Is your baby having difficulty breastfeeding? They may have tongue tie
Tongue tie affects mostly newborn babies to children up to 6 years of age
Dr. Vanessa has Many Years of experience in treating tongue tie with a simple laser procedure
Tongue tie may seem like a simple condition, but it can greatly impact your child’s life.
Understanding tongue/lip tie
Tongue tie is a condition in which the frenum, the small “string” that runs vertically from the floor of the mouth to the undersurface of the tongue, restricts the tongue’s mobility and make it difficult for the tongue to move. We also have a frenum beneath the upper lip. A lip tie cause restriction on the lip’s mobility.
If the functionality of the tongue and/or the lip is affected, you may see negative effects on infant breastfeeding, toddler with speech problems and adult with sleep disorder and neck tension.
Treatment
Dr. Vanessa will perform a full assessment of related issues to diagnosis the tongue and/or lip tie. The release of the tie (frenectomy) is a procedure completed with laser in our office. Overall, a frenectomy will likely improve the ability to eat, speak, and sleep!
A small detail, a simple action, remarkable changes!
Most common signs and symptoms:
Infants
Baby’s symptoms:
- Feeding poorly and being hungry shortly after nursing.
- Struggle to nurse or take a bottle
- Difficulty gaining weight
- Make clicking or smacking noises when eating
- Experience lots of gas or continually fuss
- Growing at a slower pace than expected
Mothers’ symptoms:
- Painful nursing
- Blister or cut nipples
- Decrease milk supply
- Plugged ducts or mastitis
- Inability to nurse without a nipple shield
Children
- Sleep restlessly
- Slow or picky eater
- Choke or gag on liquids or foods
- Problems in speech development,
- Difficulty in articulating sounds and pronouncing letters L, R, T, D, N, TH, SH and Z
- Grinding, snoring, or breathing with moth open
Adults
- Psychosocial problems related to speech difficulties
- Neck and shoulder tension
- Sleep difficulties (snoring, sleep apnea, grinding teeth)
- Headaches and migraines
Take the first steps to treat these issues in only few minutes!
The laser frenectomy is a minimally invasive procedure. This technology allows us to provide a quick treatment, usually with minimal to no bleeding, and little to no discomfort.
Tongue-tie can also sometimes cause problems for a breastfeeding mother
Problems can include:
-
Sore or cracked nipples
-
Low milk supply
-
Mastitis (inflammation of the breast), which may keep coming back