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What Parents Should Know About Tongue-Tie Releases

It’s an increasingly common scenario faced by new mothers across the country: A lactation consultant examines their newborn and suggests that cutting a “tongue-tie” may ease their difficulty breastfeeding.

The quick procedure, known as a tongue-tie release, involves a dentist or doctor snipping a tight band of tissue connecting the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. In recent years, lactation consultants and dentists have aggressively promoted the procedures, even for babies with no signs of real tongue-ties and despite a modest risk of complications, a New York Times investigation recently found.

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Articles of Interest

Ankyloglossia and the SLP: A Look at Both Sides of the Frenectomy Debate

Whether you’re working in the NICU with newborns struggling to feed or helping older kids with swallowing or speech, the issue of tongue ties will come up sooner or later.

Clipping the (tongue) tie

This clinical study indicates that laser and electrocautery treatment used for frenectomy operations provides better patient perception in terms of postoperative pain and function than that obtained by the scalpel technique.

Frenotomy for tongue‐tie in newborn infants - Cochrane Library

Frenotomy reduced breastfeeding mothers’ nipple pain in the short term. Investigators did not find a consistent positive effect on infant breastfeeding. Researchers reported no serious complications, but the total number of infants studied was small. The small number of trials along with methodological shortcomings limits the certainty of these findings. Further randomised controlled trials of high methodological quality are necessary to determine the effects of frenotomy.

Prevalence, diagnosis, and treatment of ankyloglossia

The effect of ankyloglossia on breastfeeding has been a matter of controversy in the medical literature for 50 years. With the resurgence of breast-feeding, ankyloglossia has once again become an important clinical issue.

Tongue and Lip Ties

Are you experiencing pain while breastfeeding, possibly combined with slow weight gain for your baby? While the vast majority of such breastfeeding problems can be resolved by adjusting positioning and attachment, and with good breastfeeding management, occasionally tongue tie might be the cause of the problem.

Tongue tie: the evidence for frenotomy

For the majority of mothers, frenotomy appears to enhance maintenance of breastfeeding.

Tongue Ties and Lip Ties – When Should You Worry and Who Should You Consult?

Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a condition present at birth that restricts the tongue's range of motion. With tongue-tie, an unusually short, thick or tight band of tissue (lingual frenulum) tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth, so it may interfere with breast-feeding. Someone who has tongue-tie might have difficulty sticking out his or her tongue. Tongue-tie can also affect the way a child eats, speaks and swallows Sometimes tongue-tie may not cause problems. Some cases may require a simple surgical procedure for correction. The gold standard procedure (frenotomy or frenulectomy) uses a spatula device to lift the tongue and simple scissors to cut the thin webbing underneath.

US doctors are wrongly slicing off bits of babies' TONGUES 'to make breastfeeding easier' and leaving them with life-long deformities, investigation finds

A number of doctors told a New York Times investigation that it is money grab by dentists and lactation experts who are subject to extremely little government oversight. Surgery to release tongue ties – a condition in which an unusually short, thick, or tight band of tissue tethers the bottom of the tongue's tip to the floor of the mouth – involves lasering away that band of tissue. It has become a niche industry that, in some cases, brings in millions of dollars annually to dentists to perform the quick procedures for around $600 to $900 a pop on babies to ease breastfeeding.