Tongue tied?

Message

#1 Post by **Banana1214** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:34 pm

I've been shopping orthos the past couple of weeks before I choose one to do my mouth. I've seen three so far and they've all said basically the same thing about my problems. However, the one I saw today mentioned something new -- that I'm tongue-tied and that is the root of my teeth problems. She said the tongue is supposed to hit the roof of your mouth 2000 times a day, each time reinforcing the arch of your upper mouth. When the tongue is stuck at the bottom of your mouth, it can't do its job, and that's why I have crowding up top. She also said this tongue thing is the reason for my speech problems, which are mainly that I've always sort of mumbled my words and wasn't able to enunciate anything clearly. I just thought that was the way I talked and that was it. But she says if I have this surgery where they clip the frenulum, I'll be able to speak much more clearly and let my tongue do its arch-maintaing job, and that if I get braces but don't have my tongue working properly, my teeth might go back someday. Has anyone else had this experience?

I like this ortho the most of all I've seen, but they've all said different things about treatment and no one else mentioned this tongue problem. Shouldn't the other orthos have seen it as well? I just don't want to do unnecessary things. Although, it would be great to be able to be understood when I speak. I'm so tired of hearing, "What did you say?"

Please share your common experiences!
Thanks!

#2 Post by **dena** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:13 pm

hey! I haven't heard of this per se, but I was concerned about tongue thrusting (is that related?) when your tongue pushes against your teeth when you swallow and shoves your teeth out. other orthos said that was a problem i had, so i quizzed the ortho i decided to go with because he had not mentioned it. i found out that he basically doesn't subscribe to that...he thinks crooked teeth cause the tongue thrust (basically, because if the teeth are gapped, the tongue can thrust) and not the other way around.

anyway, i'd contact the other orthos you saw and ask how they weigh in on that. or you can try to get another (hopefully free) consultation and ask that person what he/she thinks specifically.

it sounds viable to me, but who knows? you dont want surgery if its not necessary. try the 'ask the doc' section on this message board.

good luck!

#3 Post by **MusicIsMyLife** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 11:23 pm

Tongue-tied and tongue thrusting are two different things.

Her frenum attaching her tongue to the base of her mouth, goes out too far (maybe all the way to the tip?). Making her tongue restricted in its movements.

#4 Post by **dkt3** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 1:23 am

Id like to know a little more on the tongue thing. Since I have linguals my tongue no longer touches the inside of my top teeth so by what your ortho, Banana1214, says my arch isnt being reinforced during treatment. I may have the idea wrong, but that sounds like linguals could be a problem and so far they have been pretty good. Interesting though.

#5 Post by **Kim** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 5:53 am

lol... I know that diagnosis you just described about your tounge is related to you teeth, but its so different and unheard of to me, it reminded me of my ortho when he went through my case and plan of attack with me before I got my braces on... He actually ended up referring me to a chiropractor, because in the photos he took of my profile, my ears, jaw, shoulder and hip bone weren't aligned like they were supposed to be, and my posture was way out of wack. I've always had problems with the outside heel of my shoes wearing away, and its because of this! My ortho actually said to me that I'm most likely to have foot problems or problems with my shoes. lol He was right... All that by looking at my teeth!! hahaha.

I haven't actually taken up his referral to see the chiropractor... lol... I think I'll finish paying him to fix my teeth first before I go paying someone else to fix the rest of my body. haha.

#6 Post by **Banana1214** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 6:47 am

That's funny, Kim. That is actually how I felt hearing this, too. I just want straight teeth, and now I have to have tongue surgery and weeks of speech therapy to correct my speaking habits. But a chiropractor is an even stranger person to be sent to by your orthodontist than a mouth surgeon.

I don't know if I can help with the linguals question. I didn't even know our tongues were supposed to have anything to do with our teeth, but this woman says if my tongue doesn't have all its movement, eventually my top teeth might become crowded again, even with a retainer. So if your tongue doesn't hit the roof of your mouth, you may want to mention it to your ortho. I don't know. I'm going to see one more guy today and see if he mentions it, and if he doesn't, I may mention it to him and see if he laughs or something.

The first two orthos I saw were not board-certified, while this woman and the guy I'm seeing today are, so I don't know if that makes a difference in how well-trained they are to see things other orthos don't. I thought getting three or four opinions would make picking an ortho easier, but I'm just more confused than ever!

#7 Post by **bracedintx** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:23 pm

Hi Banana! True tongue tie is an anatomical condition in which the entire midline of your tongue is tight and pulls downward. So, while you can see the problem by the heart shape of your tongue tip, your tongue actually continues until down to the middle of your throat (and so does your tongue tie).

