Small update: importance of tongue tie

I’ve only been researching CFD and jaw issues since 2023, but it feels like much longer – possibly because I’ve had an intuitive understanding that there was “something wrong” with my jaws and face for much longer than that.

When I first learned about orthotropics I emphasised the chewing aspect when speaking to people and on this blog, but my recent research and consultations have led me to believe that in my case, tongue tie may have actually been the primary factor.

I had a consult the other day with Dr Rangzeb from Town Hall Dental in Brighouse, and he said I have a strong tongue tie and that it’s posterior, which is probably why I can’t mew. I now have a vague hunch this is probably behind a lot of the gross malformations in my craniofacial structure, whereas lack of chewing alone probably wouldn’t have had such a pronounced effect had I been able to mew.

Interestingly – and a bit disappointingly – Dr Rangzeb also didn’t think I was a good candidate for MMA surgery, and in any case wouldn’t refer me on the NHS. I was slightly taken aback when he asked me why I wanted it, because it’s so obvious to me that the poor development of my jaw is contributing to several issues with my overall health that I’d kind of forgotten what the issues actually were. I almost wrote a tip just now to remember to write down exactly why you want a particular thing before you have a consultation, but actually I don’t agree with that: just find providers who understand your issues.

This isn’t to say Dr Rangzeb’s opinion wasn’t valuable. He was confident that tongue tie release – with myofunctional therapy – would be massively beneficial in my case, including for some of the issues that I want to resolve with MMA surgery (posture, tension, possibly even some aesthetic issues), and the more I learn about TTR the more I agree.

I recently watched Momming with Migraine’s videos on TTR, which touch on the importance of myofunctional therapy as well as tongue space issues after the release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SVbzltrUQU. Ideally I’d like to do MMA first, because it seems more logical to me to create enough space for the tongue’s natural position before freeing it up to adopt that position and improve its mobility. I’m concerned that freeing it up with nowhere to go may exacerbate misophonia-related issues, but on balance I think having the release may be the next logical step.

For more info on TTR in general, the Breathe Institute is probably the best source, although bear in mind some of the videos involve surgery footage/pictures: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheBreatheInstitute