Adult Tongue Tie Release
What is a Tongue Tie?
A tongue tie is a condition in which the tongue cannot move freely within the mouth due to an abnormally short, tight band of connective tissue (lingual frenulum) that attaches it to the bottom of the mouth. This can cause speech difficulty and trouble eating and even breathing and can lead to other chronic health problems like dental decay and periodontal disease.
Adult tongue tie release is a surgical procedure that can help to alleviate the symptoms of tongue tie. Dr. Hubbard uses the functional frenuloplasty technique in her practice. The procedure itself is relatively quick and painless, with most patients experiencing minimal discomfort during and after the procedure.
Dr. Hubbard is skilled in tongue-tie surgery for both children and adults and has trained using courses and techniques from Dr. Richard Baxter, Dr. Soroush Zaghi, and Dr. Jared Poplin to perfect the procedure.
Symptoms of Tongue Tie in Adults
Tongue ties occur at birth and most are treated early. If you have a tongue tie as an adult, it can restrict the range of motion of your tongue and can restrict your quality of life with a number of negative symptoms.
If you are struggling with speech issues or any of the following symptoms, contact our office to find out if tongue tie surgery might be a good choice for you.
- Speech and swallowing issues
- Nasal breathing
- Tightness around the base of the skull or upper neck tension
- Chronic neck pain
- Jaw pain/TMJ
- Shoulder tension
- Headaches or migraines
- Clenching or grinding your teeth at night (called Bruxism)
- A clicking noise in the jaw
- Trouble sleeping at night
- Snoring or obstructive sleep apnea
- Brain fog and lack of energy
- Tenderness in the floor of the mouth
- Digestive issues
- Tooth sensitivity, tooth decay, or other dental issues
Benefits of Tongue Tie Release For Adults
Adults with tongue tie can suffer from many adverse side effects, and correcting the issue and improving tongue mobility has a wide range of benefits.
- Improved speech: One of the biggest benefits is improved speech. Tongue-tied adults may speak with a lisp or have trouble pronouncing certain words. After the tongue-tie release, speech therapy can help improve speech sounds.
- Better breathing and better sleep: Tongue ties often cause breathing issues like mouth breathing and can cause poor sleep. Correcting the issue will allow you to breathe clearly and will lead to better sleep.
- Pain relief: Tongue ties can cause problems like headaches, shoulder pain, TMJ, and other painful issues. If you’ve tried pain medications or other options to relieve headaches and chronic pain unsuccessfully, tongue-tie release could be the answer!
- Better oral health: Since restricted tongue movement can cause food debris to get stuck underneath the tongue, you could struggle with dental health problems like cavities or gum disease.
- Better diet: When the band of tissue that connects your tongue to the gums is too tight, it may be difficult to chew certain foods, causing digestive issues like acid reflux and poor weight gain.
Lingual Frenectomy: The Tongue Tie Procedure
A frenectomy procedure is a quick and pain-free procedure. If you believe you may need a frenectomy, the first step is to schedule a consultation with Dr. Hubbard in order to assess which ties are present.
If a release is needed, Dr. Hubbard will refer you to a myofunctional therapist, or other healthcare professional, to ensure the best results from the release. Myofunctional therapy should be performed before and after the release.
The procedure itself only takes about 10 seconds. Afterward, sutures may be placed in the wound, or it may be left open to heal by secondary intent.
Myofunctional therapy should continue after the release, and you should schedule a follow-up with Dr. Hubbard 7-10 days after the procedure. At that time, if the release has grown back together for any reason, a “deep stretch” will be performed to allow for maximum function.
Improve Your Oral Health and Quality of Life With Adult Tongue Tie Release in Pinehurst, NC
Dr. Hubbard uses a SOLEA laser, which is a CO2 laser, to perform lingual frenectomies. The procedure can significantly improve your oral health and your overall wellbeing and can be done quickly and painlessly. To find out more about Dr. Hubbard’s training, click here.
To schedule this simple procedure, contact us at 910-727-1255.