My Tongue-tie Experience

Let’s talk ankyloglossia. AKA tongue-ties. 



What is a tongue-tie? The definition of a tongue, or oral-tie is a frenum that restricts proper function of the tongue. A frenum is the thin line of skin below the tongue that connects the underneath side of your tongue to the bottom of your mouth. 

A tongue tie can develop several weeks after conception. Normally as the embryo grows the tongue separates from the floor of the mouth but if this doesn’t occur correctly or completely a tongue-tie results. And at birth, the skin (frenum) that connects the underneath side of your tongue to the bottom of your mouth is short. 

Tongue-ties are commonly identified in infants because it can affect how the infant breastfeeds & how oral function develops, HOWEVER, it’s becoming more common for adults to also get assessed as we learn more and more about the fully body effects of oral ties. 

It is normal to have a frenum, but tongue-ties are characterized by a frenum that is short such that the range of motion and proper function of the tongue is affected. Not all tongue frenums are tongue-ties though. This is why a functional evaluation by someone specifically trained in oral ties is necessary (more on that below).

The ability to touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth is not enough to rule out a tongue-tie nor confirm a tongue-tie is present. I, personally, had no problem touching my tongue to the roof of my mouth but in order to do so, I compensated with the floor of my mouth which pulled on fascia connected to my neck (hello chronic neck tension). Alternatively, you could have a tongue that appears restricted but functions optimally. 

Here’s a visual:

In this first pic, the dentist is holding down the floor of my mouth so I can’t compensate to touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth. I can barely lift my tongue.

Immediately after the release, he does the same and you can visually see the range of motion I gained:

Why get assessed for oral ties?

In functional medicine, we view the body as one interconnected system.

Other symptoms the body displays are never just one stand-alone symptoms. We always want to ask more questions and take a deeper look as to what factors could be contributing. Here are some symptoms that can be related to oral ties that might pique your curiosity to investigate further.

  • Mouth breathing

  • TMJ

  • Body tension (esp traps & neck tension)

  • Strong gag reflex

  • Food often getting stuck in teeth

  • Chronic bad breath

  • Frequent bloating

  • Frouble swallowing pills

  • Chronic chapped lips

  • Chronic tight hips (tight psoas muscle)

  • Chronic plantar fasciitis

  • Dark circle under eyes

  • Trouble swallowing without liquids

  • Trouble chewing food on both sides of the mouth

  • Forward head posture

  • Trouble taking deep breaths

For me, trouble taking deep breaths, high heart rate while sleeping, low HRV (with inability to raise it with other strategies) and living in fight or flight more often than I’d like were reasons I wanted assessed. I also had mineral testing data that also pointed to high stress. 

Chronic stress via nervous system activation (aka you run in fight or flight) can be a symptom of an oral tie or airway issues (that was the case for me as I mentioned). Lifestyle factors have a huge impact on nervous system regulation, but if you feel like you’ve implemented many things (pausing caffeine, daily breath work or meditation, calming an anxious mind, etc) to really regulate your nervous system and don’t feel that there’s been any change, perhaps get assessed for oral ties and proper tongue function. Sometimes, it’s not even a tie, it’s just improper function. 

How does the tongue function relate to your nervous system?

The back of the tongue needs to rest in the right position to engage the vagus nerve which stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (aka rest and digest state). This impacts breathing at rest and the parasympathetic nervous system is regulated by breath. If there’s a tongue-tie it could be pulling up on your diaphragm making it harder to breathe (this was the suspected case for me and may be why I feel like it’s easier to breathe so soon after having it released) .  

breath is foundational to having a relaxed nervous system.

Chronic fight or flight is a stressor on the body and can impact overall quality of health now and down the road. This can show up as hormone symptoms, skin symptoms, digestion symptoms, fatigue and a whole lot more.

A tongue tie is a multifaceted diagnosis. The diagnosis is not about appearance but rather function of the tongue. 

evaluation by a tongue tie professional is a critical step in having a proper assessment and diagnosis. 

If a diagnosis is confirmed and you decide to proceed with releasing the tongue-tie with a procedure, the next step would be myofunctional therapy. Just as if you were having hip surgery and physical therapy would be part of your recovery and rehab process, myofunctional therapy is an essential step in a tongue-tie release for 3 reasons: 

1) preparing the muscles and fascia for release 

2) supporting healing from the procedure 

3) restoring oral function after surgery. 


Do you need to get a release if you have a tongue-tie?

Depending on the severity of the tie and its impact on overall oral function, it may not be necessary to release your tongue-tie. This is where discussion with a specialist is helpful to understand the potential long term effects if you decide to opt out of the procedure. 


in my experience, What surprised me most about my tongue-tie release: sleep quality and waking energy.

Now this is my niche, my thing, and I really feel like optimizing minerals & lifestyle changes to support quality sleep is something I really have focused on through the years. I’ve mouth taped, intentional breath work, mindset work, all the things… and despite that my average heart rate during sleep and average HRV were not quite where I would love to see them. 

Pre-procedure my average HR while sleep was 71 (ideally I’d like this between 40-50) and my HRV avg was 36 (I’d want this much higher). In less than one week my average hear rate decreased to 65 and my HRV increased to 48. 

Here’s the proof

Before the release:

6 days after

When your tongue is able to be in the right position and not restricting your airway your breathing at night can be improved which impacts heart rate, sleep quality, waking energy the next day. 


Suspect a tongue tie? Now what?

  1. Get evaluated by a tongue tie professional (specifically a tongue tie specialist). Not all general dentists, physicians or ENTs are knowledgeable about the complexities of tongue ties. A myofunctional therapist or dentist trained in oral ties is typically who you’d see.

  2. The second step is myofunctional therapy. This is an essential step to help prepare the muscles and fascia for the release which impacts healing. I had 4 weeks of myofunctional therapy before the release

  3. The procedure - this was easy. They put numbing ointment on first, then inject more local anesthetic. I didn’t feel any pain at all. Be sure to bring some pain meds with you though. I took ibuprofen as I was leaving the clinic as I could already feel the numbing wearing off. An Ice pack under my chin was tremendously helpful too.

  4. Post care - starting a few days after the procedure, you’ll start meeting with your myofunctional therapist again for stretches and learning to properly use a free tongue!

  5. Be patient: I started the process in August 2023 and had my release April 2024. Most of the time is just waiting to get an appointment to see the professionals for the assessments.

Want to dive more? Here’s some resources for ya:

WellnessRobyn Johnsonoral health, tongue-tie, tongue tie, nervous system, back pain, frequent bloating, sleep, mouth breathing, TMJ, bad breath