Tongue ties and dental issues

I once read a fascinating article on the web about tongue ties and related dental issues. I cannot for the life of me find that article again and sadly I never bookmarked it anywhere. At least I remember what it's about. If anyone finds the article I'm discussing, I'd love it if you posted a link to it in the comments so I can properly quote the author.

A lactation consultant was writing about her epiphany that occurred during her middle aged years. For years she's suffered from severe tooth decay and was constantly required to get her various teeth problems treated. What she didn't know (until later) was that it was all due to an uncorrected tongue tie!

How did this happen? Think of what happens after you eat popcorn. Or salad. You know how you wiggle and flick your tongue all around your teeth to clean them? Think of how amazing your tongue can be when you lack a toothpick. It's awesome the way your tongue can reach so many areas of your mouth to clean away leftover food particles after a meal. But what's if your tongue just can't get into all those nooks and crannies? What's if you have a tongue tie and your tongue can't reach so far?

All that can lead to tooth decay and other dental problems. It's easy to see why. If food remains for long periods of time, it wears away the enamel and starts to break down the tooth, resulting in cavities. If those don't get dealt with right away, a root canal treatment may be next in line.

This lactation consultant only realized the connection between tongue ties and tooth decay when she began to diagnose babies with tongue tie. Lately this condition is much more well known than it ever was. Maybe more people have them these days (since there is a genetic component involved).

So if you ever wonder if a tongue tie should be corrected or not, this may be one more factor to consider.