WHAT OTHER PROBLEMS ARE SUGGESTED, THAT HAVE NO PROOF OR UNTRUE?

This is a very long list of other suggestions that are incorrectly linked to tongue tie. They include: reflux, sleep apnoea, large tonsils, mouth breathing, snoring, postural problems, scoliosis, gut problems, constipation, diarrhoea, colic and the list goes on and on. Unless you have a medical background, it is easy to get swept up in the frenzy of suggestions that people propose that have nothing to do with tongue tie.

HOW AND WHEN TO CORRECT TONGUE TIE?

In babies, where there are feeding problems and a lactation consultant can find no other problem other than a tethered tongue, then that is a reasonable intervention and the sooner the better. However, only 80-90% of the time will such intervention help. In fact, the research shows that only 20% of breast feeding problems are due to tongue ties. The other 80% relate completely to other factors, so it is important to access lactation support. In the following article, in this issue of Great Health GuideTM, Tongue Tie

Surgery for Children: Part 2, outlines what procedures and which specialists to select with confidence to treat this condition.

Dr David McIntosh is a Paediatric ENT Specialist with a particular interest in airway obstruction, facial and dental development and its relationship to ENT airway problems and middle ear disease. He also specialises in sinus disease and provides opinions on the benefit of revision of previous sinus operations. Dr McIntosh can be contacted via website.