Tongue-Tie | Lip-Tie | Frenectomy

Are you experiencing pain while breastfeeding your infant? Does your baby seem to not get enough milk even after trying to latch correctly? Have you noticed that your child has difficulty talking? This may be related to your child’s frenum.

Such conditions can be seen in infants, including difficulties in breastfeeding, lip and tongue restrictions and other speech-related concerns that can also affect long-term oral health. With high-precision laser technology, these issues can be treated correctly without any fallback.

Helping Infants That Struggle With Breastfeeding

Usually, a lactation consultant or bodyworker can help alleviate an infant’s struggle with breastfeeding by working on the baby’s posture and latching for a better flow. While this method is recognized among breastfeeding solutions, it is not always the remedy, especially in cases where the baby’s lip or tongue is attached peculiarly. This way by which the lip or tongue is tethered reduces the effectiveness of nursing and can make it painful. In this case, a frenectomy may be necessary.

Helping Nursing Mothers Relieve Pain

A frenectomy can help mothers alleviate breastfeeding pain due to infants that suck harder or cannot latch properly and become frustrated, eventually refusing to nurse. Other issues may include emotional stress from painful blocked milk ducts, the infant frequently crying from irritation and weight fluctuations in the mother. With a frenectomy, mothers can regain healthy nipples and breasts, stimulate milk production by adequate stimulation and encourage bonding with their infants to ensure appropriate feeding and growth.

Laser Treatment That Guarantees a Safe Procedure

Every frenectomy procedure involves finishing with a precision laser that ensures the process is carried out accurately. The laser does not emit heat or water, cauterizing the area cleanly, resulting in minimal to zero trauma, bleeding and scar tissue. The entire process takes about 15 minutes, with recovery within two weeks. Depending on the infant’s age, a topical anesthetic may be used to ease immediate discomfort.

Understanding the Value of Frenectomy

Frenectomy involves the release of the lip or tongue attachment, known as the frenum, with laser technology. The frenum tissue connects the lower gums to the tongue and the upper gums to the upper lips. Due to its delicate position, an abnormally-size frenum can affect oral function, movement and appearance, with the possibility of some speech impairment.

The laser light vaporizes the frenum under the tongue or upper lip during a frenotomy to allow for a better range of motion. With the minute discomfort and minimal bleeding that comes with the process, some infants can sleep through it. In addition, the laser sterilizes the area upon touch in the procedure, reducing the chance and stimulating healing for quick recovery.

Types of Frenums

Frenectomy helps release two forms of frenum attachment known as the lingual and labial frenum.

Lingual Frenum

This form of the frenum is attached to the tongue and restricts the tongue’s movement when it is too large. This prominent lingual frenum can escalate to speech issues, misalignment of teeth and inhibited jaw development when left untreated.

Labial Frenum

This frenum attaches the upper gums to the center upper lip and must be treated immediately if it hinders the gum tissue development. It may lead to alignment issues and a gap between the top middle teeth.

Issues that Frenectomy Resolves

Abnormal sizes of the lingual or labial frenums result in cases such as tongue-tie or lip-tie, which are treated with a frenectomy.

Tongue-Tie

This case, also known as ankyloglossia, is the restriction of tongue movement due to the fusion of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. A tongue-tie is caused by a frenum that is abnormally short or attached too close to the tip of the tongue. To address this case, it’s best to consult a tongue-tie dentist.

Infant tongue-tie impedes normal tongue function, which enables a baby to breastfeed efficiently, promotes normal speech development and makes it possible for a child to self-cleanse the mouth during eating, allowing for proper growth and development.

Lip-Tie

A lip-tie occurs when the upper lip remains attached to the upper gum. It involves the irregular size of the labial frenum and can lead to problems with eating habits, jaw pain or protrusion and a case of clicking jaws.

Consulting a lip-tie dentist can help you resolve this case using frenectomy. When left untreated, lip-tie can result in a gap between teeth, pain with breastfeeding and other oral health issues.