About Tongue Ties

Do you have a newborn and struggle with breastfeeding? Don’t worry—you’re not alone! Mountain West Dental Specialists provides tongue tie/laser frenectomy treatments.

Tongue Ties

We see patients and parents in our office regularly that deal with:

  • Short feeding times
  • Problems getting baby to latch
  • Inconsistent weight gain for baby
  • Frequently using a nipple shield to prevent painful blisters
  • Cracked and bleeding nipples
  • Shortened milk supply
  • Being told the problem is acid reflux with no help from reflux medications
  • Sleepless nights

As it turns out, most of those patients had a tongue tie. This is a problem where the frenum (a usually thin and very elastic piece of muscle tissue that connects the lips and the gums and the tongue to the floor of the mouth) is restrictive and prevents proper lip and tongue movement.

These restrictions not only affect the baby during infancy, but as they grow, it affects their speech, chewing, swallowing, and breathing, and can cause large gaps between teeth and gum recession. This cause the problems and challenges we mentioned above and cause growth and development issues down the road.

What to Expect at Your First Visit

We'll start with a consultation to evaluate the symptoms and conditions that mom and baby are having. Our team will take pictures to diagnose the lip and tongue tie classification.

Next, we will walk through the immediate aftercare process with the parents, which is part of a two-week postoperative care program.

Immediately after Dr. Tomlin performs the laser release, we allow time for the baby and mom to feed. This has many benefits, but it helps prevent oral aversion for the baby after we complete the laser procedure.

Finally, we'll follow up to make sure that everything is healing well, so we include a two-week postoperative appointment to evaluate the baby and discuss improvement in the symptoms with the parents.

Laser Treatment vs. Traditional Methods

Although hearing the word "laser" may send a red flag, the reality is that laser energy is much gentler and kinder for the tissue than other conventional treatment methods.

No stitches or sutures are required, and the healing is much easier and faster. Because of this, we do not do any numbing so that the baby can properly feed immediately after the procedure. We see many benefits, including the actual breast milk acting as an analgesic for babies.

Schedule a Dental Appointment to Correct a Tongue Tie

Schedule a dentist appointment in our Las Vegas office to determine if your child has a tongue tie and how laser frenectomy treatment can help.