A lip-tie is a common finding and presents differently depending on the age. Here are three simple ways to tell if your infant, child, or older child has a lip-tie.
1. In infants, most babies have a low frenum or piece of tissue under their upper lip that extends to the gum ridge. So, we can’t use location alone to determine if the baby has a lip-tie. We must check if it is tight when lifting (the baby cries, the tissue turns a white or “blanched” color or doesn’t flip out easily). We also need to check what symptoms it could be causing. Certainly, we would never want to put a baby or any other patient through a surgical procedure if there was nothing wrong.
Common symptoms associated with a lip-tie (restricted lip) are air swallowing symptoms: clicking noises, which leads to spit up, reflux, gas, colic, and even nasal congestion. It can also lead to milk leaking out of their mouth from a poor seal. Suppose an infant has several of these issues. In that case, it’s best to have an evaluation for a lip-tie from a provider who routinely treats lip-ties and has taken recent CE courses on the subject to be up-to-date on the latest diagnosis and treatment.
Lip-ties are not taught in medical or dental school (or lactation or speech programs, for that matter). Many healthcare providers tell our patients not to worry about the lip-tie because their child will “just fall and rip it.” This is not helpful advice, and especially not helpful to a mother of an infant who will not be walking for many months! If your baby has these issues, please message us or call us, and we will be happy to help you. We serve families from all over the USA and other countries and don’t require a referral.
2. In toddlers, we treat lip-ties because of difficulty or fighting when brushing the teeth, a large gap or diastema in the teeth, and their teeth don’t show when they smile. We also treat it to help with B, P, M, and W sounds, and it can even help with nasal breathing once that tissue is released. Some children even have trouble eating from a spoon and flip it over, and after the lip-tie is corrected, parents report they can eat from a spoon normally.
Treatment at any age is simple, as we use a numbing jelly and a CO2 laser to remove (basically erase) the tissue. It takes around 15-20 seconds, and often, the child cries, but not always, and then will calm down shortly afterward. Parents are allowed in the room for the quick procedure for kids 12 months and up. For little babies, we just borrow them for less than 5 minutes, swaddle them, do the procedure, and bring them right back so you don’t have to watch.
Stretches are necessary afterward, or else the tissue can regrow, and we will have to do the procedure again, or symptoms that already improved may reappear. Stretches are done 2-3 times a day for around four weeks but last only 10 seconds at a time.
3. In older children and adults, we release the lip-tie if there is a gap in the teeth, trouble brushing the teeth, poor tooth visibility when smiling, or for improved nasal breathing. Almost every older child or adult we have treated for a lip-tie has remarked that it is easier to breathe through their nose afterward, similar to if they had some nose spray. And the result is sustained long-term – not just for a few days or weeks.
Older children tolerate the procedure very well, and the best age to complete the lip-tie procedure for gap closure is either before 18 months old or around 7-8 years old when the incisors erupt. But if there are current symptoms (trouble brushing the teeth, etc.), it can be performed at any age. We use a numbing jelly, as well as a small injection of lidocaine to fully numb the area in older children who are cooperative.
Treating a lip-tie is straightforward if the provider knows how to do it safely, and it doesn’t require general anesthesia or a papoose board. We just have parents hold the child’s hands, and we get it done in about 15 seconds with the laser with minimal to no bleeding and a great result. If you’re interested in setting up a consultation for your child, just message us or call us at 205-419-4333, and we will be happy to go over all the details. We do the consultation and the procedure simultaneously, so it’s only one visit for those traveling long distances. We would love to serve your family and help your infant, child, or yourself with any lip-tie-related issues.
