Why Check Your Baby for Tongue & Lip Ties?

As a parent, you may think your infant won’t have dental issues early on. Perhaps you assume they’ll be fine until their first baby tooth. However, you really ought to be careful. It’s best that you check them for tongue and lip ties after they’re born. Otherwise, they’ll suffer from various harmful effects. Your local pediatric dental practice will tell you more. To that end, here’s a primer on tongue and lip ties, their results, and how a dentist can help.

What are Tongue & Lip Ties?

While most dental issues stem from lifestyle, some occur at or before birth. Tongue and lip ties are examples of the latter kind.

Firstly, a tongue tie occurs during fetal development. It refers to when the tongue’s tip attaches to the mouth’s floor. As that happens, the affected person struggles to stick out their tongue.

Generally, a lip tie is similar to a tongue tie. It’s a condition where the upper lip’s skin attaches to the gums. Should this skin persist, it often prevents proper lip movement.

Why Catch Them Early?

Unless you catch them early, tongue and lip ties can lead to complications. The most notable of these include the following:

• Breastfeeding Issues – Infants with tongue or lip ties may not breastfeed properly. They’ll then deal with low milk supply, weight loss, fussiness, and pain.
• Breathing Problems – Tongue ties usually cause breathing problems, especially sleep apnea. Meanwhile, lip ties limit lip movement. This limitation can cause open-mouth breathing.
• Poor Oral Health – Tongue or lip ties will make teeth cleaning difficult, leading to poor oral hygiene. They can also cause gum recession, pulling against the gums on the rear of the teeth.
• Speech Impediments – Tongue ties make speech problems more likely. For a child, such impediments can lead to embarrassment.

How Can a Dentist Help?

If you catch them, you can get tongue and lip ties treated. You just have to see a qualified pediatric dentist.

For instance, a pediatric dentist can solve things with a frenectomy. This service uses surgical scissors (or a dental laser) to cut the skin holding the lip or tongue. It also won’t cause pain – the dental team will first numb your child’s mouth. When the procedure ends, your little one will return to enjoying life.

Before it’s too late, check your baby for tongue or lip ties. You’ll then be ready to get them proper dental care as needed.

About the Practice

The Florida Tongue Tie Institute is based in Palm Harbor, FL. Led by Dr. Maggie Davis, our practice wants to give your baby a truly healthy mouth. We thus offer the best possible corrections for tongue and lip ties. In particular, our team treats these issues with quality laser dentistry! For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (727)-786-7551.