May

23

Ankyloglossia also known as tongue tie is not a condition you hear about every day, but certainly one of great impact, especially for the 4% of newborns affected by it.[1]

For those not familiar with tongue tie, it is a condition where the tip of the tongue is connected to the floor of the mouth by a thick band of tissue, restricting movement of the tongue.

This can result in a host of problems from eating to speaking and many actions in between that require a full range of motion of the tongue.

Who’s affected?

Generally boys are more susceptible to tongue tie as it is a semi-dominant x-linked inheritable trait as well as those with some degree of orofacial clefts.

Research has revealed that those with MTHFR 1298cc have a 7-fold increased risk of cleft palate and those with 677tt have an increased risk of cleft palate, likely of the same magnitude or worse.[2]

Is Tongue Tie preventable?

Genetics can be implicated in an estimated 20%-50% of cleft palate cases, but more importantly the remainder is associated with environmental factors. [3]

Genes, though an easy target, do not hold all the cards. The down regulating puppeteer is SUMO-1 modification which has been implicated in the control of gene TBx22, responsible for oral facial cleft palate expression.

Sumolyation is important in regulating the transcription of genes, nuclear integrity, chromosome segregation, and embryonic viability. With such a heavy job description, sumolyation needs support to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

MTHFR, Methylation & Tongue Tie

So how can SUMO-1 be modified in a positive way? Since lifestyle, environmental factors and viruses affect SUMO-1 modification, it should come as no surprise that reducing risk factors will also decrease the likelihood of tongue tie.

All roads to health (including tongue tie) come by healthy genetic expression, hence the need for sumolyation and methylation.

Risk factors –

  • Smoking
  • Chemotherapeutic drugs
  • Alcohol
  • Lack of nutritional supplements
  • Chemicals
  • Viral Infections – adenoviruses, herpesviruses, papillomaviruses
  • Conditions of Hypoxia
  • Stress

Why is methylation necessary to immunity?

As mentioned above, one of the factors affecting SUMO-1 modification are viruses. What supports immunity? Methylation! DNA methylation is what shuts down the genetic expression of viruses. One of the body’s main methylators is DNMT1, necessary not only for general health, but also virus inhibition.

It follows then that those who have MTHFR have an increased risk of tongue tie.

However, whether you have the MTHFR polymorphism or not, the environment with which most people live in is not conducive to methylation and therefore requires support.

Helpful measures to support methylation:

  • Limit or reduce dietary catechol-containing polyphenols such as coffee, tea, potatoes, and sweet potatoes especially in the first trimester of pregnancy as they inhibit DNMT1.
  • Supplement with folate (in the form of folinic acid or methylfolate) before conception and early pregnancy, whether you have MTHFR or not, folate is an integral nutrient for a healthy pregnancy.
  • Adequate levels of vitamin A seem to support development of the primary palate.

Read this article on MTHFR and Pregnancy

References:

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OM
9 years ago

Please explain the difference between folic acid and folinic acid and why folinic acid is OK for those with MTHFR. Thank you, the information you are sharing has been very helpful in improving my health.

Lynn_M
9 years ago

I am delighted to find an article in this forum featuring tongue-tie, because tongue-tie is a midline defect associated with MTHFR polymorphisms. However, I am keenly disappointed when you write that it is a condition of great impact, “especially for the 4% of newborns affected by it”, and that this article is classified under MTHFR and Pregnancy.

It’s not just newborns that are especially affected by tongue-tie. It also affects anyone born with tongue-tie and never diagnosed as having it and never having it fixed. It is not a condition that goes away as a person matures – we don’t grow out of it. And it is amazing how blind doctors and dentists are about diagnosing the condition, or about the necessity of clipping the lingual frenum (aka frenulum) under the tongue once the condition is diagnosed, which is much easier done at the newborn stage. In addition to the tongue being tied, there is also the condition where the lips are excessively anchored by labial frenums. Tongue ties and/or lip ties more often occur as stand-alone conditions, without cleft palate, although they do also occur concomitantly with cleft palate or other orofacial cleft conditions.

