tongue tie in 6 yr old- also looking orthotropics or good orthodontist in Scotland

[Womblewoman1]

Hi! New to this and the first time I've ever posted on a forum. Ds age 6.5 is mouth breathing, nasal congestion, tongue thrust, developing overbite, has a tongue and lip tie and needs early orthodontics before any more damage is done to his face which is elongating and flattening due to the mouth breathing. Only just realised about the tongue tie which the health visitor said he didn't have and which explains the trouble with breast feeding! I've read on here that Malcolm Levinkind in London is good for that so will try and get an appointment to sort that out. If your child had a laser tongue tie release when they are older how did it go? How painful were the exercises after procedure? Worried that Ds will find them too painful and won't do them causing reattachment and scar tissue.

I've been to see Mike mew (orthotrpoics guy) and he says to just monitor it for a while as Ds is quite young but that was a few months ago and things have got much worse since then as Ds has gone through a big growth spirt and his jaw has got much worse in just these few months. I like the idea of Orthotropics and what they can do but we live in Glasgow so going to be a struggle in the early stages of treatment as would have to get to London every few weeks for the first Six??(not sure) months or so. Anyone know of anyone following or doing similar work to the Mews up in Scotland - Glasgow, Edinburgh ?? Anywhere within a few hours?

Also anyone know of a myofunctional (orofacial) therapists or people that can help with resolving tongue thrusts and helping sort out incorrect swallow and getting correct tongue posture after the tongue tie is released? Seems to be plenty in US but can't find any in UK. If you didn't use a therapist how did your Dc go about sorting out tongue posture etc? Devices? Dentist teach them? Any help or advice would be so appreciated as Gp and normal dentist look at me as if I'm mad and family and friends think that braces are for teenagers and any change in face shape etc is all down to genetics so it's good to find a forum and thread that understands!!

I believe Mike Mew has videos explaining the swallowing technique - I remember him sending me the links once (all three of mine are going through treatment with him)

You are right - it would be a huge commitment to travel down every fortnight at the start of treatment, and DD has only just moved from 4 week to 6 weekly appointments 3 years in. We only live 10 minutes away though. I hope you find someone as, IMO, it has been worth every penny and every tear for my three.

Hi- blimey didn't realise it would be that frequent for that long! How long did the fortnightly appointments go on for? Maybe we could find someone up here to do the expansion if needed and do the rest of the treatment with Mike? Need to look into all the options. The results the Mews get are amazing and would still consider it even if it will be a huge nightmare and cost a bomb with all the added travel expense. Worried that ds won't be compliant and won't wear the braces- sure there will be tears and tantrums and only so much lego I can bribe with ! In fact the Lego will probably cost as much as the treatment!
I've seen some of Mike's videos and tried to teach correct swallow using them but its not working as he can't seem to stop tongue thrusting- not sure if he just can't get his tongue to the roof of mouth because of tongue tie or the habit is so ingrained. Hope tongue tie release may improve matters and may have to work with orofacial or myofunctional therapist to teach the correct swallow (will have to do via Skyoe as they almost all in US). Will email mike to see if any specific videos he suggests that may work of us. Did your DCs have tongue thrust swallowing issues? Did they sort it out through using the videos ? Did they have tongue ties, Allergies etc? Sounds like the treatment has worked well for you- in fact never heard anything negative about it. It's so good to hear from real people who's wee ones have been through the treatment as there are so many questions and its so stressful and great to get honest opinions, It's so sad that this hasn't been taken on board by more orthodontists as its life changing not just for appearance but for long term health.
I think I read in a thread someone called Mawbroon had good results for these issues with someone in Edinburgh using similar techniques so hopefully hear from her.

I honestly can't remember the time frame Im afraid. 6-8 months of fortnightly visits is probably about right. Ds1 (nearly 17!) is now down to about 4 months. I've been going a long time!!

Mine all had different issues. I think my youngest has a slight tongue tie but it hasn't caused a problem. Both she and her elder brother may have an upper lip tie. Again, nothing was done.

This is from memory : With the swallowing, they were told to take a sip of water and hold it in their mouth. Then they put the of their tongue in the position used to make the Nnnn sound, hold the water on top of their tongue, teeth together and swallow. This keeps the tongue within the confines of teeth and where it should be. Obviously if your DS can't get the tip of his tongue on the right place on the roof of his mouth, this won't work until the tie is snipped. There should be no exterior sign of the swallow apart from the throat.

