What it is and how your dentist can help

Lip and tongue tie procedures are most often performed on children, but they’re just as important in adults. If you have this issue, then your dentist can usually fix it quickly and easily during your dental appointment. So, if you or your child have a tongue or lip tie, here’s what you need to know about it.

What is a Tongue Tie?

When someone has a tongue tie it’s usually fairly obvious. There will be a thick and unusually strong flap of skin under the tongue that connects it to the bottom of the mouth. The extent of the tongue tie can vary widely. In some cases, the tongue can’t move properly and may not be able to reach up to the roof of the mouth. If this is the case, it may cause mouth breathing and problems with your posture. Tongue ties are fairly common and may occur in around 4-11 percent of births.

It’s important that you don’t ignore a tongue tie even if it’s mild. Over time, it can cause a variety of problems including crooked teeth, snoring, and sleep breathing problems.

What is a Lip Tie?

A lip tie occurs under the lip between the gums and teeth and often accompanies a tongue tie. It’s fairly easy to see. All you need to do is lift the upper lip. If the gum turns white and there’s a flap of skin there that restrains the movement, then a lip tie may be present. A lip tie can keep the upper lip from moving freely and create difficulties for breastfeeding and eating from a spoon. This issue is generally not as serious as a tongue tie, with not as many potential health problems associated with it.

However, this doesn’t mean that you should just leave a lip tie intact. Breastfeeding, chewing and eating is much easier without this restriction, and it’s such a simple procedure to get it removed that leaving it intact doesn’t make sense.

What is the Cause of Ties?

There is no clear cause of tongue or lip ties. However, this type of problem appears to be connected to inadequate nutrients during development. A baby’s tongue is mostly developed by the time the foetus is 12 weeks old, and these ties seem to appear when the back and front of the tongue fuse together. Some possible causes or contributing factors include:

Problems with folic acid supplementation.
MTHFR genes, which can cause genetic disorders when they’re mutated.
Genetics, because this problem tends to run in families.

Both types of ties appear at birth, but they can also appear in adults whose parents didn’t have them removed or when they’re mild and were missed. Common symptoms of a lip tie are difficulty breastfeeding and eating with a spoon. However, the symptoms of a tongue tie can be much more varied.

Here are the common symptoms you’ll notice if your child has a tongue tie:

Breastfeeding difficulties.

Your baby might not be able to nurse properly leading to malnutrition, inadequate milk supply and early weaning. Mothers may also experience pain, discomfort or chafing during breastfeeding or may have a high rate of plugged ducts or infections.

Mouth breathing or snoring resulting in sleep deprivation.
Your baby or child will have difficulty clearing the milk or food from their mouth, resulting in tooth decay.
Colic in babies and reflux in young children.
Teeth issues.

As your child’s teeth come in, you might notice they have a narrow palate, over bite, under bite, cross bite, or crooked teeth due to the unnatural positioning of their tongue. They may also grind their teeth when they sleep.

Speech difficulties.
Swollen tonsils.
Bed wetting.
Digestive problems.

As your child grows, many of these problems will get worse. As teenagers they may start to experience jaw pain, their teeth problems will get worse and often require dental interventions, and they may start to get migraines. And once into adulthood these problems will continue and they may even experience related issues such as irritable bowel disease, anxiety or depression, and an ongoing blocked sinus.

Your Dentist’s Solution

It’s easier if tongue and lip ties are cut immediately after birth. However, if this doesn’t occur than your dentist has the answer. While you’re in the dental chair, they can use a dental laser or incision scissors to quickly and easily cut the tie and release the tongue or lip. Dental lasers are the most effective and safest way to perform these procedures as they’re more precise, which means less damage to surrounding tissues. The laser also kills bacteria as it goes, which lowers the risk of infections.

These procedures are usually performed under a local anaesthetic. After the procedure you may experience some soreness or bleeding. Make sure you follow your dentist’s care instructions and the wound should heal in 2-7 days. In some cases, the tongue tie may reappear after the surgery, particularly in children. In these cases, the procedure will need to be performed again to free the tongue from the tie.