I think your article would have been more helpful if you would have spent more than one sentence talking about the problems that ankylglossia causes. To begin with, a baby with tongue-tie usually cannot breast feed successfully, because it is quite painful for the mother, and because a tongue-tied baby cannot pump the milk out of the breast very well. So the baby will suffer from use of baby formula instead of breast milk, and the bonding opportunity between mother and baby is lost if the baby doesn’t breastfeed.

Babies with tongue-tie develop an improper tongue posture, with their tongue resting on the floor of the mouth instead of against the upper palate. This leads to a narrow, deep, more V-shaped upper arch, and a long, more narrow face. One consequence of the deep upper palate and lack of tongue pressure against the upper palate, which acts to stimulate the pituitary, is that pituitary function is reduced.

Tongue-tie leads to the development of a tongue-thrust swallow, which can cause digestive difficulties. It leads to a tendency to breathe through the mouth and sinus problems. It leads to improper dental development and often orthodontia. If the underlying tongue-tie is not corrected, the teeth often regress to their pre-orthodontia condition, because of the unnatural pressures exerted on the teeth by the tongue. It can cause gum recession and abnormal wear on teeth. Tongue-tie is often associated with improper speech development and speech impediments.

The internet has many sources that show pictures of tongue-tie and first-hand stories. Dr. Brian Palmer has a good website. If someone can’t touch their upper palate with their tongue, they are probably tongue-tied. Often a thick frenum causing the tongue-tie is readily visible, but there is also an even rarer type of tongue-tie called submucosal frenum where the frenum is embedded in the base of the tongue, so hidden although still restrictive, and often undiagnosed.

Don’t expect that a doctor or dentist will necessarily recognize a tongue-tie condition, even though it’s usually obvious. An orofacial myofunctional therapist or an ENT may be the best professionals to consult for diagnosis. For a newborn, the frenum can simply be clipped. For older children or adults, some dentists or doctors can use either a laser (simplest method) or a scalpel to cut the frenum. For a submucosal frenum, an outpatient surgical procedure called a Z-plasty frenuloplasty is performed.

I am a 67 year old female. I am homozygous for a number of MTHFR SNPs, including 1298C+/+, and I had a congenital thyroglossal duct cyst condition, which could possibly be a factor in my tongue tie. My parents told me I had my tongue cut as a baby – probably a simple frenectomy. At 16, when I went to get orthodontia treatment, I couldn’t hold the molds up for my upper teeth with my tongue. I then had an outpatient frenectomy procedure in a doctor’s office, which enabled me to touch my tongue to my upper palate. I had orthodontia with 4 bicuspids extracted, but over the years my lower front teeth twisted and regressed back to their pre-braces condition, and I developed major gum recession and unusual occlusal tooth wear. Last year, I went to a new dentist, and he surprised me by telling me I had a tongue-tie. I consulted an orofacial myofunctional therapist, who informed me I had a tongue-thrust swallow and some speech defects. The dentist lasered my frenum, and I worked with the myologist doing exercises 3x/day for several months. She showed slides of my laser frenectomy at a conference, and one of the experts there recognized that my frenum wasn’t cut enough in the laser procedure. Given my history of procedures, though, she suggested I might have a submucosal frenum. The ENT I consulted confirmed that, and I am scheduled for an OP surgery Z-plasty frenuloplasty in 3 weeks. Then I have months more of myofunctional exercises to achieve normal speech, swallowing, and tongue movement.

All of these complications can be avoided if tongue tie is corrected as a newborn, or failing that, the earlier in life the better. It usually is so simple to fix, but if not, the consequences are multiple.

9 years ago
Reply to  Lynn_M

Wow Lynn! That’s quite an experience! I have 1298c and I *think* I am tongue tied. I have had the same experience with orthodontia as you and have been researching orofacial myology for me and my kids 🙂 Please keep us updated to know if you find that your gums become healthier. I am having terrible gum problems!!

