For Freer Lip and Tongue Movements
Maybe you have a child that’s having trouble breastfeeding or can’t speak clearly due to restricted tongue movements. Or perhaps you sometimes have trouble moving your own lips and tongue as freely as you should. Dr. Schrott can check whether you or your little one is experiencing a condition called tongue-tie or lip-tie – the natural consequence of an overdeveloped band of tissue in your mouth that restricts movement. He can then treat this issue with a short, gentle process known as a frenectomy. If you think your child has been dealing with a lip or tongue-tier, or if you think you might have one yourself, call today for a consultation.
What is Lip and Tongue-Tie?
There is a small band of tissue that connects your tongue to the floor of your mouth. A similar band of tissue connects the upper and lower lips to your gums. These tissues are known as frenula. When a frenulum is the proper size, it helps support the lips and tongue, and it aids in limiting movement in different directions. But if the frenulum is too developed, it can stop the tongue or lips from making the proper movements for eating and speaking. When this happens, it’s known as lip-tie or tongue-tie.
Does Lip and Tongue-Tie Need to Be Treated?
Even if your child does have lip or tongue-tie, they may not necessarily require treatment. In some cases, a mild tie can correct itself as a child is growing. More serious ties, on the other hand, can continue to cause life-changing issues in patients of all ages. A lip or tongue tie is generally considered serious enough to need a frenectomy if it causes any of the following problems:
- It makes it difficult to eat and swallow normally. In infants, this can mean breastfeeding difficulties.
- It causes speech impediments such as a lisp.
- It prevents the mouth from closing properly and leads to open mouth breathing (which can dry out the gums and contribute to gum disease and tooth decay).
- It causes a gap to form between the upper front teeth.
Dr. Schrott can perform a full examination of the mouth and will consider the existing symptoms carefully before determining whether or not a frenectomy is really required.
How Frenectomies Work
A tight frenum that’s causing lip or tongue-tie can be removed via a frenectomy in Belmont. This procedure can be performed on infants, children, and adults alike, and steps are always taken to make sure that the patient is as comfortable as possible. We will numb the area with a local anesthetic first so that there’s no discomfort during the procedure itself. Frenectomies are generally very short and usually do not take longer than 15 minutes.