Scoutfinch1 I am afraid you have been pedalled another myth by a HCP who does not know about tongue tie.
Tongue ties DO NOT stretch
A thin one might be broken by a spoon or toy in the mouth for example, but in general, they do not stretch. What happens is that the baby learns to compensate. This is not really good news because compensating can have a knock on effect -eg tension in the jaw/head from compensating can cause tension in the neck/shoulders.
You asked about the problems that ds1 had. The whole discovery about his ties (anterior, posterior and upper lip tie) started when he was around 5yo. He started complaining of burning in his stomach and being sick in his mouth. He was also very bloated after eating. I suspect that he had been suffering this for far longer but was only able to verbalise it at that age. He was put on reflux meds and when that didn't work, he was given an endoscopy which revealed irritation from the reflux, but nothing sinister.
I read on here about the link between tongue tie and reflux. We had his tie revised aged 6yo and the reflux stopped immediately. All great I thought, but the I joined a tongue tie group on Facebook and realised that there was a whole lot more going on.
He also has a high narrow palate. Many tied babies do, this is because the tongue shapes the palate in the womb, and beyond. If the tongue action is compromised, the palate can end up distorted. The high palate and his under developed mid face were restricting his nostrils so he was mouth breathing. He also had ENT trouble, with noise, congestion and hearing loss in his ears for several years. The high palate also restricts the eustacian tubes, making it difficult for them to drain properly.
I began to realise that his tongue tie had not been released properly (despite going to the paed surgeon who used to run the tongue tie clinic, which cost ££££££). It had been enough to relieve the reflux, but the back of his tongue was still tied. I took him to a dentist who had trained with Dr Kotlow, who is a leading expert.
The dentist had a look and identified several orthodontic problems which were becoming evident at age 7yo as well as the underdevelopment of the middle section of his face (not that you would notice unless you knew what to look for). His tongue was thrusting forward as he swallowed because it was unable to lift up fully during swallowing. This was causing an open bite, and an x ray showed that his 2nd inscisors on top were turning round because there was no room for them and without treatment, he would be looking at multiple extraction of teeth as a teenager. His bottom jaw was also bigger than his top, it should be the other way round. Mouth breathing is often the culprit for this.
Other problems which I learned were linked to the ties and high palate were terrible sleeping, with some apnoea, and recurrent gut problems. He was allergic to egg and intolerant to cows' milk and he had a disproportionate number of tummy bugs. There seems to be a link between ties and poor gut health, but as yet it is not fully understood. He had difficulty with some foods when weaning, and gagged on certain textures. He also swallowed things without chewing properly, I would find whole peas in his nappies for example. He rejected many foods and refused point blank to eat them. Coupled with his allergy/intolerance, this left him with a very restricted diet and at one point he was borderline anaemic.
So, we got the dentist to laser his ties (no GA, just some local anaesthetic, also way cheaper than the first revision, like 7 times cheaper!!), and started orthodontic treatment about a year ago, just before he turned 7yo. He has braces to expand his palate and lower jaw, and headgear to wear at night to draw out the middle section of his face. He stopped mouth breathing a while back and even with my untrained eye, I can see a massive difference between his mouth now and the models that were made of his teeth last year. He may or may not need fixed braces when he is a teen, but if he does, he should be able to avoid extractions.
The ear problems cleared up after the first revision (I suspect that the reflux had been causing gastric fluid to collect in his eustatian tubes) and he is a completely different child to the boy 2 years ago who was tired, pale and under the weather all the time.
Ties should be assessed on function and symptoms rather than appearance. That's where so many HCPs go wrong. They dismiss some as "mild" ties based on what they look like. It doesn't matter two hoots what it actually looks like, it's about how the tongue moves.
Essay complete! 