Tongue-ties

Everything you need to know

Last updated: 28th June 2023

Written by Dr Zaeem Jafri

A tongue-tie exists when the skin under your tongue is too tight to allow your tongue to move as freely as it should. It affects 3-5% of people and it is usually dealt with as a baby.

Many people grow up with tongue-ties without any problems but even as an adult, you can still seek treatments.

 

Tongue ties in adults

You can tell if you have a tongue tie if you are unable to move your tongue as freely as you would like. A non-restricted tongue is able to:

Tongue-tie.jpg

  • Stick out past your lower front teeth

  • move up to touch the roof of your mouth

  • Move side to side and push against your cheeks

This can impact you when performing certain tasks such as:

  • Speaking

  • Eating and drinking (swallowing and licking in particular)

  • Kissing and oral sex

  • Breathing effectively

  • Playing certain instruments

Do you need to have a tongue-tie treated as an adult?

Many people will have naturally adapted to their restricted tongues and may not need any intervention however if it is impacting your life then you may wish to have treatment to ease your tongue-tie.

Treatment options for tongue-ties in adults

Oral Myofascial therapy (OMT)

A programme in which you work with a therapist to re-train the muscles of your face and mouth to perform certain tasks such as speaking, breathing, swallowing and moving your tongue more effectively.

Speech therapy

If your primary issue is speaking, then working with a speech coach will be extremely useful. This is similar to the training actors, singers and other performers regularly go through.

Tongue-tie release (Frenectomy)

A frenectomy is a small surgical procedure where the frenulum (highlighted in the picture above) that is holding your tongue back is cut slightly to allow better movement of your tongue.

The procedure is quite simple and usually takes around 15 minutes. The area will be numbed and the surgeon will cut the frenulum (the tissue holding your tongue back) with a surgical instrument or a laser.

You will need to be careful around the area of surgery for a couple of days whilst it is healing. Some cases may require stitches but many surgeries won’t. After around 1 week you will be able to resume normal activities.

It is impossible to guarantee how much impact a frenectomy will have and you may wish to consider some form of therapy to go alongside the surgical procedure.

Tongue-ties in children

Coming soon…