How do we Treat Lip and Tongue Ties

Our Multi-Disciplined Approach

Here at KIDS, we know how difficult it can be to find the cause of a problem.

After multiple visits and still no diagnoses, it can be very stressful. Therefore KIDS has been created with a multi-disciplined approach by being able to provide a range of healthcare at a single location.

With having experienced healthcare professionals, we are able to provide you and your child with the care they deserve to find the cause of the problem, not just mask the symptoms.

Dr Hany is passionate about providing infants, children and their families with cutting-edge laser technology to ensure that lip and tongue tie procedures are completed with the utmost care.

With over 9 years experience using laser, Dr Hany is continually training and improving his knowledge and expertise on lip and tongue tie procedures to make sure that children within the Central Queensland area have access to the procedure.

Dr Hany has undertaken training in New Zealand under Dr Hisham from Laser Life Care Institute and ongoing training both here in Australia and overseas. 

With support from a range of Allied Health providers, Dr Hany's clinical skills are used to complement those of Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, Bowen Therapists, Lactation Consultants, Speech Physiologists, Dietitians, Podiatrists and Nutritionists.

Contact Us today to book an appointment with Dr Hany to see how he can help you.

Although there are other ways of treating lip and tongue ties, at KIDS we prefer using Hard & Soft Tissue Laser to provide the best results for our patients.

Let's have a look at benefits:

• Less invasive therapy, no cutting or sutures

• Virtually painless and less swelling

• Lasers remove infection and bacteria like no other method can

• Faster healing due to laser bio-stimulation of your cells

• Faster recovery than the conventional method

Now let us tell you something about traditional methods. Where a tongue tie is being released with a snip of scissors, the tissue here is very thin and there is a greater chance that it will bleed significantly. What about lip ties then? Those are thick and fleshy, which means when they are cut they not only bleed but also require stitches (suturing). Furthermore, this requires your baby to stay still, which is practically impossible with babies or small children. We understand how hard this can be! That is why this procedure can only be done with a general anaesthetic.

Laser sounds way better now, right?

Hard & Soft Tissue Laser allows for releasing tongue ties and lip ties without bleeding. This means that stitches are not required, therefore a general anaesthetic for your baby is not needed. All we need is baby to be held still for a while and using a small amount of local anaesthetic in the lip. And guess what? It's totally painless!

Using laser allows for a more considered approach, because of the preciseness of the laser. It is designed to focus on the area of treatment and allows your baby's lip and tongue ties to be released at the same time.

If you want to treat your baby's lip and tongue ties with laser*, sign up to KIDS. We are the only practitioners in Central Queensland that have invested in this advanced technology and training to give you and your family the optimal care and results.

KIDS Fotona Lightwalker Laser

Our laser used at KIDS is the most advanced laser of its type in Central Queensland - The Fotona LightWalker Hard & Soft Tissue Dental Laser.

For our patients who are into the technical aspects of our Hard & Soft Tissue Laser......here you go!

In LightWalker, both “gold standard” laser wavelengths are produced by solid crystal lasers that can significantly outperform diode lasers in terms of peak power and the range of pulse durations.

The LightWalker provides fast, efficient cutting with unmatched patient comfort. With the advent of QSP technology and higher output power (several kW), the LightWalker ATS has established a new standard for ablation/cutting speed. This new accelerated cutting speed provides the speed and precision, while simultaneously increasing patient comfort.

LightWalker provides precise tissue surgery with simultaneous disinfection. The homogeneous absorption of the Nd:YAG laser in soft tissue results in controlled tissue vaporization with simultaneous coagulation for superior healing and disinfection.

Contact us today to make an appointment for an assessment.

* Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.

Role of Lactation Consultant

A Lactation Consultant plays a critical role in the entire process of identification, care and re-education of mother and child before, during and after the lip and tongue tie procedure. She will identify problems and work with you to achieve your goals, mapping out an individual care plan for you and your baby.

