Understanding Tongue and Lip Ties

Tongue and lip ties can affect a baby’s ability to move their lips and tongue and feed, especially if the baby is breastfed. Our pediatric dentist, Dr. Maggie Davis, can examine your baby’s mouth to determine if he or she is tongue or lip tied and perform a frenectomy to release the tissue and promote normal lip and tongue movement.

Understanding Lip Ties

Lip tie occurs when the frenum connecting the upper or lower tip is too short or too tight. The frenums that connect the upper and lower lips to the gums are called labial frenums. When they are tight or short, they can cause difficulty moving the lips, speaking and eating.

Symptoms of Lip Tie

• You have to breastfeed for an abnormally long period of time.
• You hear popping or clicking noises while your infant breastfeeds.
• Your infant is having trouble latching.
• Your nipples are abnormally painful or discolored after breastfeeding.

Signs You Should See a Pediatric Dentist

• Your baby can’t feed properly.
• Your baby is abnormally fussy even after feeding.
• You can visually confirm the frenum is connected to the lower portion of the gum.
• Your older child has a gap between the top two teeth or bottom two teeth that could be caused by the frenum.

Understanding Tongue Tie

Tongue tie occurs when the frenum, which is a tough band of tissue that connects two other tissues to limit movement. The frenum that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is called the lingual frenum. Almost everyone has some degree of lingual frenum, and it most individuals it causes no problems. However, when the lingual frenum is excessively tight or short, it can limit the movement of the tongue. In babies, this can cause difficulty latching onto the breast or a bottle. In older children, it can affect speech development.

Symptoms of Tongue Tie

• Your baby or child has difficulty moving their tongue, especially from side to side.
• Your baby or child cannot extend his or her tongue farther than the edges of the front teeth.
• Your baby or child’s tongue appears abnormally short, notched or heart-shaped.

Signs You Should See a Pediatric Dentist

• Your infant isn’t latching correctly or is having problems with feeding.
• Your child is having trouble with his or her speech development due to being unable to properly move their tongue.
• Your child complains of problems related to tongue tie.

Frenectomies for Tongue and Lip Ties with our Pediatric Dentist in Palm Harbor

If you suspect your child has lip or tongue tie, our pediatric dentist had created an online checklist of baby/mother signs and symptoms that you can use to help determine if your child needs to see our dentist for an examination and possible frenectomy.

Our pediatric dentist in Palm Harbor, Dr. Maggie Davis, performs soft tissue laser frenectomies, which offer improved benefits over frenectomies that are performed with a scalpel or pair of medical scissors. Laser frenectomies result in better precision, less bleeding and improved recovery times.

This procedure only takes about 30 seconds and involves removing the tight frenum. Just prior to the procedure, our dentist will numb your infant’s or child’s mouth to ensure no pain is felt. Then, the laser will be used to remove the tight or short frenum, which helps improve the movement of the tongue and/or affected lip.

After the procedure, you and your baby or child can rest and recover in a private room until you feel comfortable enough return home. Our dentist will also provide you with detailed aftercare instructions that will include certain lip and tongue stretches. Performing lip and/or tongue stretches after the frenectomy helps ensure proper healing and reattachment of the frenum. Dr. Maggie Davis can give you tips and tricks for helping your baby or child perform these movements naturally.

Babies and children tend to experience some discomfort for 24 to 48 hours after the procedure. Breastfeeding or skin to skin contact with your baby’s mouth can help alleviate the discomfort. However, if these tips fail to provide adequate relief, you can use infant or children’s Tylenol. Our dentist can help you determine the proper dosages and answer your questions.

To schedule a pediatric dental exam for your infant or child, call us at 727-786-7551.