You are right about Mawbroon - I remember her original thread about finding a Scottish practitioner and saw a recent up date from her not that long ago. Try sending her a PM.

It's worth talking to MIke. They always seem to be training people so he may have suggestions closer to home.

Also, they've been refining the technique in the years I've been going so some of the stuff they do now might be quite different even to how it was for DD (10) when she started aged 7

Thanks so much for the info. I think I've seen a video of mike explaining the technique your talking about but not sure if the pesky tongue tie maybe stopping it but will look it up again just in case we weren't doing it properly. Can't believe you've been going there so long -by now they must seem like part of the family!. Yes think their techniques are changing all the time, will ask Mike if there is anyone he knows up here that could at least do part of the treatment.
I tried Pming Mawbroon but don't think she takes Pm's ? Not sure if I did it correctly as new to Mumset so could try again- if not hopefully she may pop up at some point as sounds like she is the mumsnet tongue tie guru! Thanks again and glad all your wee (or not so wee anymore!) have done well with the treatment.

I'd check with an ent about his breathing as well , as you might help with TT and dental issues and keep on having an ongoing breathing issue that holds you back
For mouth and tongue exercises Gwen Toner should be able to help on [email protected] she's fabulous and knows her stuff
Good luck!

The Mews also promote something called the Buteyko Breathing Method which might be worth looking into. I have no idea what it is though I must confess!

AnotherTimeMaybe-
Thanks for info on Gwen Toner –Is she a myofunctional therapist? will look her up when get a chance. You’re right we need to look into other aspects of ds condition as I’m sure TT is only part of the problem. We've got an appointment in a few weeks with an ENT so we'll see if they are any help i.e. can say if enlarged adenoids/tonsils and if they think there are allergies- We've taken him off dairy to see if there is any change with nasal congestion (not much), we don't have any pets- If its dust mite allergy we are screwed as a domestic Goddess I am not and I dread to think how much dust is floating around the place!

SoupDragon- interesting you should mention that as that is what I'm looking to at the mo. It looks really good for kids/adults with allergies, asthma, anyone mouth breathing or over breathing hyperventilating in general. Think I might even do it myself as I tend to over breath hyperventilate when I'm anxious. Thanks again for all your suggestions!

DD is nine and has been wearing braces for 6 weeks in a bid to expand her jaw and eliminate her tongue thrust. She has a bead on a wire at the back of her upper brace in the middle of the palate which she has to do exercise with. We are going next week to see how things are going.

Btw, similar thing - small adenoidal space, small jaw, open bite, bottom jaw needs bringing forward. She has been given a removable brace but is really good about wearing it.

Olivia that sounds interesting- how many hours a day does she have to wear the brace? Like the idea of the bead on the brace for exercises to help tongue thrust and tongue position- been trying to teach correct swallow using youtube videos but not getting anywhere so trying to find a multifunctional therapist. Great that she is good about wearing it , very worried that ds won't be compliant. How long will she have these expansion braces for ? Does she then move on to head gear? Don't really understand how it all works yet as just getting my head around all the tongue tie info. You doing this with orthotrpoics and the Mews in london? Or a paediatric orthodontist? We are Glasgow and desperately looking for a good orthodontist in the area or even a few hours away to help us resolve these problems and minimize any further damage so that treatment will be shorter and his other problems like posture don't get worse. Good luck with your wee ones appointment !

Sorry,have only just seen this so may be too late. She wears the brace all the time ,although it is removable. She only takes it out for cleaning, and the bottom one is actually glued in. After that she will get a functional appliance ( bionator?) to move her bottom jaw forward. Then, when all her baby teeth are out ,they will see if she needs train tracks. We have now had two four weekly visits and the progress she is making, with things moving is astonishing! It really helps to see it working, especially when she has had it adjusted and it hurts. I am waiting for what is known as the ugly duckling stage, as we have been warned her teeth may ok worse at the end of this stage! We are not In the uk, but are lucky that our dentist's partner works with these methods so we can go to the usual practice.

Hi, Can I please ask an estimated cost for Biobloc treatment with Dr Mike Mew? I will be contacting them on Tueasday. Thank You