When an infant has had a restriction, it is important to retrain both mother and baby on how to best achieve normal feeding. We work with the Lactation Consultant to ensure your child gets the optimal long term outcome for lifelong health benefits.

The Lactation Consultant can help you with:

- Positioning and attachment difficulties

- Slow weight gain

- Compromised (low) milk supply

- Breast and nipple care due to damage

- Discomfort or pain while nursing

- Blocked ducts / thrush / mastitis

- Sleep deprivation due to frequency of feeding

- Anxiety, stress and fatigue

- Breast and/or bottle refusal

For more information about our Allied Health support team, contact us today.

For breastfeeding support, visit Australian Breastfeeding Association or call the help line on 1800 686 268 to speak to a trained Breastfeeding Counsellor or the Australian Raising Children Site

We highly recommend that patients receive chiropractic therapy in the 24 hours prior to treatment as well as another one 48 hours after treatment. Let us explain why:

The treatment undertaken by an experienced and qualified Chiropractor increases the flexibility and suppleness of the muscles in the mouth, neck and head. This then has a positive impact on the outcome of the treatment. Chiropractic also plays an important role in establishing new muscle habits along with new neural pathways.   

Why do we recommend Chiropractic or Cranio-sacral therapy Pre and Post Frenectomy?

The human body is an amazing, intelligent and complex jigsaw puzzle. Everything within it is intrinsically linked and works to allow optimal functioning. In case of any functional restriction or inhibition, it innately compensates elsewhere to allow that function to continue.

In the case of a tongue/lip tie, there is an over-activation of the surrounding musculature. That places unbalanced stress on the developing cranial and skeletal structures. Because the frenulum is a midline structure of the body, as are the spine and nervous system, quite often when restriction occurs in the mouth, it is also noted in the spine. For this reason, having a Chiropractor or other specialised Cranio-sacral therapist helps to release these areas of restriction, enhances the outcome of the frenectomy procedure, and allows the body to heal more efficiently.

To ensure that the body functions at its best to optimally integrate the procedure, therapy performed before the procedure is needed. Chiropractors adjust the spine and cranial system so that any areas of potential interference to the nervous system are removed. This allows the brain to better control optimal healing of the body. It also allows the body to accurately relay messages back to the brain. Surgeons often underline that it is much easier for them to access the tissues in the area of treatment, especially when it comes to the floor and roof of the mouth, because the muscles and soft tissue have been released and are more relaxed. The child feels more comfortable as well, so usually is way more relaxed during the procedure.

What does a Chiropractic adjustment entail?

First of all, the pressure used to adjust a child or baby is incredibly gentle and much like a soft massage. Particular attention is usually paid to releasing areas of tension at the top of the body, near the base of the skull, or at the base of the spine or tailbone. These are the areas that the spinal cord attaches. At the same time these are the areas of greatest restriction within a tongue tied child.

Furthermore, specific attention will be paid to releasing tension from the cranial structures (the skull), which also includes parts of the mouth. It's very gentle and doesn't cause any discomfort at all. The therapist will gently release these areas of tension with the amount of pressure known as "eye-ball" pressure – just enough pressure to help release the area of restriction. No less, no more than needed.

What about post-procedure therapy?

It aims to release the soft tissue restrictions that have compensated for the lack of tongue/lip movement. You will be given detailed cranio-sacral exercises, demonstrated in an easy way so that carers of the child can continue to do them later.

As practitioners, it is integral that we work closely together to achieve best results. To ensure the best outcomes it is worth to combine both body and the procedure together. The procedure is going to be better accepted by the patient and healing will be enhanced post revision.

Clinical observation has shown us that patients who have utilised both Chiropractic or Cranio-sacral care either side of frenectomy treatment have significantly less chance of needing further revision done.

There are also options for Bowen Therapy and Remedial Massage that will also assist pre and post lip and tongue tie treatment.

For more information about our Allied Health support team, contact us today.

* Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.