Pediatric Therapy for Tongue Tie in Buford, GA
Is your baby struggling with nursing from the breast or bottle? Does your older child struggle with clear speech, eating, or drinking? These could be signs of a tongue tie, a condition that restricts the movement of the tongue. While this condition can make feeding and speaking more difficult, the good news is that early treatment is relatively simple and effective.
At TLC Therapy Services, we’re here to help your child overcome difficulties associated with tongue tie and achieve better function and comfort. Our speech therapists can work with you and your child to ensure your child can feed and speak freely.
What Is Tongue Tie?
Ankyloglossia (more commonly called tongue tie) is a condition where the thin band of tissue that connects the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth is too tight or short. This can restrict the tongue’s movement, which can make it more difficult for your child to achieve their feeding and speech milestones.
Some cases of tongue tie are mild and can be treated with therapy alone, but others may require a simple surgical procedure to allow the tongue to move more freely.
Common Symptoms of Tongue Tie
Tongue tie can affect children differently, but common signs include:
- Difficulty breastfeeding or bottle-feeding as an infant
- Trouble sticking the tongue out past the lower teeth
- Speech challenges, including difficulty pronouncing certain sounds
- Trouble eating or managing foods with different textures
- Frequent gagging or choking during meals
- Gaps between the lower front teeth caused by a tight frenulum
- Often sleeping with the mouth open
- Long amounts of time needed to finish a meal
For breastfeeding mothers, the symptoms can include painful nursing, plugged ducts, or nipples that are flattened or bleeding after nursing.
How Our Pediatric Therapists Can Treat Tongue Tie
At TLC Therapy Services, we use evidence-based and gentle treatments to help children with a tongue tie improve their tongue function and communication skills. We’ll start with a thorough assessment to determine the type and severity of the tongue tie and how it impacts your child. Then we’ll work on a treatment plan that may include:
- Oral Motor Exercises: to strengthen the muscles in the tongue, lips, and throat to improve their movement
- Feeding Therapy: to make nursing, chewing, and swallowing more comfortable, efficient, and safe
- Speech Therapy: to address any speech challenges caused by tongue tie, such as articulation challenges or speech delays
- Collaboration with Specialists: by working with your child’s pediatrician or dentist if a surgical tongue-tie release is needed to ensure your child’s recovery is swift and effective
Schedule an Evaluation Today
If your child has a tongue tie, pediatric speech therapy can help them overcome the challenges of this condition for healthy speech development and easier feeding times. Our team at TLC Therapy Services is ready to help your child reach their fullest potential.
Give us a call at (770) 696-6649 to schedule an evaluation with our pediatric speech therapists today.