What is a tie…
A tie, or frenum, is a string of tissue under the tongue, lips or cheeks left over from the time your baby was developing. It can lessen movement of the tongue, lips or cheeks and lead to problems ranging from difficulty feeding to trouble speaking. We work primarily with babies, but have also helped children, teenagers and adults overcome struggles with sleep, swallowing pills, TMJ problems and other painful upper body problems.
We use a CO2 laser …
Release of a frenum (a frenectomy) is done only after a comprehensive exam and a thorough history. The release procedure, a frenectomy, offers enormous benefits with minimal risks, especially with the use of a CO2 laser. We are certified by the Academy of Laser Dentistry for the use of dental lasers and specialize in the most advanced dental laser available, the Solea Laser, a CO2 laser.
Latching and feeding
Breastfeeding begins with a proper latch. When the tongue and/or lips are tied down, the latch becomes hard to establish nipple damage and difficulty nursing may result. The tongue must also be able to move up and down for easy extraction of milk. With a tie, the baby must work harder at withdrawing milk. This can lead to tiredness, incomplete, frequent and painful nursing, short sleeping, and air swallowing. We have seen air swallowing lead to gassiness, colicky symptoms, discomfort, poor weight gain, noisy feeding, and reflux.
Down the road …
When tongue-ties are left undiagnosed and untreated, a variety of problems may develop. Here at Village Pediatric Dental, we have seen children, teenagers and adults with problems such as the development of numerous cavities because the tongue cannot reach all surfaces of the teeth when cleaning debris, TMJ pain, sore chewing muscles, speech difficulties, trouble fully opening the mouth (called trismus), an inability to swallow pills, trouble kissing, an open bite from tongue thrusting, mouth breathing, sleeping problems, feeding issues, and headaches.
We have helped many overcome symptoms associated with tongue- and lip-ties. We consider ourselves part of a team that addresses feeding, speech and sleeping issues. To gain the full benefits from a release, we work with other specialists, including lactation consultants, speech therapists, and myofunctional therapists. With the help of our friends, we hope we can improve your feeding relationship with your baby, help ease the difficulties with breast or bottle feeding and improve the many issues that can occur when there are oral ties.
What if it doesn’t help …
The frenectomy is a procedure that has a high success rate. However, if post-op care exercises are required and not sufficiently done, the frenum can reattach. Symptoms can continue to occur also for those that have not been able to utilize the recommended outside therapists. Occasionally, other anatomic problems contribute to symptoms and a frenectomy alone may not lead to symptom relief. Babies with unusually high palates, small jaws, and conditions involving the throat such as laryngomalacia are examples of those who may need additional help from other specialists.