EASING RESTRICTIONS OF YOUR TONGUE

Tongue-Tie Release

A tongue-tie, also known as ankyloglossia, occurs when the band of soft tissue, called the lingual frenulum, at the bottom of your tongue, is short or tight. This restricts your tongue movements.

This is usually a birth condition and can be identified in infants when mothers experience breastfeeding problems. It may also occur in adults as a result of severe scarring diseases, such as epidermolysis bullosa.

What is a Tongue-Tie Release?

A tongue-tie release is generally a simple procedure, where the tongue is lifted and the band of tissue attaching your tongue to the floor of the mouth is trimmed. This allows your tongue to move freely and engage in its full range of movements.

It is usually performed on infants as it is done with much greater ease at this stage as compared to an older child or adult.

Do I Need a Tongue-Tie Release?

A tongue-tie release is commonly done for babies to prevent stunted growth and tongue restriction. Babies with tongue-tie show signs and symptoms such as:

The mother having nipple pains during and after breastfeeding;

The mother having flattened-looking nipples after breastfeeding;
The mother having a white compression mark on the nipple after breastfeeding;
The baby failing to gain weight;
The baby having difficulty feeding and swallowing (during breastfeeding), which can cause inadequate nutrition.

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In more severe cases of tongue-tie, your tongue is not able to lift to touch the roof of your mouth. This can have many negative consequences, such as:

An inability to sweep food particles around your mouth;
Inaccurate speech and pronunciation;
The tip of the tongue involuntarily protruding out of your mouth;
Misalignment of your teeth from the lack of guidance input from your tongue, which guide the growth and positioning of your front teeth to grow;
Having difficulty brushing and flossing your teeth and gums, which eventually lead to tooth decay and gum disease.

A tongue-tie release can help to alleviate all of these problems.

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What Does the Procedure Involve?

Stage 1: Consultation

Evaluating Habits & Behavioural Patterns

Your dentist will ask you a series of questions regarding yours or your infant’s food consumption, speech, etc., and examine the mouth to determine the severity of the tongue-tie.

Stage 3: Post-Operative Care

After the procedure, your dentist will give you instructions on how to look after your mouth.

Stage 2: Tongue-Tie Release Procedure

The tongue-tie release is quick and will take less than 15 seconds and the results are immediate.
For infants, no anaesthetic will be given. They might experience slight discomfort during the procedure but they tend to recover speedily within minutes, often with no recollection. We recommend for your infant to immediately be breastfed after if possible, to help them revert their usual selves faster and more efficiently.
For older children or adults, a local anaesthetic may be needed before the procedure. Recovery is also generally quick.

What Are the Risks Involved?

Although infrequent, some risks this procedure carry is:

Bleeding;
Infection;
Damage to the tongue or salivary glands.

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Why Choose Nuffield Dental?

Nuffield Dental is a one-stop, multi-disciplinary dental care centre. At Nuffield, we put you first. We believe in providing personalised service for each patient.

Nuffield Dental is a one-stop, multi-disciplinary dental care centre. Here at Nuffield Dental, we pride ourselves of our personalised oral care for each and every one of our patients. We need to make sure you get all the help you need to make your dental procedures more comfortable, accessible and seamless.

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Our dentists have specialised in oral maxillofacial surgery for more than 20 years. We have accredited dental specialists who are skilled in the area of dental implant surgery.

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