I'm very glad to hear that you are getting speech therapy, since surgery alone will not train your muscles. Isn't it amazing how everything ties together? You go in for straight teeth and work on your speech! Try to stick with your exercises and best of luck!

#8 Post by **Destor** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:27 pm

Neat, that's really interesting about being tongue tied, always thought that was just an anology for not being able to say something properly, not an actual medical condition. Learn something new every day.

Wait, don't tell me there's a condition called "Cat got your tongue" aswell?!

#9 Post by **bracedintx** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:37 pm

Destor wrote:Wait, don't tell me there's a condition called "Cat got your tongue" aswell?!

Hehe , actually the technical term for that would be "mutism"

#10 Post by **Destor** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 9:46 pm

bracedintx wrote:
Destor wrote:Wait, don't tell me there's a condition called "Cat got your tongue" aswell?!
Hehe , actually the technical term for that would be "mutism"

hahaha

#11 Post by **bckydgardnr** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 6:58 am

My daughter who was 8 at the time was tounge tied. Our dentist said it was the worst case he had ever seen. Not only was it to the tip of her tounge, it was webbed underneath. The frenulum was so tight that it was pulling on the back of her teeth. He said that if she didn't have surgery it was possible that she could lose her bottom teeth. She had the surgery in October. It took her about a week to totally recover, but she was back school in two days. It is amazing how her speech became more articulated.

gardnr

#12 Post by **bracedintx** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:41 am

bckydgardnr wrote: It took her about a week to totally recover, but she was back school in two days. It is amazing how her speech became more articulated.

gardnr

That must have been a great relief for you

#13 Post by **bckydgardnr** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 7:31 am

When we initially found out she was tounge tied she was about 3 years old. (I know, hard to imagine we didn't know until then. She had a lot of other problems at birth, so looking under her tounge was the least of our worries) At that point, our dentist didn't think it was too bad and there was no webbing. He kept saying at each 6 month appointment, lets see if it stretches or if it will get better. I had her evaluated when she was in kindergarten for speech and she was making all of the appropriate sounds. As she started to get older, it just got worse and worse. About a year ago, we started to talk surgery. In August her dentist said at that point it was pulling on the back of her teeth and if it wasnt corrected she could lose her teeth. When we went to the surgeon he also said it was one of the worse he had seen, but the only sound she wasnt making correctly was the "t" sound. We scheduled the surgery for a week later. She couldnt speak correctly for about a week. I started working with her on her sounds, and she would walk around repeating the sounds and her speech is beautiful now. In fact, she recently auditioned for a local community drama production and got a pretty good role. (she has to sing a song by herself !!!)

She is very concientious of her speech because she likes to perform, so we have not had to go the speech therapy route. I work in the same school system where she goes to school, and a good friend who is a speech pathologist checked her out and said she is fine!

gardnr

#14 Post by **nvcarissa** » Tue Dec 27, 2005 3:50 pm

I vaguely remember my mother telling me that when I was very small they had my tongue "clipped." She meant the frenulum. She was told that if it wasn't done I would have a very bad lisp.

#15 Post by **Dream gerl x** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 9:31 pm

hello! somebody just like me!

im 20 years old right now. im going through braces a 2nd time because the ortho pretty much messed up my mouth. (long story!)

anyway, with my first round of braces i was about 11-16 ish. in highschool around sophmore year i started noticing that i could'nt really stick out my tongue. i was persistant with this issue because i realized that my frenum (i think thats what its called) was attached to right behind my bottom teeth, while other peoples were at the bottom of their mouths. Anyway, i went to an oral surgeon. he then used a laser to trim the frenum away from the back of my teeth.

it was a very odd feeling. he basically burned that sucker off. lol

HOWEVER, i started to notice that it was not much of a difference...

i ended up having to go back and do it again! i was disapointed more than anything that all the years, from pediatricians to dentists to even an ortho... nobody picked up on an obvious problem!

its a strange sensation. everytime you move your tongue for the first few days it stings. you dont realize how much you utlize it until you feel the constant pain! however, its not the worst experience ive ever been through, and i AM a baby sometimes! lol

i hope this helped, if you have anyother questions you can PM me or email me as well.

"tongue-tied" i think its commonly referred to!"

Christine (PS my first post!!)

Metal Mouth Message Board

Tongue tied?

Tongue tied?

ortho diagnosis

tongue tie (ankyloglossia)