Tongue-tie is one of the most common disorders in newborn babies. Follow these tips for tongue-tie release aftercare for better recovery of your child.
What is a Tongue-Tie Release?
A tongue-tie is a situation when a tight band of tissues connects the lower end of the tongue to the floor of the mouth, disabling the baby to eat and speak properly. In some babies, the tight band of tissues loosens up on its own with time, but in some cases, surgery is the only way out. A frenectomy surgery is carried out in babies to cut down the frenulum in the baby’s mouth. The doctors give anesthesia to the baby so that the procedure feels painless to them.
Tongue Tie Release and Food
It usually depends upon the type of surgery that the baby needs to undergo for their tongue-tie release. Sometimes, the doctors advise the parents to feed them after 2 to 3 hours of frenectomy surgery. There are times when the baby has to stay on a liquid diet for a couple of days after the surgery. The recovery time also depends upon the type of surgery that the baby undergoes.
In laser treatment, the baby can get back to the regular diet after two weeks of the surgery. The surgery involves cutting down a band of tissues under the tongue. It creates a wound after the surgery. A short recovery period is required as per various doctors to get enough time to heal the wound. Initially, you can serve only soft food items to the baby so that they don’t have to put much pressure on the tongue while chewing.
Tongue Tie Release Aftercare
Since it is a painless surgery, the parents need not panic about the aftercare. All you need to do is to keep the following points in mind while taking care of a baby who has just undergone frenectomy surgery:
- Frenectomy surgery is a painless surgery. Since the child is injected with anesthesia, s/he does not feel any pain at the time of the surgery. But, the pain may develop once the effect of anesthesia starts vanishing. You can consult your dentist or child’s pediatrician about the over-the-counter medication or painkillers.
- If your child faces problems while breastfeeding and is showing the signs that s/he is losing weight visibly in the recovery phase of the surgery, then consult your doctor immediately. Your doctor will suggest some medication to reverse the side effects of frenectomy surgery.
- There are chances that the frenulum present under the tongue re-attaches with time. The child must have a particular exercise routine in the day so that there is a vigorous movement in the tongue and there are no chances of reattachment.
- You must also consult your doctor or pediatrician about the movement of the baby’s lips and mouth.
Tips to Ponder About Tongue-Tie Release
We don’t know everything about various things that come around in life. Fortunately or unfortunately, tongue-tie is one of them. There are a lot of things that you do not know about this condition. The best part is that these facts about tongue ties and their release come from dentists and pediatricians.
- Tongue-tie is one of the most common condition found in kids. It may sound worrisome at times, but there is nothing to panic about the condition.
- Some studies say that you cannot diagnose a tongue tie just with the help of a camera. You need proper consultation and examination from an expert dentist or child pediatrician.
- Children with tongue ties, untreated or after surgery, find it difficult to latch out the milk from the mammary glands. This causes weakness and weight loss to a great extent.
- You must observe for at least four to five days about your child’s habits and the impact of the external environment on the baby.
- Sometimes, it goes untreated because naked eyes cannot judge if it is a tongue tie or strawberry tongue.
- Before going for a tongue tie surgery, you must be fully aware about the surgery. Talk to the medical practitioner or do some independent research online.
