What is a tongue tie?
Babies are born with a thin membrane under their tongue called the lingual frenulum. However, 5-12% of babies are born with their lingual frenulum so tight that it restricts the movement and mobility of their tongue.
This can affect a newborn’s ability to breastfeed leading to:
• poor latch
• mom’s nipple pain and trauma
• decreased milk intake and milk supply
The medical term for tongue tie is “ankyloglossia” and studies show the defect is hereditary. In layman's terms ankyloglossia is tongue tie.
What is a lip tie?
Many infants with a tongue tie also have a lip tie. A lip tie, aka labial frenulum, is an abnormally tight membrane attaching their upper (or lower) lip to their upper(or lower) gums.
This condition may cause babies to have:
• difficulty flanging their lips properly to feed and creating a good seal at the breast
• excess intake of air during breastfeeding resulting in painful gas
• maternal pain during breastfeeding
• lip tie may also cause a diastema (gap between the teeth) later in child’s development.
How and why do ties affect breastfeeding?
The mobility of the tongue is important for both mom and baby during breastfeeding. To properly feed, a baby needs to latch past the nipple onto the areola. Tongue-tied babies often latch the nipple, compressing it, leading to nipple pain and skin breakdown for the mother.
Breastfed babies with lip/tongue ties often:
• have difficulty maintaining a latch for long enough to take in a full feeding
• remain latched for long periods of time without taking in enough milk
• feed only during the mother’s milk ejection reflex, or the milk “let-down”
• will not draw milk out of the breast when the milk flow slows
Mothers of tongue or lip tied babies often give up breastfeeding and assume it is their fault. When in reality, the tie is making breastfeeding difficult for their newborn.
Bottle feeding allows milk to drip into the baby’s mouth with minimal effort, requiring less tongue muscle effort. While bottle feeding keeps the baby nourished and growing, the muscles of the tongue may become weak, which may lead to poor orofacial development. Poor orofacial development can have a negative effect on how the baby is chewing, swallowing, breathing and talking, leading to a poor bite, crowded teeth, TMJ and airway problems.
How are tongue and lip ties treated?
We can correct tongue or lip ties by performing a frenectomy (aka tongue tie release or lip tie release). A frenectomy is a safe and quick procedure that allows for greater tongue and lip mobility and improved function. Frenectomies help not only with tongue mobility, but they can also help with:
• prevention of dental decay and spacing
• avoid speech difficulties
• digestive issues
• optimizing baby’s facial and oral development.
What equipment is used to perform a frenectomy?
To perform a frenectomy, Dr. Stas Pavlenko uses a CO2 laser to remove and release the tissue. The benefits of using a CO2 laser include:
• minimal discomfort with faster healing
• minimal bleeding during and after the procedure
• kills bacteria on contact
• increased precision resulting in a more complete removal of a tie.
How long does it take to do a frenectomy and how do you prepare babies for frenectomies?
Frenectomy is a very safe and fast procedure that can take less than 2 minutes to perform. Because the duration of the procedure is so short, Dr. Stas Pavlenko will offer to do the procedure right after the assessment without having to delay treatment and wait for a separate appointment.
We will use an infant swaddle to keep the baby calm and keep the baby’s hands safely away from the face. We will put special infant laser glasses to protect the baby’s eyes during the procedure. Our staff will always keep two hands on the baby to keep them safe during the short duration of their treatment.
Does my newborn need a frenectomy?
Not all ties cause problems and require a correction. Here are some signs and symptoms of a tongue & lip tie:
Moms
• flattened nipples after breastfeeding
• nipple pain, damage & bleeding
• prolonged feedings
• poor breast drainage
• decreased milk production.
Infants
• noisy suckling or clicking
• popping on and off the breast
• leaking on the sides of the mouth
• poor weight gain
• coughing or gagging
• lip blisters
• gas pain
• noisy breathing/snoring sounds when sleeping
• reflux or colic.
Questions?
It is important to note that the above signs can also point to other breastfeeding issues. If you suspect your baby has a tongue or lip tie and would like an evaluation, call or text us at 780-429-1076 and we will be happy to set up an evaluation with Dr. Stas Pavlenko at District Dental for you today!
#breastfeeding #drstas #yegmoms #frenectomy #tongueties
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