Meggan
9 years ago
Reply to  Lynn_M

Can you point me to an article I can use for a reference for this statement “tongue-tie is a midline defect associated with MTHFR polymorphisms”? Thank you!!!

Lynn_M
9 years ago
Reply to  Meggan

Meggan,

When I researched tongue-ties a year ago, I found an article that said MTHFR snps are associated with midline defects, and tongue-tie is a midline defect. I didn’t keep any information on where to find that article.

Since then, I have read that other genes may also be associated with tongue-tie. I don’t remember what those genes or snps were. Possibly 23andMe didn’t test for them.

Shaz
7 years ago
Reply to  Lynn_M

It was interesting to read your post. As the mother of a son with a severe tongue tie, I would have opted to have it snipped while he was little had I known what I know now. I did want to say, however, that despite his severe tongue tie he still managed to breast feed successfully (for 2 years) and at 17 he has a mouth full of perfectly straight teeth with no fillings and has also never experienced speech problems. I attribute a lot of this to a healthy diet. Interestingly, my own personal experience with a severe tongue tie was the same-although my teeth are not quite so perfect but I also didn’t have such a great diet! Whilst it might be preferable to correct a tongue tie, it isn’t a definite sentence to an inability to breast feed or a life of full of dental issues . He has actually opted not to have his tongue tie corrected at this stage. We have just recently tested him for MTHFR and are waiting on the results…will be interesting! I am sharing my experience, not to criticise or negate yours…not at all!!…just as an encouragement for those who may have got a bit further down the track before they became aware a tongue tie could potentially be a problem that’s all. 🙂

Admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Shaz

I appreciate you sharing! Thank you!

Kelly
7 years ago
Reply to  Lynn_M

Please tell me more about the thyroglossal duct cyst and tongue tieand their relation to MTHFR . I am compound hetero and my son has a thyroglossal duct cyst and posterior tongue tie.

Tamara
6 years ago
Reply to  Lynn_M

Thanks for sharing your amazing insight and experience with such detail this has really opened my eyes!! Having had speech issues as a child and three extremely collicy babies the last two diagnosed with lip and tongue ties i have no doubt we each have varying degrees of this problem, however with no impact in the so called atatistics surrounding it, since no doctor has seen us all (diagnosed by nurse and LC), and so further more people go on undiagnosed. I only hope people like tou can educate the doctors and nurses further to know the difference as noone should go through what you did if there is better to be known about it all!!!

Cinbad
9 years ago

My older son (hetero c677) was tongue tied. He had surgery to correct it at the suggestion of a speech therapist. My younger (same mutation) has a bifis or split uvula, a precursor to cleft palate, I’ve been told. We suspect that he also has other anomalies in the throat as well due to speech issues and reactive airway that seems atypical.

June
9 years ago

My seven-month old is tongue-tied, and I was recently diagnosed with the MTHFR mutation (667TT). I’m really anxious to get on supplements, but I imagine it wouldn’t be safe to start while breastfeeding (due to the detoxification). Would you agree?
I really don’t want to stop breastfeeding, and I realize the folate could help my baby. Would the detox process take long, or could I pump and dump for a while? Any input would be appreciated.

I recently wrote about my breastfeeding experience on my blog with my now 3mos old daughter who was born with a tongue and lip tie. We had both ties revised by laser when she was 4weeks and breastfeeding immediately improved. Thankfully my daughter did not suffer with weight loss during those early weeks, but nursing was very painful for me and she had to nurse for 45-60min to be satiated, which was exhausting for her.

