Tethered Oral Tissue 

What is a tethered oral tissue?

           A tethered oral tissue is a fascial restriction that can cause tension in the mouth, skull, body or neck of an individual. They can be located under the tongue, in the cheeks, and/or under the lips.

​

What are some symptoms of a tethered oral tissue?

           Infants can present with poor feeding, breast or bottle, lack of weight gain, reflux, excessive gas, constipation, mouth breathing, torticollis (persistent head tilt to one side), favoring a side to look at or lay on, misshapen head and colic. Some infants will fail to meet developmental milestones such as sitting up, rolling over, or crawling on all fours when a tethered oral restriction is present.

           Toddlers and older children can present with speech delays or articulation problems, developmental milestone delays, headaches, neck pain, reflux, gagging, choking or spitting up food, texture sensitivities, digestive disorders, mouth breathing or poor sleep.

​

​