For parents, babies are a bundle of joy, and a delight to be around. As a joke, it’s been said that for a while, all babies do is just sleep, eat, remove waste, and coo (very cutely, too) – and even then, parents are right by their side cherishing these little milestones. But when a baby has problems with even just one of these basic functions, it becomes a cause for worry. For instance, when a baby has difficulty feeding, or even just moving their tongue around their mouth, it’s an indication of tongue tie.
What is Tongue Tie
The condition of being tongue tied, formally known as ankyloglossia results in restricted mobility and range of motion of your baby’s tongue. This happens because the cord of tissue that connects the bottom of the tongue to the floor of the mouth is shorter than it should be. A normal cord length lets the tongue move freely within the mouth, aiding in eating, swallowing, sucking and talking. With a short cord going unresolved, babies can have trouble with both breastfeeding and using bottles alike, and could grow up with impaired speech.
Causes and Symptoms of Tongue Tie
Tongue tie can be genetic and passed down through generations. For this, it’s best to check your family’s history because if you or a loved one was tongue tied as an infant, it could be easily passed on to your baby. If your family has a history of being tongue tied, it is also worth having your newborn checked for the condition, as it is not always fully apparent.
Tongue tie usually manifests as impaired tongue mobility – this includes your baby’s tongue not being able to reach the roof of the mouth; having difficulty moving the tongue from one side to another; difficulty licking lips; and difficulty sticking out their tongue past the lower front teeth. When your baby is tongue-tied, they could experience pain, have low weight, drool excessively, vomit frequently, and have trouble swallowing food and liquids essential for keeping them strong and healthy.
Types of Tongue Tie
There are three types of tongue tie that could manifest in your baby. These include posterior, maxillary and lingual.
When your baby is posterior tongue-tied, their tongue appears under the mucus lining of the mouth, and the condition is not usually visible. Rather, it can only be felt if you run under a finger underneath your baby’s tongue from one side to another. Only then will you notice that their tongue is anchored to the floor of their mouth, restricting the tip’s movement.
Maxillary tongue-tie occurs when the tissue attaching the middle portion of the upper lip to your baby’s gums is larger and more prominent than it should be, causing it to interfere with normal mobility in the mouth, and reduce the function of their upper lip.
When your baby is lingual tongue-tied, the underside of their tongue is directly connected to the floor of their mouth far more than it typically is. This greatly limits the movement of the tip of their tongue.
Tongue Tie Treatment
Bringing your baby to a pediatric dentist as soon as you observe symptoms of the condition greatly boosts their treatment. The best way for a pediatric dentist to treat the condition is by using soft tissue laser. The laser treatment is safe, and it instantly corrects the problem with minimal postoperative pain and required care. Because of this, parents can instantly feed their babies, allowing mothers who have had trouble breastfeeding their infants the chance to bond with their child. A soft tissue laser treatment can take less than 5 minutes to complete, and heals in just a few hours – making it a prime treatment option for tongue-tied babies, quickly helping them become strong and healthy with normalized oral function.