Tongue
The tongue is really important for eating, swallowing, speaking, sleeping and for optimal growth of the maxilla and mandible.
Dr. Arias treats tongue ties in babies, kids and adults.
Dr. Arias likes a team approach depending the age of the patients, she may work with other providers like : lactation consultants , speech therapist, Myofunctional therapist or chiropractor to achieve better outcomes and to achieve the tongues fullest potential and re training.
Tongue and Lip Tie Release on Babies or Frenectomy
A baby with tongue or lip tie could experience nursing or bottle feeding issues. When a baby has a lip or tongue tie it will interfere with proper latching and suctioning. Often this is overlooked and mom ends quitting breastfeeding. Dr. Carla Arias treats around 15 babies a month and works with support of lactation consultants and body workers.
Common baby symptoms are poor latch, falls asleep breastfeeding, long feeding, slides off breast, clicking, popping, poor weight gain, gassy, colics, acid reflux and lip blisters.
Often mom’s symptoms are also overlooked which are: severe pain, nipple damage, poor incomplete drainage, mastitis, low milk supply and infected nipples.
Post operative stretches are done for a course of 3 weeks and they are key to succesful healing.
Procedure is done safely with a Waterlase which is an all Tissue Laser. The healing is better with the Waterlase and there is less discomfort. A numbing cream is placed first and then procedure is done. No stitches are used in babies. Baby will latch to mom or bottle feed right after procedure is done. Mom and baby should have a IBCLC to follow up with to achieve proper retraining of tongue.
Example of tongue tie
Lip Tie
Babies:
Lip ties can interfere with proper flanging of lips for nursing and bottle feeding. Baby ends up swallowing a lot of air because of improper lip seal causing aerophagia and colics. Often it becomes really painful for breastfeeding moms because babies will do a chopping and bitting movement on the nipple instead of suctioning.
Kids:
Lip tie could cause spacing between permanent central incisors. If removed prior to the eruption of permanent canines space starts closing by itself.
Teen and Adults:
When a gap between the permanent central incisors exist and patient has orthodontic treatment, the space will open again if lip tie is not removed.
Video of Laser Lip Release Procedure
