Signs include difficulty latching, clicking during feeds, maternal nipple pain, poor weight gain, and a heart-shaped tongue tip. Mother’s symptoms may include painful latching, incomplete breast drainage, creased or blanched or bleeding nipples, mastitis, nipple thrush, reduced milk supply, and anxious or depressed state of mind. A functional assessment confirms the diagnosis.
The treatment is done using diode laser under topical anesthetic gel that cuts and seals the tissues resulting in very little or no bleeding. The procedure itself is completed within a minute or two. Babies may cry during the procedure, not because they are in pain, but because they are being wrapped up and something is in their mouth. No stitches are needed.
The discomfort may last for about 24-48 hours, for which a pain medication would be prescribed. Complete healing takes 10-15 days. Parents perform gentle stretching exercises to prevent reattachment. For the tongue, position your baby on your lap with their head towards you, use your index finger on top of the released area and press the tongue up and back while pressing chin down with your thumb. Hold for 3 seconds.
Yes. A restricted tongue can affect sounds like T, D, N, L, and R. In childhood, speech clarity issues are common. Release, combined with speech therapy when needed, helps children speak clearly. Patients with speech challenges are encouraged to work with a speech pathologist.
Just cutting the Tongue Tie is not enough. The tongue is a muscle, and if the Tongue Tie has been there for a time the tongue gets used to being restricted. The tongue has to relearn how to move after the Tongue Tie is cut. Myofunctional therapy exercises help the wound heal properly so it does not get stuck together again, and teach the tongue where it should rest — on the roof of the mouth.
Yes. Tongue-tie in children and adults is similar to those found in infants but it may be underlying to a broader set of conditions. In case of an untreated tie, the oral restrictions lead to development in the form of “COMPENSATION” which can cause harm from malocclusion to obstructive sleep apnea. The procedure takes less than two minutes and is done under topical local anesthesia using a diode laser.