Understanding How Myofunctional Therapy Can Help With Tongue Ties
Tongue ties can be surprisingly complex. What looks like a small piece of tissue can raise bigger questions about how the tongue moves, rests and functions. A tongue tie can limit how freely the tongue moves, but what does that mean for everyday things like swallowing, eating or keeping the tongue in the right place? And when those questions come up, how does myofunctional therapy fit into the picture? There’s a connection worth exploring, and it starts with understanding what a tongue tie can actually affect.
What Exactly Is a Tongue Tie?
A tongue tie is a condition where the band of tissue connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth, called the lingual frenulum, is unusually tight, short, thick or restrictive. The lingual frenulum is a normal part of the mouth. With a tongue tie, its structure or attachment can limit the tongue’s range of movement.
How Does a Tongue Tie Develop?
A tongue tie develops before birth, as the tissues that form the tongue and floor of the mouth develop. Normally, the tissue under the tongue becomes thinner and less restrictive as development continues. With a tongue tie, the frenulum remains more restrictive than usual. It’s not something caused by feeding, habits or anything a parent did during pregnancy. Tongue ties are present from birth, although they can look and function differently from person to person.
What Can a Tongue Tie Affect?
The tissue underneath the tongue may be small, but its position and flexibility can influence how freely the tongue moves. When that movement is restricted, it can affect several functions that rely on coordinated tongue movement. A tongue tie may affect:
The tongue may have difficulty lifting, extending or moving from side to side.
The tongue may have trouble maintaining a resting position against the roof of the mouth.
Swallowing may involve different tongue movements or muscle patterns.
Chewing can be affected when the tongue has difficulty moving food around the mouth.
Some speech sounds may be harder to produce when certain tongue movements are restricted.
The jaw, lips and other oral muscles may compensate for limited tongue movement.
Why Is Myofunctional Therapy Recommended for Tongue Ties?
A tongue-tie release (frenectomy) changes the physical restriction but does not automatically change how the tongue has learned to function. If movement has been restricted for a long time, the surrounding muscles may have developed ways to compensate. For example, someone may be able to place the tongue against the palate when prompted but have difficulty maintaining that position without tightening the jaw or recruiting the lips. This can make it harder to establish a consistent oral resting posture and may contribute to unnecessary muscle tension. Another person may have adequate tongue movement but continue using a forward tongue movement during swallowing, which can interfere with an efficient swallow and place additional demand on the surrounding muscles. Myofunctional therapy may be used before and after a tongue-tie release to support several areas of tongue function, including:
Tongue elevation, to improve the ability to lift the tongue toward the palate
Tongue-to-palate placement, to support a consistent oral resting posture
Swallowing patterns, to improve tongue movement and reduce forward pressure
Tongue strength and endurance, to support controlled and sustained movement
Tongue coordination, to improve movement during chewing and swallowing
Oral muscle coordination, to reduce unnecessary jaw and lip compensation
What Changes When Tongue Movement Improves?
When a tongue tie is addressed, improved tongue mobility can change how the tongue participates in everyday oral movements. For children, this may support developing more efficient patterns for chewing, swallowing and maintaining a stable tongue position as their oral skills mature. It can also be relevant when a child has developed compensatory movements because the tongue has been difficult to position or control. For adults, improved tongue movement may make established patterns easier to modify when limited mobility has contributed to jaw tension, inefficient swallowing or difficulty maintaining tongue-to-palate contact. Myofunctional therapy can help connect the tongue’s increased mobility with these functional demands, allowing the new movement to become more coordinated and consistent.
Get Support for Your Tongue-Tie Journey
Tongue-tie care can look different from person to person, depending on how tongue mobility, oral posture and muscle coordination are affected. I work with both children and adults worldwide, with myofunctional therapy available virtually to support these areas before and after a tongue-tie release when appropriate. If you’re looking for guidance for yourself or your child, I can help you understand what may be contributing to their symptoms and what support may be appropriate.
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