What Is a Lip Tie?
Inside the mouth there is a small bit of skin/tissue where the gum-line attaches to the upper lip. This piece of skin is known as labial frenulum. When the labial frenulum attaches too much of the upper lip to the gum-line it is called a lip tie. A lip tie can cause a number of issues with the dental health and wellness of an individual.
Problems Caused by Lip Ties
Dental alignment issues can develop later in life if someone has been living with a lip tie. For example, a person may not be a candidate for dentures later because of how far down the labial frenulum is positioned on the gumline.
Babies with lip-ties are common and it creates many problems with nursing. Mothers may experience issues with extra long nursing sessions, difficulty getting the baby to latch and painful nipples after nursing.
Babies with lip ties need to suck harder and longer because they cannot latch properly during nursing. This may result in issues with feeding and problems with gas.
To eliminate this excess tissue, a surgery known as a labial frenectomy can be performed.
During a consultation at our practice, we can consider various factors that may impact a baby’s dental health and wellness.
Lip Tie Release at the Dental Office
A lip tie release is a simple procedure and can even be performed on infants. The earlier the diagnosis and treatment, the higher chance the procedure will work effectively. Dr. Wing can diagnose a lip tie in-office and perform surgery to rectify the problem.
It’s important to note that lip tie treatment results aren’t always immediate. Your child may need time to adjust to moving their lip without restrictions. Infants likely adjust faster, while toddlers and older children may still require some therapy.If you believe your child may have a lip-tie we recommend booking an initial consultation with Dr. Wing.
