Tongue-tie and lip-tie are conditions that reduce the range of motion of the lips or tongue. This condition is mostly found in young children and infants, but adults are not exempted from this. They are usually easy to diagnose and to be treated by experts. If your child has this issue, you need to book a dental appointment with the best dentist in Weston Fl. to fix it easily and quickly. Here is everything you need to know about lip tie and tongue tie.
Tongue Tie Overview
What Is A Tongue Tie?
Tongue-tie is usually very obvious and easy to spot. If your child has it, you will see a strong, thick flap of skin beneath the tongue, which connects to the bottom of the mouth. However, the severity of this case differs from one person to another. In some severe cases, the person cannot move the tongue properly, and the tongue might not reach the roof of the mouth.
Moreover, in severe cases the position of the tongue gets affected and this results in breathing through the mouth. This mouth condition is pretty common, and it happens in about four to eleven percent of births. If you notice this issue in your child, you should consult a professional immediately, even if it is mild. If you ignore it when it is mild, it can evolve and cause severe issues such as crooked teeth, sleep breathing issues, and snoring.
Causes Of Tongue-Tie
There are two major causes of tongue-tie. The first case is that the frenum might be too tight or short. The second case is that it can be that the frenum did not move back down the tongue when developing and is still attached to the tip of the tongue. One of the symptoms of the second case is a heart-shaped tongue tip. There has not been any proof to show that tongue-tie can be inherited.
Symptoms And Effects Of Tongue Tie
1. It can ruin the ability of an infant to latch properly during breastfeeding, which can also affect the ability of the child to gain weight.
2. It may affect the speech of a child
3. It might result in issues such as poor sleep, mouth breathing, snoring, and poor attention span.
4. It can affect the ability of a child to eat correctly
5. It can obstruct normal face and jaw development and growth.
Lip Tie Overview
What Is A Lip Tie?
A lip tie usually happens beneath the lips, teeth, and gums. Most times, a child is likely to experience this after a tongue tie. Lip ties are also very easy to spot. To check for it, lift the upper lip, if you see a skin flap that restricts the movement, then it might be a lip tie. A child with this condition might have a hard time moving the upper lip, and it can also make it difficult for them to eat from a spoon or breastfeed.
However, a lip tie is usually not as severe as a tongue tie. It also has fewer potential health issues associated with it when compared to a tongue tie. Nevertheless, this does not mean you should not seek professional help when your child is suffering from this condition. Without this restriction, your child will find it much easier to chew, breath, and breastfeed. The removal process is also very easy and quick, but only the best and well-trained professionals can handle it.
Symptoms And Effects Of Lip Tie
1. It makes a child visibly tired, or the child falls asleep while eating most times.
2. Infants may find it difficult to latch during breastfeeding.
3. A child may suffer tooth cavities due to difficulty of brushing the teeth or from milk gathering under the lip.
4. The front teeth might have huge spaces between them.
When Are Lip And Tongue-Tie An Issue That Requires Treatments
Infants with overly tight or short lips and/or tongue frenum might not be able to suck well, and this can affect their weight gain. A baby can swallow air when they cannot seal on the nipple properly, and this can cause colic, gas, and spitting up. The baby might be making a clicking noise when breastfeeding or taking a bottle.
A breastfeeding mother might also experience enormous pain while nursing. Babies with this condition do not get enough milk, and this makes them hungry constantly, making it a very tough job for mothers to keep breastfeeding with such pains. Some mothers often experience nipple blanching, mastitis, thrush, cracking, and bleeding. This condition even makes many mothers quit breastfeeding before the right time to wean.
Most times, after solving the issue of lip tie and tongue-tie, mothers report immediate pain relief and deeper latch. The child also starts gaining weight very quickly. The sooner you address this issue in infants, the better for you and your baby.
For older children and toddlers, this issue can affect their speech. They might find it difficult to pronounce certain sounds such as SH, TH, N, D, R, T, L, and Z. This can happen from the age of three onwards. Children with this condition might also find it difficult to speak when tired or might have a lisp. They might also find it difficult to chew and swallow food while suffering from sleep apnea, mouth breathing, and other airway problems.
The Common Solution To Tongue-Tie and Lip-Tie
There is a common solution to this condition, and that is Frenectomy. Frenectomy is the procedure used for correcting lip tie and tongue-tie issues. This procedure is carried out by a professional, either with the use of a laser or surgically. However, the use of a laser has proven to be much better because of the following reasons:
1. It completely removes the desired tissue.
2. The better visibility allows for more precision.
3. Very little to no bleeding.
4. Minimally invasive.
5. The treatment time is very short (about one to two minutes).
6. The healing and recovering time is very short.
7. The process is easy on the underlying tissue layers.
Whenever you notice this issue in your child, you should consult a toddler dentist in Weston as soon as possible. The earlier you find a solution to the issue, the better.