Was your child born with tongue-tie? Are they having trouble eating and developing speech? Board-certified pediatrician Ahmad Kayass, MD, at Tots N Teens Pediatrics treats infants with tongue-tie with a frenotomy, which frees the tissue trapping the tongue’s movement. If your child’s tongue-tie needs resolution, call the Plano, Mesquite, or Forney, Texas, office to set up an appointment, or use this website to schedule online.
A frenotomy is a procedure performed on the lingual frenulum in infants and children. The lingual frenulum holds the bottom of the tongue’s tip to the floor of the mouth. Some infants are born with a lingual frenulum that is thick, tight, or too short. As a result, they can’t move their tongue easily in their mouth and have tongue-tie.
Sometimes tongue-tie is corrected before your infant leaves the hospital. Some parents don’t notice tongue-tie until they’ve already been discharged. In other cases, a wait-and-see approach was taken to tongue-tie in hopes that the lingual frenulum would loosen up on its own.
A frenotomy may be required if this tissue doesn’t naturally free itself.
Tongue-tie sometimes interferes with sucking and swallowing, so infants have trouble breastfeeding. As your child gets older, tongue-tie interferes with speech development and self-confidence.
Tongue-tie doesn’t always cause problems, though. Some children do just fine without a frenotomy. Dr. Kayass can evaluate your child’s tongue to determine the appropriate treatment.
Your child may have tongue-tie and would benefit from a frenotomy if they have:
Reach out to Tots N Teens Pediatrics if your child is struggling to breastfeed. Older children who demonstrate challenges with speech development or complain about eating certain foods may also have tongue-tie.
In some cases of tongue-tie, a tight frenulum loosens on its own, and no medical intervention is necessary. You can’t always take this wait-and-see approach if tongue-tie interferes with breastfeeding or other oral functions.
Rest assured that a frenotomy is a simple procedure performed in the office. After numbing the area, Dr. Kayass uses sterile surgical scissors to snip the tissue free. There aren’t a lot of nerve endings or blood vessels in the frenulum, so discomfort and bleeding is minimal. Your baby can even breastfeed right after a frenotomy.
If you think your child has tongue-tie that’s interfering with their development, call Tots N Teens Pediatrics today or use the online tool to schedule an appointment.