Tongue Tie & Lip Tie Support
Tongue and lip tie support prepares the mouth before a tongue, lip, or buccal tie release (frenectomy) and retrains function afterward, so the release actually improves feeding, speech, and oral rest posture. Advanced Therapy & Wellness Center provides pre- and post-release support for infants, children, and adults in Crest Hill, Illinois, working in collaboration with the release provider your family chooses.
Tethered oral tissues (TOTs) are restrictions in the tissue that anchors the tongue, lips, or cheeks. They can limit range of motion, and that limitation shows up differently at different ages: a baby who can't latch, a child who can't lift the tongue for certain sounds, an adult with a low tongue rest posture and chronic tension.
Here's the part many families learn too late: the release procedure alone is often not enough. Muscles that have compensated around a restriction keep compensating until they're retrained. That's the therapy side, and it's what we do.
To be clear about roles: we don't diagnose ties and we don't perform releases. A licensed release provider (often a dentist, ENT, or physician) makes that call and does the procedure. We evaluate oral function, prepare the tissue and muscles before release, and rehabilitate function after, and we communicate with your release provider at every step.
Signs a tethered oral tissue may be limiting function
- Painful breastfeeding, shallow latch, or clicking sounds while nursing
- Long feeds with poor weight gain, or excessive gas and reflux in a baby
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or managing certain food textures
- Speech sounds that require tongue elevation (like t, d, l, r) staying stubborn despite therapy
- A tongue that can't reach the palate, or a visible heart-shaped tongue tip
- Mouth breathing, open mouth posture, or a low resting tongue
- Neck, jaw, or facial tension in older children and adults
Who it helps
We see newborns and infants preparing for or recovering from a release, children whose speech or feeding hasn't responded to standard therapy, and teens and adults who are addressing ties as part of myofunctional or airway-focused care.
How pre- and post-release therapy works at ATWC
Before a release, we evaluate how the mouth actually functions: sucking, swallowing, tongue mobility, compensations. Pre-release therapy releases tension and teaches the movements the mouth will need, which helps your provider get an optimal release and helps you get a smoother recovery. When pre-op care isn't possible, and sometimes it isn't, we adapt.
After a release, therapy teaches the tongue and lips to use their new range of motion. For infants that means restoring typical mouth movements for feeding. For older kids and adults it usually rolls into a myofunctional program: new rest posture, correct swallow, nasal breathing.
Our occupational therapist also provides infant bodywork, including craniosacral fascial therapy and TummyTime Method work, because tension in a baby's body rarely stays in one place. Feeding, tension, and ties get treated together, by a team under one roof, alongside IBCLCs and release providers in our referral network.
Not sure where to start? Score your airway.
The free Airway Score takes a few minutes and tells you whether mouth breathing, snoring, or oral habits deserve a closer look, for you or your child. It's the easiest first step, and it costs nothing.
Get Your Free Airway ScoreFrequently asked questions
What are tethered oral tissues (TOTs)?
Tethered oral tissues are restrictions in the connective tissue under the tongue, behind the lips, or inside the cheeks that can limit normal range of motion. They are commonly called tongue ties, lip ties, and buccal ties.
Does my baby need therapy before a tongue-tie release?
Pre-release therapy is recommended whenever possible because it releases compensatory tension and prepares the mouth for the procedure, which supports a better release and an easier recovery. When timing doesn't allow it, therapy after the release still matters and still works.
What happens if you skip therapy after a frenectomy?
Without retraining, the muscles often return to their old compensations, and some of the benefit of the release can be lost. Post-release therapy teaches the tongue and lips to actually use their new mobility for feeding, speech, and rest posture.
Do you perform tongue-tie releases at ATWC?
No. Releases are performed by licensed release providers such as dentists, ENTs, and physicians. Advanced Therapy & Wellness Center provides the functional evaluation and the therapy before and after the release, and we collaborate closely with your release provider.
Can a tongue tie affect speech in an older child?
A restricted tongue can make sounds that need tongue elevation, like t, d, l, and r, harder to produce, and it can hold back progress in traditional speech therapy. An oral function evaluation can determine whether restriction is part of the picture.
Can adults be treated for tongue ties?
Yes. Adults often address ties as part of myofunctional therapy for jaw tension, mouth breathing, or airway concerns, and therapy before and after an adult release follows the same principle: retrain the function, not just the tissue.
Who should be on a tongue-tie care team?
A complete team usually includes the release provider, a feeding or myofunctional therapist, and for infants an IBCLC lactation consultant, with bodywork support when needed. ATWC coordinates that team approach for our families.
