How Lip & Tongue Ties Lead to Crying Babies

As a parent, it’s very frustrating when your infant cries a lot. This situation is stressful and leaves you with frayed nerves. Still, your little one isn’t distressed for no reason. The reality is that lip and tongue ties can cause colic. Consequently, a child with either issue should get professional treatment. Your Phillipsburg pediatric dentist can even tell you why. To that end, here’s a summary of lip and tongue ties, how they cause colic, and why they need dental care.

Some Context: What are Lip & Tongue Ties?

Not every oral issue a baby can face is tooth-related. Instead, some have more to do with the surrounding mouth tissues. Lip and tongue ties are prime examples of these latter kinds.

Put simply, a lip tie is a condition where the upper lip’s skin attaches to the gums. It’s caused by soft tissues that usually recede during pregnancy. When this material sticks around, a person’s lip movement is prevented or restricted.

Overall, a tongue tie is similar to a lip tie. It occurs when tissue tethers the tongue’s tip to the bottom of the mouth. As such, someone with a tongue-tie may struggle to stick out their tongue.

How Do They Cause Colic?

Honestly, it’s only natural that lip and tongue ties cause colic. These things interfere with an infant’s early development.

You see, babies with lip or tongue ties will often have a poor latch. The latter can result in poor breastfeeding, with the infant taking in excess air in their tummy. Such excess leads to painful bloating that makes your little one cry.

At the same time, lip and tongue ties contribute to reflux symptoms. The extra air from a poor latch can push stomach contents up the esophagus. From there, the child will suffer physical and silent reflux.

Why Get Professional Treatment?

Fortunately, lip and tongue ties aren’t unfixable problems. Qualified dentists have the power to treat them.

For a lip tie, a dentist can perform a frenectomy. This service uses a laser to cut the skin between the lip and the gums. It’s also painless, as the procedure numbs your baby’s gums beforehand.

Alternatively, a dentist could treat a tongue tie with a frenotomy. This option would snip away the frenulum – the band of tissue connecting the tongue tip and mouth.

While lip and tongue ties can cause colic, they don’t have to persist. Talk to your local dental provider about treatment options for your baby!

About the Practice

DeMartino Dental Group is based in Phillipsburg, NJ. Led by Dr. Garcia-DeMartino, our practice is highly skilled at treating lip and tongue ties. Whether the patient is an infant, child, or even an adult, we’ll get the job done right! Plus, our methods are precise and take a gentle, effective approach to care. For more information or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (908)-859-5260.