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What Is Lip Tie in Babies You may have heard of ‘tongue-tied,’ but you may not be familiar with what a lip tie is. This refers to a condition in medicine that affects the movement of the lips. When a baby is born with a lip tie, it simply means that the skin between the upper lip and gums is too short or tight, hence causing reduced mobility. That often creates problems with nursing or feeding.
“Lip ties occur when the tissue, known as the frenulum, which connects the upper lip to the gums, is too short or too tight,” explains Leah Alexander, M.D. FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician in New Jersey. “Because of that, it’s difficult for the baby to move her lips up and down. This can cause difficulty with feeding, speech, oral hygiene, and even dental problems. Lip ties are more common in newborns than in older children.”
The Cochran Library explains that lip ties occur in 4 to 11% of newborns, so are somewhat common. What is not so well recognized as the cause of the tongue ties is the origin or cause of the lip ties, which may be believed to be hereditary?
What Causes Lip Ties in Babies?
The causes of ties of the lips are varied. For instance, some conditions may increase the possibility of atypical attachments of the lip. However, a frenulum that is too short, stiff, or tight forms the very basic reason behind lip ties in almost all cases.
“What happens is at about 12 weeks gestation, the soft tissue in this area begins to recede,” explains Christine Miroddi Yoder, MA, CSP, CLSE, a speech language pathologist and certified lactation supporter and educator. “With lip and tongue ties, that soft tissue remains. It’s not anything the parent did wrong, and we don’t yet know why that, in some cases, the tissue recedes and in others it does not.”
Signs and Symptoms of a Lip Tie
Most infant lip ties are discovered if/when the baby struggles to latch while nursing, but there are other signs, too.
Signs of a Lip Tie In Baby
Difficulty latching to the breast
Difficulty breathing while trying to feed
Becoming worn out or tired from the exertion of trying to feed
Slow or no weight gain
Gassiness, fussiness, and/or colic
Parents who breastfeed will know that the breasts still remain engorged following feeding as a result of the infant’s inability to latch or suck correctly. This can unfortunately lead to blocked ducts and mastitis, which can be chronic when a baby cannot empty the breast of milk. Sometimes, bottle feeding can help alleviate symptoms, but parents should have their children evaluated if the lip tie prevents them from feeding.
Do Lip Ties Affect Language?
Although many believe that lip and tongue ties can have an impact on language, the actual fact of the matter is that nobody really knows. As articulation disorders and lip and tongue ties are both pretty common in children, it is not unexpected to see them frequently co-occur. But correlation isn’t the same as causation.
“This is a hot-button topic amongst speech-language pathologists,” says Jessica Austin, MA, CCC-SLP speech-language pathologist at Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast, Maine. “There’s evidence that a tongue tie with or without a lip tie causes or contributes to feeding and swallowing issues, but there’s absolutely no evidence that it causes articulation or speech sound disorders.”
According to Austin, speech sounds don’t take that much movement of the tongue tip. “You can try it out at home,” she says. “/T/, /d/, and /n/ require that you touch the top of your tongue tip to the roof of your mouth. Austin states that very little movement of the tongue can be done for /s/ and /z/, but the tongue tip needs to be raised for them. However, the elevation required is pretty minimal.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Lip Ties
If you have noticed latching, sucking, and feeding issues, especially if the weight gain is slow, you need to consult a pediatrician. They can send you to a pediatric dentist for an oral exam. A pediatric dentist will likely ask you how often your child feeds, if they spit up or choke while feeding, and exactly what kinds of sounds your baby makes when suckling or swallowing; for instance, clicking.
Unfortunately, not all children will be properly diagnosed. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or ASHA, lip ties often go undetected because most infant exams do not include an upper lip or frenulum exam.
“Lip and tongue ties often get missed or dismissed,” says Dr. Yoder. “But they can result in an incorrect swallow called the tongue thrusting swallow. This can throw off the pressure in the mouth and cause oral concerns. It may also require people to need orthodontic work.”
If left untreated, lip ties can lead to dental problems, including diastema, a gap between the front teeth, and cavities, among many other problems. Lip ties might further result in future health problems later in life, especially in sleep apnea. The more tender age a child is diagnosed, the better their chances of avoiding dental and health-related problems.
Dr. Yoder says, “Having a lip tie does not necessarily mean that a child will have to endure associated health issues.”. “Ties don’t affect everyone the same,” says Dr. Yoder. “Just because two people have ties doesn’t mean their issues will be the same. One can have severe reflux and feeding issues, and the other may not have any problem with feeding, but they may develop sleep apnea as an adult.”
Also Read : Here’s When Babies Can Eat Eggs
Correcting a Lip Tie
Fortunately, correcting a lip or tongue tie is rather simple. Children can have the procedure done at any age, even in infancy. A trained professional, often a pediatric dentist or surgeon, then completes this correction by simply cutting the tie with a laser or scissors. “After numbing the soft tissue, one can complete this process in less than a minute.”
Also, remember that the effectiveness and the correct indications for redoing a lip tie are unknown in the medical literature and data. This is also kind of a controversial procedure. Consult with a pediatrician and or a pediatric care expert to determine what’s right for you and your child.
When To Call a Doctor
If you think your baby might have a lip or tongue tie, call a pediatrician and schedule a screening. If you are really concerned about ties—especially if you are struggling with feeding—know that diagnosing and treating ties is fairly easy.
“Kelly Fradin, M.D., director of pediatrics at Atria Institute in New York City and author of Advanced Parenting: Helping Children Through Diagnoses, Differences, and Mental Health Challenges, advises parents to seek out a provider trained in assessing and caring for children with lip and tongue ties rather than attempting to self-assess or self-diagnose. Many parents have expressed concerns about tethered oral tissues on social media.”. “In particular, looking at pictures online is not going to help you diagnose your child because it’s all about dynamic function and movement of the tongue and lip, not the appearance of the tissues.”
