Provided by Sleep Well Dickson
About Tongue & Lip Ties
Sleep Well Dickson provides tongue and lip ties for your baby.
Do you have a newborn and feel like breastfeeding is not going the way you had hoped it would? Don’t worry – you’re not alone!
Sleep Well Dickson does not take insurance. As a patient, you'll be responsible for all charges for this service.
All About Frenectomy Treatment
At Sleep Well Dickson we see patients and parents in our office regularly that have had issues with the following:
- Short feeding times
- Problems getting your baby to latch
- Inconsistent weight gain for baby
- Frequently using a nipple shield to prevent painful blisters
- Cracked and bleeding nipples
- Shortened milk supply
- Being told the problem is acid reflux with no help from reflux medications
- Sleepless nights
As it turns out, a large majority of those patients were lip and/or tongue-tied. This is a problem where the frenum (a normally thin and very elastic piece of muscle tissue connects the lips and the gums together and the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is restrictive and prevents proper movement of the lips and tongue.
Not only can this cause the above problems and challenges but also further growth and development issues down the road.
These restrictions not only affect the baby during infancy, but as they grow, it affects their speech, chewing, swallowing, breathing, and can cause large gaps between teeth as well as gum recession.
What to Expect at Your Visit
To begin, you'll come to Sleep Well Dickson for a free consultation. We'll sit down and evaluate the symptoms and conditions that the mom and baby are currently having.
Our team will take pictures in order to diagnose the lip and tongue tie classification. Afterward, we will thoroughly walk through the process for the parents for immediate aftercare, which is part of a two-week postoperative care program.
Immediately after the laser release is performed, we allow time for the baby and the mom to feed. There are many benefits of this, but it helps to prevent oral aversion for the baby after the laser procedure has been performed.
We want to follow up to make sure that everything is healing well, so we include a two-week postoperative appointment to evaluate the baby and also discuss improvement in the symptoms with the parents.
Laser Treatment vs. Conventional Treatments
Although hearing the word "laser" may send up a red flag, the reality is that the laser energy is much gentler and kinder for the tissue than other conventional treatment methods.
There are no stitches or sutures required and the healing is much easier and faster as well.
Because of this, we do not do any numbing so that the baby can properly feed immediately after the procedure. We see many benefits including the actual breast milk acting as an analgesic for the babies.
The Challenges of Tongue & Lip Ties
Being a new parent has some challenges, but when your baby has difficulties with eating, it can add unnecessary stress to parents.
Tongue and lip ties are common issues we see in young babies. Learn the signs of these conditions, how they can affect you and your child, and how Accent Smile Center can help to correct them.
Your Local Laser Dentistry Specialist
Dr. Ford Gatgens has gone above and beyond in his training to be certified with lasers. He has earned his fellowship in the World Clinical Laser Institute (WCLI) and also a fellowship/standard proficiency in the Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD).
This means that Dr. Gatgens has not only taken many tests on laser dentistry but also taken many hours of continuing education in the laser field as well. He's presented specific laser cases and had an oral examination.
Our goal is to educate the parents so that they understand this is not a decision that only affects the baby's teething but also will affect the baby's growth and development long-term. By properly diagnosing and releasing lip and tongue ties, your infant will be set up for success as they grow into a toddler and child.
Dr. Gatgens performed his very first laser lip and tongue release on an infant on his very own son, Charlie. Charlie had amazing results. All the challenges he had with eating and with acid reflux decreased. Charlie is now 2 1/2 years old and is thriving and very healthy!
Schedule a Consultation & Receive Same-Day Treatment
You can set up a free consultation at Sleep Well Dickson, and we can do your treatment the same day. This applies to infants, children and adults!