I was directed to your website from a commenter on my blog and have read several of your articles. Guess I’m looking for an easy answer on how to prevent ties if we decide to have a second child in the future. The ENT that revised my daughter’s ties stated it was genetic. I have a visible frenum/tie under my tongue, but my mother said there were no breastfeeding issues with me. I also was advanced in my speech at a young age. I am able to fully reach my palate with my tongue, so tongue ties are not always problematic. On my husband’s side of the family, several members had speech therapy in the past…undiagnosed tongue ties? I’m wondering what else I could do in a potential future pregnancy. With my daughter I was taking a naturopathic made (Dr. Ron’s) B-Complex with 600mcg folate, not folic acid, for months prior to conception and during pregnancy. And as fr vitamin A, I took Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil preconception and during pregnancy. I continue to take these supplements postpartum. I have read you recommend 800mcg folate, and although my supplement had only 600mcg I feel I got the rest from my diet since I ate pastured/farm fresh eggs daily, pastured meats (even occasional liver) and leafy greens, all good sources of folate.

Any other suggestions?

My breastfeeding and tie revision story: http://thepaleohygienist.com/2014/08/22/the-5-second-newborn-check-all-parents-should-do/

Lynn_M
9 years ago

Debbie the Paleo Hygienist,

You wrote: “I am able to fully reach my palate with my tongue, so tongue ties are not always problematic.” Being able to reach your palate with your tongue is not a sufficient test to know if a tongue tie is causing issues or not. I was able to reach my palate with my tongue after my second frenectomy at age 16, but an evaluation with an orofacial myofunctional therapist at age 66 revealed that, unbeknownst to me, I had a tongue-thrust swallow and minor speech defects. Also, my previously undiagnosed submucosal frenulum (a more serious case of posterior tongue-tie) had caused my center lower incisors to rotate inward, causing a relapse in my orthodontic work, as I wrote about above. Furthermore, my tongue being tethered down may have been a factor in my chronic neck stiffness and tension. So until someone has had an evaluation by a myofunctional therapist, I wouldn’t conclude that a tongue-tie is not causing problems.

Regarding how to avoid tongue-ties in a future child. Make sure you are methylating well. It might be worth having lab work such as a MMA or a whole blood histamine test (Dr. Lynch’s and Dr. Bill Walsh’s favorite test of methylation ability. The usual folate (actually a measure of folic acid) and B12 serum tests are fraught with problems, because the result reflects the total of active and inactive forms of those vitamins.

Dr. Lynch seems to be adamant that leafy greens need to be raw, since folate is destroyed by cooking. Also, a person needs to be taking methylcobalamin (or perhaps hydroxycobalamin, depending on a person’s genetics) in order to be able to utilize folate, otherwise the body dumps the folate because methylcobalamin is a critical cofactor in utilization of folate. In addition to methylcobalamin, adenosylcobalamin is also helpful (it’s the form used by the mitochondria and is what is measured by a MMA test. It intercoverts with methylcobalamin, which is in the cytosol. L-carnitine fumarate also helps with methylation. Only about 1% of oral methylcobalamin is absorbed. It needs to be applied either injected (IM or subcutaneous) or as a transdermal oil for maximum effect, although sublingual forms will provide some benefit.

It might be helpful to have a 23andMe genetic test to determine if you or your husband have MTHFR or other genetic polymorphisms that would predispose your children to midline defect problems. You can still get your raw genetic data from 23andMe and use other websites to interpret that data.

I read your blog and kudos to you for persevering despite that first doctor’s ignorance. I’m glad you found the right doctor. And for anyone else reading, it’s never too late to fix a tongue tie. It takes more therapy to rehab as an adult, but it’s doable.

I apologize if you misinterpreted what I wrote because I also stated right before that that I did not have, nor my mother, breastfeeding issues as an infant and I was advanced with my speech development. I did not mean to imply that touching your palate is the only indicator that a tongue tie is not problematic (although it is a much better indicator than being able to stick your tongue out). Being able to touch the palate gives the palate the needed stimulation for development and allows for proper speech pronunciation. My point was to prevent parents of newborns from simply seeing what they believe is a tie and seeking to have it corrected even if their are no symptoms present. If breastfeeding is going well, I’d advise waiting to see how a child’s speech develops as well as how the teeth are coming in during the toddler years first.

