When medical providers and parents hear the phrase “tongue tie”, they most commonly picture a tight anterior tongue tie, where the tip of the tongue is tacked down to the floor of the mouth. I have previously described the difference between anterior and posterior tongue tie (PTT) but the concept still eludes many people. One of the most common statements I hear from medical professionals is that “posterior tongue tie doesn’t exist”. The most basic reason why people claim to

Babies have the innate need to suck. It’s a reflex they are born with. Non-nutritive sucking (NNS) refers to a sucking behavior that does not provide any nutritional benefit. So nursing and bottle-feeding are nutritive, while thumb-sucking, finger-sucking, and pacifiers are non-nutritive. Surprisingly, NNS can actually be beneficial for babies. Benefits for Babies NNS is the first step in helping babies learn to self-regulate emotions and feelings and to self-soothe. Babies a

The jaws grow and develop as a result of even pressure from the lips, cheeks and tongue. Any disruption in this equilibrium can result in not only facial and skeletal changes, but also changes in airway health. Infant airways are divided into three parts: the nasopharynx (the portion of the airway associated with the nose), the oropharynx (the portion of the airway associated with the mouth and throat), and the hypopharynx (the pharyngeal airway space below the mouth). The na

Babies, toddlers, and older children can develop feeding difficulties—ranging from general picky eating to severe feeding disorders—for a variety of reasons. As a speech-language pathologist who specializes in feeding challenges in children, I peer into a lot of little mouths. In my professional experience, these three “mouth offenders” can shape a child’s willingness to try new foods. Misaligned teeth: Crowded, missing or blocked teeth that haven’t erupted properly can impac

First comes breast or bottle, then sippy cup, right? Not so fast. Experts report you may want to just skip the sippy cup for your baby. Surpisingly, sippies weren't designed as a tool for feeding development, but were invented years ago by a dad who just wanted to keep his carpets clean! (Ha ha, we can relate.) Today, parents often think that a sippy cup is what they are supposed to offer to help kids eventually learn to drink from an open cup. The occasional use of a hard-sp

Recently, Timbrey and her baby son visited with another young mother and her baby. The other mother looked at her sleeping little baby and commented on how cute his snoring was. Timbrey was rightfully frightened. This baby, mouth gaping, breathed noisily. Although people have become accustomed to this open mouth posture in infants, it's not normal. By breathing through his mouth, he was missing out on a laundry list of healthy hormones and may be contributing to a host of neg