Lip Tie Treatment
Is your baby is struggling with breastfeeding or bottle feeding, or if you’ve noticed a gap between your child’s front teeth? If so, a lip tie might be the cause.
Many parents haven’t heard of lip tie, but it’s actually quite common and very treatable.
At Valley Advanced Tongue Tie Center, we help families understand lip tie in simple terms and provide the gentle, effective treatment that can transform your feeding experience.
What is Lip Tie?
Lip tie occurs when the small piece of tissue that connects your upper lip to your gums (called the labial frenulum) is too thick, short, or tight.
Just like with tongue tie, everyone has this piece of tissue, but sometimes it develops in a way that restricts normal lip movement.
When the upper lip can’t move freely, it can create significant challenges, especially with feeding in babies.
Think of it like a tight string that prevents your lip from lifting properly. When a baby tries to breastfeed or bottle feed, they need to be able to flange their upper lip outward to create a good seal.
If the lip tie is restrictive, the baby can’t do this effectively, which makes feeding difficult and often painful for mothers who are breastfeeding.
How Lip Tie Affects Feeding and Development
Feeding Challenges in Babies: When babies have lip tie, they often struggle to create the proper seal needed for effective feeding.
You might notice your baby has difficulty latching, frequently loses suction during feeding, or seems to work very hard but doesn’t seem to get enough milk.
Clicking sounds during feeding are common, and many mothers experience sore, cracked, or damaged nipples because the baby can’t maintain proper latch.
Impact on Mothers: Breastfeeding mothers often bear the brunt of lip tie challenges.
Without proper lip seal, babies may compress the nipple instead of drawing it into their mouth correctly.
This can cause significant pain and feelings of frustration when the real issue is that their baby can’t extract milk efficiently due to the lip restriction.
Long-term Effects: As children grow, untreated lip tie can contribute to gaps between the front teeth.
The tight tissue can create constant pressure that prevents the front teeth from coming together properly.
Signs That a Lip Tie Treatment Might Be Needed
Physical Signs: The most obvious indicator is a thick, tight, or short band of tissue connecting the upper lip to the gums.
When you gently lift your baby’s upper lip, you might see tissue that extends close to or between the front teeth.
Feeding Difficulties: Persistent latching problems, frequent breaking of suction during feeding, very long feeding sessions, or weight gain issues despite frequent feeding attempts are all concerning signs.
Maternal Symptoms: Pain during breastfeeding that doesn’t improve with positioning changes, nipple damage that persists despite working with lactation consultants, or feelings that your baby isn’t effectively emptying your breast during feeding sessions can all indicate lip tie issues.
Our Gentle Treatment Approach
At Valley Advanced Tongue Tie Center, we understand that the idea of any procedure on your baby can feel scary.
Our approach focuses on making lip tie treatment as comfortable and stress-free as possible for both babies and parents.
Advanced Technology: We use state-of-the-art technology for lip tie release that offers significant advantages over traditional surgical methods.
Our advanced techniques are incredibly precise, allowing us to release exactly the right amount of tissue while preserving surrounding healthy areas.
Quick and Gentle Procedure: Lip tie release typically takes just a few minutes to complete. The procedure is designed to be as gentle as possible, with most babies experiencing minimal discomfort.
Many babies are able to feed immediately after treatment, often with noticeable improvement in their ability to latch and maintain suction.
What to Expect During Treatment
Pre-Treatment Consultation: We begin with a thorough evaluation to assess how the lip tie is affecting your baby’s feeding and your breastfeeding experience.
The Treatment Process: During the procedure, we use gentle positioning to keep your baby comfortable and secure.
The actual release takes just minutes, and most babies tolerate it very well.
We often encourage mothers to be ready to feed immediately after treatment.
Recovery: Recovery from lip tie treatment is typically very smooth.
Most babies return to normal feeding patterns within hours, often with significant improvement.
Benefits of Lip Tie Surgery
Feeding Success: When lip tie is successfully treated, breastfeeding often becomes significantly more comfortable for mothers and more efficient for babies.
Proper lip function allows babies to create the seal they need for effective milk transfer.
Family Well-being: When feeding challenges are resolved, stress levels decrease for the entire family.
Better feeding often leads to better sleep for everyone, and parents feel more confident in their ability to nourish their baby successfully.
Long-term Benefits: Early lip tie treatment can support proper dental development and prevent potential orthodontic issues later.
Why Choose Valley Advanced
Our specialized focus on lip tie and tongue tie treatment means families receive care from providers who truly understand these conditions and their impact on families.
Our team has extensive experience working with babies and young children, using gentle techniques that help babies feel secure during treatment.
We provide thorough education and support throughout the treatment process, helping parents understand what to expect and how to optimize their baby’s recovery.
Our approach includes working closely with lactation consultants when appropriate to ensure feeding success.
Do you or your child need a tongue-tie or lip-tie release? Call us at (717) 253-9839 or fill out our contact form to schedule your consultation today!