Lynn_M
9 years ago

Many of the problems resulting from tongue tie are beyond the ability of a layperson to evaluate, and the problems that develop with age are not always obvious at an early age. Most doctors are clueless. With a laser procedure to correct a tongue tie being such an easy procedure, with no downsides that I am aware of, particularly if done when a child is very young, I would contend that it makes more sense to correct a tongue tie when it is first diagnosed. Why wait for symptoms to develop? Dr. Brian Palmer, DDS has an extensive website presentation about tongue tie. He was of the opinion that there is no benefit to not correcting a tongue tie.

I understand that point of view. I was stating the preference of the doctor I saw for my daughter’s tongue tie. But many out there either can’t afford the procedure or do not have insurance. (The procedure wasn’t cheap, although covered by my insurance thankfully.) So many simply wouldn’t just have it done if there were no symptoms and not all providers will do it without symptoms as well. Insurance likely wouldn’t cover it with a lack of symptoms. But I agree it is a simple procedure with minimal risks/downside.

9 years ago

My third child was severely tongue-tied, a fact that we missed until she was five weeks old, not gaining weight, nursing round the clock (uselessly), and I was in more pain that I’ve ever experienced in my life. Despite having nursed two other children for a total of seven years, I did not have any idea what was going on. (It turned out that both of my eldest were tongue-tied, which was probably why nursing was painful with them…but at least they were able to extract the milk they needed.)

Unfortunately, after my daughter’s first frenotomy, her lip- and tongue-ties fused back. We had it re-done with a laser when she was 2.5 months, and despite the horrible-awful experience of stretching the incision multiple times per day, while she screamed in what appeared to be agony, the ties fused back partly. (I say this not because I think that the frenotomies were a bad decision, but because I _do_ think they are procedures that can have negative “side effects,” even if “just” psychological ones. I can imagine that some babies whose mouths are allowed to remain tied, but who experience loving bottle feeding, may be about tied with the ones whose ties get cut, experience some or a great deal of pain, and are then able to breastfeed.)

My daughter never learned to nurse effectively, and this alone was devastating. I also pumped eight times per day for over a year, so she could have breastmilk…which she could barely swallow from a bottle, due possibly to thrush she contracted after the frenotomies, or due possibly to the “silent reflux” that she also appeared to suffer from. The pumping literally took all of my energy, and my baby’s first year is a haze of incredible challenges: http://www.lifeisapalindrome.com/updates/micro-macro-or-when-tiny-things-are-devastating

Anyway…I mention some of these experiences because I think that midlines defects are not only the _cause_ of trauma, but they also _coincide_ with many other health issues, possibly sharing the same root causes of MTHFR and other issues of epigenetics. And…I don’t think that even an effective frenotomy will effectively fix things in all cases.

My goodness, how I hope that NO ONE has to endure a baby’s first year like my family did with Eliza!

Regards,
Sarabeth

Lynn_M
9 years ago

Sarabeth,

Since your daughter still has problems even after having two frenectomies, it’s quite possible she has a posterior tongue-tie and needs a surgical procedure called a Z-plasty frenuloplasty to truly fix her tongue-tie. Dr. Brian Palmer’s website shows pictures of a Z-plasty procedure. It’s an OP surgical procedure, much more complicated than a laser frenectomy, but more complex conditions can require more complex procedures.

A frenectomy (which I think is the same as a frenotomy) can correct an anterior tongue-tie. My ENT’s opinion is that it will not correct a posterior tongue-tie, that a Z-plasty is needed to free up more tissue. I had both an anterior tongue-tie and a submucosal frenulum, a type of posterior tongue-tie. Each of my 3 frenectomies, at the ages of a newborn, 16, and 66, provided a bit more release, but they did nothing to correct my submucosal frenulum. My submucosal frenulum wasn’t diagnosed until I saw a particular ENT, recommended by my orofacial myofunctional therapist, after we found the last frenectomy (laser) still didn’t provide enough release. My reading indicates that a posterior tongue-tie can be very difficult to diagnosis. My ENT said he had to clear out a lot of scar tissue under my tongue, presumably a result from the previous frenectomies. I have photos of before and after my Z-plasty surgery in June, and I find the difference in my ability to extend my tongue now is truly amazing.

