A little boy from Texas, who was thought to be nonverbal, has found a surprising cure after a trip to the dentist.
Six year old Mason Motz was born with a genetic defect that was thought to impact his speech - that is until he began talking in complete sentences after it was discovered he was also tongue-tied.
For the first five years of his like Mason had trouble saying any words. His family thought the problem was attributed to Sotos syndrome - this is a hereditary condition which leaves people with distinctive facial features, overgrowth in childhood, learning disabilities and delayed development of mental and movement abilities.
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His mum, Meredith Motz told Inside Edition: "Since birth, he's had delays and issues. He's been in speech therapy since he was a little over 1 year old.
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"Sleeping was always stressful. He would stop breathing. He had trouble eating and swallowing; every single meal we would have to remove something that was choking him
"He didn't get the nutrition he needed. His teeth started having problems."
The family sought out the help from a number of dentists but none of them were able to help Mason.
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Eventually, Meredith took Mason to Dr. Amy Luedemann-Lazar of Kidstown Dental in Katy.
While Mason was sedated, Luedemann-Lazar found that the boy was tongue-tied.
She said: "We did detect a tongue-tie. Mason was not nonverbal; he was just unable to speak.
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"He had been in speech therapy for years and no one had ever checked under his tongue."
Tongue-tie, formally known in medicine as ankyloglossia, is a condition that develops at birth, when an unusually short, thick band of tissue tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In April 2017, Luedemann-Lazar performed non-invasive laser treatment to undo the tongue-tie.
Meredith said: "Within 12 hours, he was talking and it was amazing."
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The operation has made a world of difference for Mason, his mum explained.
She continued: "It's like night and day.
"He doesn't have choking episodes anymore; he's eating different types of food.
"He's behaving much better at school. His behavior was a problem, because he was getting poor quality of sleep at night, he was constantly tired and was not able to express himself.
"He doesn't snore anymore. He doesn't have sleep apnea anymore."
Although little Mason remains afflicted with Sotos syndrome, he is continuing with speech therapy lessons and is making progress.
Featured Image Credit: Meredith Motz
Topics: World News, News, USA, Medicine