest in a lower position, obstructing the development of the palate. This can result in an excessively arched or elevated palate, which leaves less space for the nasal airways above it, resulting in breathing problems such as OSA.
Tongue tie is frequently addressed by doctors early in a child’s life, since pediatricians will check it at yearly visits as part of their developmental milestone monitoring. A frenectomy, or minor surgery to relax the lingual frenulum, will be performed on a youngster with a tongue knot. When tongue tie is not detected early on, it can create issues in adulthood, including OSA.
How can tongue-tie be identified?
If you or your infant is having trouble eating, you should get their tongue function and feeding checked by a pediatrician. They’ll be able to advise you on what to do next by looking at your baby, watching them feed, and hearing from you about how feeding has been affected.
Some pediatricians may utilize a formal tongue-tie examination based on how things seem and work.
Tongue-tie treatment
What exactly is tongue-tie division?
Your kid may have a tongue-tie division, which will allow his or her tongue to move more freely. The frenulum is severed in this procedure.
Tongue-tie division is a simple operation that can help with breastfeeding issues caused by tongue-tie.
Is tongue-tie division painful?
Tongue-tie division is a simple and rapid surgery that is claimed to be nearly painless.
Is it necessary to treat my baby’s tongue tie?
The decision to separate a tongue tie is a personal one, and various parents will make different choices. Every tongue tie is unique, and the problems it creates can range from minor to serious. So consider how much the tongue tie is hurting your feeding and your life with your baby might influence your decision.
Some parents are terrified of cutting anything in their child’s mouth. Others believe that the short-term discomfort is worth the long-term gains. If you are unsure about how you feel, speaking with your pediatrician about the best course of action may be beneficial.