So I totally agree with you, an effective frenectomy will not fix things in all cases. A frenuloplasty may be needed instead.

I found my orofacial myofunctional therapist to be very knowledgable and helpful, more so than speech therapists, dentists, or most doctors. I highly recommend consulting with a myofunctional therapist. Their association has an online directory. Mercola.com has an article and interview about his work with a myofunctional therapist. I think I’ve seen you post at Microbial Nutrition yahoo group, so you’re probably familiar with Dr. Mercola.

The ramifications of having a tongue-tie extend well beyond the issue of inability to breastfeed.

Alicia
9 years ago

I’m beginning to look at this and am glad for the article and comments so far. My second and third children were both tongue and lip tied, a daughter and a son. Both were clipped. My daughter seems slower in verbal articulation, so I’m not sure if that is related. She was clipped at 2.5 mo, and my third child was clipped at 2 weeks of age. I had a lot of breastfeeding struggles with my daughter before and while she was diagnosed, and we persevered thankfully. No nursing issues with my son, even though he was 4 weeks premature and took a couple weeks to develop with eating – once he got that, nursing has been a breeze with him.

We would like to have another child, so I’m taking a closer look at this now to hopefully prevent this midline defect in a subsequent pregnancy. Lynn’s comments on the testing to do were helpful.

Alicia
9 years ago
Reply to  Alicia

I wanted to add that manual therapy and craniosacral therapy were helps for both my kids, especially my second baby with all the issues we had. She had a lot of tension from a fast, bumpy birth that played into her demeanor as a young infant.

JennH
9 years ago

Half of our children have tongue ties, which is what led to us investigating MTHFR. It turns out that both my husband and I have 1 copy of MTHFR C677T meaning most of our children probably have at least one copy (children’s tests pending). The question I have is whether a baby before birth takes care of the methylation process by itself or does mother pre-break down everything for baby. In other words, if mother is taking methylfolate and methyl-B12, will the baby in the womb be okay even is hetero or homozygous until after birth?

Sarah
9 years ago

Great information Lynn! I just saw a myo therapist for the first time. She said I had a mild tongue tie. I can touch my upper palette, but, I do have an open mouth, tongue resting on the lower mouth resting position and a thrusting tongue swallow.
Resting and swallowing with my tongue in my upper palette feels so unnatural I can hardly believe it’s supposed to be done that way! I also have a high palette that has given me sleeping issues.

I’m interested in your statement about the pituitary function being reduced.. Can you elaborate?

Lynn_M
9 years ago
Reply to  Sarah

Sarah,

The information about pituitary function being reduced from a tongue tie is something I picked up from a teleseminar interview by Dr. Stephen Y. Park, who specializes in obstructive sleep apnea and upper airway resistance. http://doctorstevenpark.com/. I can’t remember whom he was interviewing, or what the particular topic was, but he did touch on tongue-ties in the interview. The information on past interviews starts here: http://breathesleepfeelbetter.libsyn.com/webpage/page/1. It might have been Joy Moeller’s interview on 4/27/2013. I also listened to most of the dental discussions.

Dr. Park made the point that the pituitary responds to the stimulation of tongue pressure on the upper palate, i.e., the pressure exerted when the tongue is in the healthy resting posture. I’ve never seen or heard this discussed anywhere else, though.

