Hi sistahs,

I thought I would post this since I got some questions about tongue-ties and the fact that the medical community had not caught up with the research and literature on this. Below is a great explanation of it and the types of tongue ties that go undiagnosed (posterior tongue ties) for us to get the best care for our little ones. I’m just gonna copy and paste from the babybonds.us site since this app doesn’t allow us to link. I found this to be the best explanation but I also read the research studies on this so that may be helpful as well.

“Other complications that can arise from an unrevised tongue-tie (even if breastfeeding is going well):

Difficulty swallowing solid foods when they are introduced to the diet. Gagging, choking, and tongue-thrusting motions are common with tongue-tied babies attempting to eat solids.

Dental issues are very common with tongue-tied children, though these usually aren’t obvious until much later. A tongue or lip tie can cause spreading of the upper teeth, and prevent the jaw from developing correctly, resulting in the need for orthodontic work later in life.

The underdeveloped jaw often will be weak/recessed, and not provide enough room for the adult teeth, causing crowding and recurrent decay issues. (My mother-in-law had this).

Speech problems are common among children with unrevised tongue-ties, as their tongues are unable to achieve the full range of motion necessary to create the proper sounds.

Back pain. Believe it or not, a tightly tethered tongue can cause tightness in the muscles of the jaw, face, and neck, which creates kind of domino effect throughout the body (remember, everything is connected), resulting in poor posture and lifelong back pain.

Sleep problems. The underdevelopment of the jaw can compromise the airway, resulting in sleep apnea and other disorders that can affect your child’s sleep throughout their life.

Tongue-ties (ankyloglossia) are caused by an unusually tight band of tissue anchoring the tongue to the floor of the mouth. This restricts the tongue’s normal function, which can cause breastfeeding issues in infants, as well as speech, dental, and airway issues later on.

Tongue-ties are more common than most people think—in fact, they’re the most common problem I see in my lactation visits. Doctors and lactation consultants have known about anterior tongue-ties for years (the kind of tie that extends further toward the tip of the tongue), but are often less educated about posterior ties—the kind closer to the base of the tongue. The resulting underdiagnosis of posterior ties mean many mothers and babies continue to suffer and experience a frustrating breastfeeding relationship.

Because anterior tongue-ties are more obvious, almost no one will question an anterior tie. A posterior tie, however, can sometimes be almost invisible.

I’ve had clients come to me who have already been told definitively by their pediatrician or another lactation consultant that their child doesn’t have a tongue-tie, only to discover that a very tight posterior tie is causing their breastfeeding issues.

Even if a baby has a normal-appearing tongue, with the frenulum in the expected place—or even no frenulum at all—if they or the mother are experiencing the below symptoms, they can still have a posterior tie.