Lip & Tongue Tie Treatment – Albuquerque, NM
Restore Oral Function Quickly & Comfortably
While lip and tongue ties are often diagnosed in infants, they can actually affect people of all ages who didn’t have the conditions addressed when they were younger. Our specialty dental team is able to help absolutely anyone dealing with lip or tongue-ties, from babies on up, using our fast and comfortable laser treatment. Often, we can diagnose the condition and treat it at the same appointment to provide immediate and lasting relief through advanced treatment for lip and tongue-ties in Albuquerque, NM.
Why Choose Center for Dental sleep Medicine & TMJ of New Mexico for Lip & Tongue Tie Treatment?
- Pain-Free Laser Treatment
- Medical Insurance Accepted
- Work With Patients of All Ages
How Do Lip and Tongue Ties Develop?
Lip and tongue-ties result from thick, malformed tissues in the mouth. Lip-ties are when the tissue that connects the lip to the gums is too short or thick, therefore preventing optimal mobility. If this is the case for an infant, this can make it more difficult to breastfeed. Tongue ties result from a lingual frenulum, the tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth, that is too short, thick, or malformed. Here are some signs that may point to a lip or tongue-tie:
- Difficulty latching during breastfeeding
- Digestive issues, like colic or reflux
- Being unable to hold a pacifier in their mouth
- Prolonged nursing sessions
- Misaligned or crooked teeth
- Sleep breathing problems
- Discomfort when eating difficult-to-chew foods
- Large space between the top teeth
Why is it Important to Treat Lip & Tongue Ties?
When left untreated, lip and tongue-ties can lead to different developmental issues for children. Here are some of the most prominent:
- Speech delays or difficulty speaking
- Digestive problems, like acid reflux
- Breathing difficulties and airway issues
- Forward head and neck posture
- Teeth grinding (bruxism)
Lip & Tongue Tie Treatment
The most common way to address lip tie or tongue tie is with a quick and simple procedure known as a “frenectomy.” The first step is to give a patient a thorough examination, in which we’ll test the mobility of their lips and tongue as well as closely look at their frenulums. If we determine that yes, they do have a lip and/or tongue-tie, we will schedule them for laser treatment. In some cases, we can complete the procedure on the same day as the exam.
Laser treatment for lip and tongue-ties offers several advantages compared to the traditional method of simply snipping the offending tissue with a pair of surgical scissors. Firstly, the laser is much more precise, meaning we’re able to remove only what we need (which is extremely helpful when treating very small mouths), and it causes practically no pain or bleeding afterward. The procedure itself takes a matter of minutes, and the recovery time is virtually non-existent.