As a new parent, you may have heard about a common issue that newborns can have called a tongue-tie. While normal babies can nurse well enough, babies with a tongue-tie struggle to breastfeed, take a bottle, or sleep. Unfortunately, although this problem is seemingly becoming more common, many parents don’t really know or understand much about it, and there are plenty of myths circulating. Here are just some of these untruths and the reality behind them.
Myth #1: Tongue-Ties Aren’t Serious.
Perhaps you wonder if tongue-ties are simply the latest medical fad out there, but you need to take this issue seriously. A tongue-tie prevents the baby from latching correctly, severely impeding their ability to obtain nourishing milk. As a result, poor weight gain at the beginning of life can present many frustrating challenges for babies and their parents. In fact, infants who have tongue-ties are more likely to develop colic, painful reflux, and gassiness than healthy babies.
Without treatment, a tongue-tie can also lead to other unnecessary difficulties and pain later in life, including speech trouble, neck and jaw pain, sleep apnea, and more.
Myth #2: You Can Stretch Out a Tongue-Tie.
At first glance, it appears that the frenulum (the tissue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth) is soft and flexible, but it really isn’t. In fact, its collagen webbing gives it limited range of motion and stretchability. Trying to pull the tongue will only cause discomfort.
Myth #3: Tongue-Ties Can Correct Themselves Over Time.
As your tiny infant gets older, they’ll outgrow certain things. They won’t always need a certain pacifier to fall asleep. They won’t always need to be swaddled. However, a tongue-tie is something that doesn’t fix itself with age and growth. It will continue to cause problems for your child into adulthood, which is why it needs to be treated early on in your baby’s life.
Myth #4: Snipping a Tongue-Tie Is the Best Approach.
The solution to a tongue-tie is simple: remove the excess frenulum tissue. At face value, you may think all it takes is a quick snip with surgical scissors, but there’s a better way. Not only does manually cutting the tongue-tie usually come with more pain and bleeding, but it also has the added risk of reattachment or regrowth. In other words, the tissue could come back!
The best way to deal with a tongue-tie is to turn to a dentist who uses a soft tissue laser, which cauterizes as it separates the frenulum. This method provides a much less painful experience for the baby and ensures that the tongue-tie doesn’t reappear.
Now that you know the truth about tongue-ties, you can better understand what your baby needs and get them treated as well as share the correct information with other new parents.
About the Author
Every day, pediatric dentist Dr. Michael Rullo truly enjoys helping new mothers and their babies overcome tongue-ties and improve their lives. After earning his dental degree from the University of Western Ontario and his master’s degree in Ohio, he has continued to remain active in the dental community with memberships in the Canadian Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the Hamilton Academy of Dentistry. If you have questions about tongue-ties, you can contact him at Hamilton Lip & Tongue-Tie Center online or call 905-525-8272.