What is Tongue Tie?
Tongue tie Adelaide is a condition that is estimated to affect roughly 7 in every 1000 people, and it can impact a person’s life in a number of ways—starting from the early days of breastfeeding. Tongue-tie a condition where your tongue’s mobility is restricted by a short band of tissue (the lingual frenulum) beneath it. In turn, this has an impact on speech, ability to properly chew food, and even breathing. Most people get their tongue-tie treated during infancy with what’s referred to as a Tongue Tie Release or Frenectomy. Evident in the name, it’s a surgical procedure whereby professional dentistry or medical team will release the tether that is restricting mobility. Targeting the problem while children are young will enable them to naturally and normally develop their mouth muscles. Our treatment for tongue-tie Adelaide is highly safe and effective.
How can Adelaide Cosmetic Dentistry help you overcome tongue-tie Adelaide?
We do our upmost to make the process of releasing tongue-tie Adelaide as stress-free as possible for our clients. Firstly, we sit down and carry out a detailed assessment to verify whether the frenulum is the cause of the mobility issue. Once this has been confirmed, we give our client a small dose of local anaesthesia to block out any pain associated with the procedure. The dosage will generally be determined by the age of the client, and we might even use happy gas as an alternative for small children. We then carry out the procedure using a Waterlase laser, which will restore the client’s full range of motion in 2 to 5 minutes. Waterlase is an innovative and very precise piece of laser technology which ensures a safe, effective and fuss-free procedure. It’s a much less intimidating and alternative to dental tools like scalpels.
Our Philosophy
At Adelaide Cosmetic Dentistry, we follow the same philosophy across all our treatments—including tongue-tie Adelaide. Our goal is to come up with the most effective, yet least invasive solutions to ensure you achieve the results you want without the fuss. We understand that dental matters can arise at inconvenient times, so we strive to create a holistic service that is both accessible, and within the scope of your budget to minimise the physical and financial pain. From the moment you call up our clinic to communicate your problem and schedule an appointment, you’ll be warmed by our friendly staff. We make your experience comfortable by empathising with clients and responding to matters pro-actively. Whether you need cosmetic dentistry, general dentistry or a solution for tongue-tie Adelaide—our team have the expertise to help. Give us call on (08) 8271 9771 to schedule your appointment today!
There’s nothing more rewarding to us than seeing our clients walk away with a happy, healthy smile and full range of unrestricted motion. So, if you have questions, why not book a consultation with the friendly team at Adelaide Cosmetic Dentistry today. Our professional and qualified team will ensure you have the most comfortable experience attainable. With years of experience and a huge number of satisfied clients, we’re confident that we can customise a solution to meet your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
If another practitioner has also felt there is a tether in the way of the function or have observed a lip or tongue tie they are in a good position to send the family to us for further assessment. More importantly, a lactation consultant may be able to get you to feed better without a need for surgical intervention. Manual therapists such as physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors may be able to improve the function of the tongue as well, again averting the need for surgery.
There is no conclusive evidence to show that tethered freni cause issues in the future. This could be because an individual with tethered oral tissues learns to use the muscles in a compensatory way. Many adults, even with a severe tongue tie, can eat and speak normally seemingly with no issues. It is only after the tongue tie is released; they notice the difference in how they have been functioning. There are some studies that have linked a short lingual frenum to impaired growth of the jaws and to obstructive sleep apnoea. However, the medical community still debates this. Therefore, it is very hard to predict if a child will have issues in the future or not and to what extent.
There is a lot less research done on the role of lip ties on feeding compared to the tongue and no research on the role of buccal ties (short or restrictive buccal freni). What we know is cumulative experience from practices around the world which have seen thousands of infants. No published data exists to this point.
Again, there is no conclusive evidence that says one tool is better than the other. Dr Amrein has been using the Waterlase (hard and soft tissue) laser daily since 2007. This tool allows her to quickly and efficiently “ablate” the unwanted tissues and remove them with little collateral damage to the surrounding structures.
Like many aspects of this topic there is a big controversy on whether post-operative exercises need to be given or not. There is no evidence to say these exercises are effective as there is no research done on their efficacy. In our clinical experience we have seen time and again in various age groups that the edges of the tissues tend to heal together as tissues fold on top of each other if stretches are not done. Stretches are therefore effective to promote “healing by secondary intention”.
No. No general anesthetic is needed. Topical anesthetic and a few drops of sucrose are administered with parental consent. The procedure takes seconds, and the child is brought back to be fed immediately. They are only away from you for 2-3 minutes.
The topical anesthetics in the form of a numbing gel applied locally is quit an effective method to numb up the area before the procedure. Sucrose solution will also distracts the child from any discomfort. We compare the discomfort to immunization.
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