Tongue & Lip Ties

Oftentimes mothers will have issues trying to breastfeed their little ones from day one.  They too often are told or assume there's something wrong with them and are often encouraged to go straight to formula.  In reality, there can actually be a problem with the oral anatomy of their new little one's mouth that is creating some of the difficulties.  Tongue tie occurs when a remnant of the connective tissue holding the tongue to the floor of the mouth while still an embryo fails to disappear prior to birth.  A lip tie occurs similarly when the upper lip attaches via a tether (called a frenum) too low on your baby's gums, making the necessary flange needed to properly latch difficult or impossible.  With a simple procedure called a laser frenectomy (laser tongue tie revision or laser lip revision are other terms) we can more often than not help improve this issue.

Dr. Roy became interested in tongue ties when their youngest son was born. While still in the hospital after his birth, Dr. Roy noted his son had the most restrictive type of tongue tie where the tip of his tongue was connected to the ridge where teeth would eventually come in.

Having spoken with numerous physician and dentist colleagues Dr. Roy realized there is an utter lack of education on tongue and lip ties in both dental and medical schools.

He traveled around the country to learn from some of the foremost experts who have been treating this condition for up to thirty years. After he’d read, visited offices and researched for nearly a year he felt he had learned sufficiently and began assessing babies and, when warranted, successfully performing revisions on infants. He now treats nearly thirty infants every month for this condition.

Dr. Roy has given seminars and lectures attended by physicians, nurses, dieticians, IBCLC (international board certified lactation consulants) and midwives in an effort to help spread the knowledge on how to properly assess for TOTs (tethered oral tissues). He has also had several colleagues visit to observe his techniques.

Other resources:

• www.DrGhaheri.com Dr. Bobby Ghaheri is an ENT in Portland, OR. Dr. Roy flew out to observe his technique. His TOTs blog is invaluable.

• http://tinyurl.com/h7jk74t Dr. Scott Siegel is an Oral Surgeon who published this study on the link between aerophagia (swallowing air) and TOTs.

• www.KiddsTeeth.com Dr. Lawrence Kotlow is a pediatric dentist in New York and has a tremendous amount of info on TOTs as well as a book.

• http://tinyurl.com/zyh4hwe Dr. Donna Geddes published a study using ultrasound to show the movement of the tongue before & after treatment.