Sarah,

To add to Lynn’s info, his last response jogged my memory a bit. I seem to remember Dr. Weston A. Price (dentist) having a section about this in his book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. He discussed individuals with Downs Syndrome stating they developmentally had high palatal arches and breathing/sinus issues. His treatment was palatal expansion and this led to pituitary stimulation that I believe he wrote increased their cognitive abilities along with improving breathing and facial structure appearance. He has pictures of this in the book with a specific young man. You may want to read that book if you haven’t already. A wealth of other info in there too!

Oops, I assumed above that Lynn is a male; Lynn may be a female. I know a male “Lynn” so I automatically wrote “his”. Sorry if I mis-typed 🙂

Lynn_M
9 years ago

Debbie The Paleo Hygienist,

I am a female.

I had read Nutrition and Physical Degeneration many years ago, but hadn’t retained any memory of Dr. Price’s information about palatal expansion. I think at the time I had lumped high palate problems in with Down’s Syndrome and didn’t think about the implications for the wider population. Thanks for that mention. That indeed is a wonderful book, and I’ll be rereading it again now.

Dr. Park interviewed several dentists/orthodontists, such as Drs. Mew, Belfour, and Singh, who use various methods of palatal expansion. If you haven’t checked out Dr. Park’s interviews yet, you might find them to be on interest.

[…] can also read Dr. Lynch’s take on tongue-ties and MTHFR, The Intersection of Tongue Tie and MTHFR.  However, after reading this article, I still feel I was pretty good at following his recommended […]

Silvia
8 years ago

Would an individual with clef palate be an undermethylator or overmethylator? Or is this condition possible in either type of methylator?

Thank you very much.

[…] For anyone who is interested, more info can be found here; https://mthfr.net/the-intersection-of-tongue-tie-mthfr/2014/05/23/ […]

Alyssa
7 years ago

Can someone please provide a link for some scientific proof that ankyloglossia is tied to this gene? I cannot find anything on pubmed, and I think I want to do something about this for my masters thesis.

[…] his skin was so dry, he literally felt like a lizzard.  He was also born with a tongue tie, (MTHFR gene) which caused challenges with breastfeeding and gas for my son.  He was chronically distended and […]

Alison
7 years ago

My boy, age 4 was severely tongue tied but was only picked up at the age of 3. He has a speech delay and is not the best sleeper – all 3 signs of poor methylation?? Is there anything I can do especially to help with his speech delay?

Katherine A Tildes
6 years ago

Both of my friends’ kids have tongue tie and 1 had lip tie. Mom is a midwife/doula and is pretty aware of MTHFR but hasn’t been tested herself.

Molly
4 years ago

Hi Dr. Lynch, With my son, I was taking an Innate Reponse prenatal with 800 mcg of folate as well as butter oil/fermented cod liver oil for Vitamin A/D, and my son ended up with a tongue and lip tie just like his older sister (With his older sister, I took prenatals with folic acid.) Do you have any idea what I could do differently with a future child to prevent a tongue/lip tie? Thank you!

Molly
4 years ago
Reply to  Molly

To clarify, with my daughter, I was taking a folic acid prenatal, no cod liver oil, and I was unbelievably tired and lethargic during that pregnancy, but although my pregnancy with my son felt so much better, both children ended up with a tongue and lip tie. I am wondering if you have any suggestions for me during a third pregnancy to prevent that tongue/lip tie.

4 years ago

I leave a reply to this comment thread (and am still subscribed after many years!) only because someone else’s comment on a similar article saved my life, many years ago, by pointing out some things that Ben Lynch is unaware of. I have four tongue- and lip-tied children, and the final two were born when I was doing the “right” supps, trying methylfolate (it gave me horrendous panic attacks, incidentally, in whatever form and dose I tried), etc. And as noted, despite my best efforts, my last two were badly tongue tied. And I feel that with all due respect, Dr. Lynch is not looking at the whole picture, which includes some underlying potential issues: B1/B2/B5 functional deficiencies, and hypervitaminosis A (chronic vitamin A toxicity). I cannot speak to your situation, of course, but I mention my experience in case it is helpful. Good luck!!

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