Tongue-Ties Children & Adults Toowoomba

Many children and adults in Toowoomba may suffer from undiagnosed tongue-ties

The tongue-tie is medically known as Ankyloglossia and is a congenital issue that is more common in males. The condition is not always serious; however it can seriously impact the growth and development in some people.

The tongue tie is the tight piece of skin that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth.

In babies, this piece of skin should naturally separate from the tongue before being born, however in some cases this fails to detach and instead causes a tongue-tie.

Tongue-ties impact the natural movements of the tongue due to the tightness. Tongue-ties can also cause speech, swallowing, eating and breathing issues.

What causes tongue-ties?

Every infant is born with a tongue-tie, however it should naturally separate from the tongue. When it doesn’t it causes the tongue-tie issues which can have many negative impacts to the body.

It’s unknown why exactly the tongue-tie fails to detach from the tongue in some infants.

Symptoms of tongue-ties in children and adults

Signs that your child, or yourself have a tongue-tie include:

• Suffered difficulty breastfeeding from mother as an infant
• Strong gag reflex
• Grinding teeth
• Clenching teeth
• Crowded teeth
• TMJ pain or clicking jaw
• Suffer from migraines
• Neck or back pain
• Noisy breathing and snoring trouble
• Suffer from sleep apnoea
• Ear, nose and throat recurrent issues
• Extended pacifier use
• Thumb sucking or hair chewing
• Speaking is very tiring
• Brushing teeth is a challenge
• Decaying posterior teeth
• Bad breath is a frequent issue
• Difficulty chewing food
• Eat very slowly
• Digestion issues, including reflux
• Speech issues (t, d, l, s, z, r, sh, ch and th are difficult sounds to pronounce)

Tongue-ties can cause a wide range of possible symptoms in both children and adults, and if an issue related to your oral health, sleep or another health issue is present, it’s best to consult a health professional in any context.

Established dysfunctional issues when tongue-ties are untreated

For children and adults who have suffered with a tongue-tie since birth, it’s only natural to develop compensations for the lack of tongue mobility.

These compensations are responsible for many of the potential issues outlined in the symptoms mentioned in the previous section.

The problem is that developing other abnormal ways to compensate for reduced tongue mobility, causes issues with other parts of the body. Issues will begin in other parts of the body, which may cause worse problems than the original problem.

Fixing the tongue-tie won’t fix the dysfunctional issues caused by compensatory mechanisms.

To solve other bodily issues caused by compensatory behaviours, a child or adult may require a form of the following:

• Speech therapy
• Breathing practice
• Rehabilitation of muscles
• Nutrition training

How are tongue-ties diagnosed?

If your child or you are suffering from any of those symptoms listed above and overall has oral health issues, it’s important to get checked. At Kitchener Street Dental in Toowoomba we offer the full range of dental services, as well as laser technology to remove tongue-ties.

Our experienced team will perform a comprehensive examination on your child or yourself to establish whether you or your child suffer from a tongue-tie.

If a tongue-tie is found to be a problem, we perform the frenectomy treatment with state-of-the-art laser technology.

Children’s and Adult Laser Frenectomy treatment at Kitchener Street Dental

The laser frenectomy treatment is quick, simple and efficient, as it can be completed in a short appointment at our dental practice.

Laser frenectomy is superior over traditional removal of the tongue-tie that used scissors. The laser makes a clean cut that immediately cauterises.

Our team has undergone sufficient training and education in order to safely and effectively deliver laser surgical techniques to be able to remove tongue-ties.

What are the benefits of tongue-tie laser treatment?

Laser treatment is extremely beneficial as it reduces inflammation, bleeding and immediately coagulate wounds.

• Reduced collateral damage with lasers
• Lasers are bactericidal (which means they kill bacteria)
• Reduced chances of infection (due to less bacteria)
• Reduced bleeding (lasers coagulate wounds instantly)
• Reduced swelling and inflammation post treatment
• Discomfort and pain is reduced during treatments
• Lasers cause photobiomodulation (energy stimulant) which improves soft tissue healing due to an increased healing response at a cellular level.

Side-effects and post-treatment care

After a laser frenectomy, your child or yourself will experience a varying degree of discomfort for approximately a few days post laser treatment.

Pain-relief can be provided in the form of medication (paracetamol is useful) and it is important to avoid acidic, citrusy, other medications that are not recommended, and anti-inflammatory supplements.

We will also instruct you on how to ensure your wound heals as intended, as naturally wounds attempt to return to their original form. This means you will have to manage your wound by stretching it out to ensure the tongue-tie does return.

Tongue-tie laser treatment for children & adults Toowoomba

If you are interested and would like to book your child or yourself in for a consultation regarding tongue-ties issues and symptoms, please contact us today.