Why This Blog

Hello there! 

I started this blog to help others like me who have dealt with the complications of ankyloglossia - tongue tie.  I lived with a tongue tie for 34 years before finally getting it fixed with a lingual frenectomy followed by ongoing myofunctional therapy with an orofacial myologist.  There's a good chance many of you have never heard of an orofacial myologist and that is part of why I started this blog.

Look familiar?

The reason I did not get my tongue tie fixed until I was 34 is because I endured 3 decades of misdiagnosis (or rather a LACK of a diagnosis, as you will see) and misinformation from the very professionals who should have helped me: an orthodontist, dentists, and 2 speech pathologists.  It was by chance that I discovered (through Google no less) there was someone called an orofacial myologist who could help me rehabilitate my speech, eating, and swallowing habits.  

Tell-tale 'heart shaped' tip of a tied tongue: the frenulum pulls on the tip causing the indent.  Notice the crooked crease down the center of my tongue: that's from it being unable to extend any further.

If you research lingual frenectomy online, you will likely see many comments and stories from people saying that it is not worth it, that at most your tongue may gain a few millimeters, and your speech may not improve more than marginally; but many of these stories are from people who had a lingual frenectomy without any myofunctional therapy.  Well, I am here to say that a lingual frenectomy IS worth it and that with proper therapy you can make significant gains beyond merely being able to stick your tongue out more or say an 'S' properly.

This is how far I could stick my tongue straight out before my lingual frenectomy and orofacial therapy. The tip of my tongue is actually curled down because I could barely extend it past my lower teeth.

Let me be clear: because I am a patient and not someone trained in treating tongue tie, I am limited with regards to the specificity of advice I can give.  It would be unethical for me to provide exercise instructions that should be done under the care and supervision of an orofacial myologist.  However, I will report in detail, and provide photos of, the gains I have made because of the exercises I did.  In sum, I am sharing my story in the hopes of inspiring people to take a more proactive approach to dealing with and fixing their tongue tie.  If I had any idea of the benefits I would gain just in a few months (some within a few hours!) of having a lingual frenectomy and orofacial therapy, I would have done this years ago.

4 Months Post Op. Approximately 22 mms in reach gained! Therapy is still ongoing.

Heart shape is gone and crease is diminishing!

I'm now able to make a nice point with the tip of my tongue and can lick ice cream cones normally!

In my next few posts, I will share the story of my tongue tie, how it affected me, and how the professionals I went to about it treated (or not treated) me.  Perhaps you will notice similarities between my story and yours.  Thanks for reading!