Effects Of Non Treatment

About 5% of children are born with some degree of frenulum restriction, also known as tongue tie or lip tie. What it means in practice, is that they suffer from restrictions of movement. It impedes the movement of the tongue or lips to various degrees.

"Okay, but what does it actually mean for my baby?"...

That means that your baby might have problems with suckling efficiently at the breast or bottle, which causes compensated ways of swallowing. This may lead to nipple pain and trauma, poor breast drainage, therefore, leading to a decrease in milk supply over time. 

When it comes to bottle feeding, tongue/lip ties cause incorrect function habit and increase intake of air, and often spilling and drooling milk. This will affect the formation of jaw bones and lead to exhaustion of your baby. Your baby has to work at least twice as hard to get the right amount of milk!

When breastfeeding success is not achieved and breast milk substitutes are used, optimum infant outcomes are reduced. This may lead to both short and long-term effects such as:

• Reduced immunity to disease if mother's milk is not used
• Increased risk of juvenile type diabetes, allergies and gastrointestinal problems
• Increased risk of spinal development abnormalities / increased risk of dental decay
• Increase risk of developing speech problems / increased risk of developing breathing problems
• Increased risk of poor oral hygiene / developing incorrect swallowing pattern
• Orthodontic problems and facial development abnormalities
• Poor weight gain
• ‘V’ shaped notch at the tip of the tongue
• Inability to stick out the tongue past the upper gums
• Inability to touch the roof of the mouth
• Difficulty moving tongue side to side
• Significant spacing or gap between upper or lower front teeth

So, get in touch with KIDS and our experienced and caring team will assist you with any questions and concerns you may have, and help you to navigate your way through the lip and tongue tie procedure.