No parent wants to have to face a medical situation affecting their child at any age. It’s perhaps harder still when the infant is still a babe-in-arms. A parent’s healthy and natural instincts are to protect the child from the stress and strain of medical procedures while hoping and praying that the baby will stay and return to full health quickly and naturally.
There are some medical issues that uniquely affect newborns, and each newborn differently. Tongue-tie is an example of such a condition. Not every tongue-tie is serious, but ignoring a tongue-tie can frustrate a child’s development, place unnecessary stress on the child and a nursing mother, and have long-lasting consequences. Thankfully, though, a simple treatment is available with the support of a tongue tie specialist in Tampa — laser frenectomy. Here’s the essentials you need to know about treating tongue tie with laser frenectomy.
What is tongue-tie?
Tongue tie is a condition more technically known as ankyloglossia, a condition that affects approximately five percent of newborns. A newborn with ankyloglossia has a piece of tissue called a frenulum that connects the infant’s tongue to the bottom of his mouth. That tissue is present in the womb but, in most cases, detaches from the tongue entirely on its own before the baby is born.
There are four common signs that your child may have a tongue tie:
● If her tongue curls into the shape of a heart as she cries
● If her tongue curls into the shape of a cup
● If it seems like he can not lift his tongue freely, or move it sideways
● If he struggles to latch to a nursing mother’s breast while breastfeeding
If you notice any of these early indications of a potential tongue-tie, you should consult with a tongue tie center in Tampa to confirm the diagnosis and get advice about any interference with your child’s health or development. Tongue-ties are not necessarily a cause of concern, but can have serious implications in some circumstances. A tongue tie specialist in Tampa can help you to understand whether your child’s tongue-tie is innocuous or if it requires treatment due to feeding problems, speech impairment, complications of oral hygiene, or restricted range of tongue motion.
How is tongue-tie treated at a tongue tie center in Tampa?
If your tongue tie specialist in Tampa determines, after assessing your child and her development, that treatment is appropriate, there is a quick, minimally invasive, and painless treatment option: laser frenectomy. During a laser frenectomy, a laser is used to make a tiny incision to separate your child’s frenulum — the tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of her mouth — from her tongue. The procedure takes just seconds and occurs in your practitioner’s office at the children’s tongue tie center in Tampa.
Laser frenectomy treatment in Tampa offers a wide variety of advantages. Those advantages include:
● You’ll be able to hold and comfort your child during the frenectomy, which reduces any stress for both parent and child
● Laser frenectomy treatment is painless, and so minimally invasive that many infants sleep through the entire thing
● Because of the cauterizing effect of the laser, the procedure produces next to no bleeding
● That same cauterizing effect and lack of bleeding eliminates the risk of infection
● Neither a needle nor stitches will be required, which makes the entire process less invasive, uncomfortable, and stressful
● Your child will be able to feed successfully immediately without any requirement for a recovery period
Treating your infant’s troublesome tongue-tie with a laser frenectomy will almost instantly enable painless and fruitful breastfeeding for the benefit of mother and child. Not only will the child’s parents feel relieved, the child will perhaps newly thrive and gain healthy weight. A successful frenectomy can also eliminate a potential impediment to speech development and allow full range of healthy tongue motion as your child grows.
Every medical procedure involving an infant is worrisome, of course. Laser frenectomy treatment at a tongue tie specialist in Tampa, though, is painless and immediately life-changing for parents and child.