Lip tie in Babies and Infants: Symptoms, Cause, Best Treatments

Breast feeding can be cumbersome with new-borns. When children find difficulty in pronouncing certain sounds when they begin to talk. In the case of adolescents who have a large gap between their front teeth face problems while speaking. The commonality of all these above mentioned instances are related to either lip tie or being tough tie.

Table of Contents

What is a Lip tie?

A lip tie is a condition that generally occurs during the infancy period. When the labial frenulum, tissue is attached behind the upper lip with the gums. The more astonishing thing is that sometimes parents do not know this problem.

Lip tie may not be familiar as tongue-tie, but the treatment of lip tie is very similar to tongue-tie. Frenulum can be attached very firm and loose. It disturbs the movement of the lips and creates problems in speaking and feeding.

Lip tie is not critical if diagnosed; doctors may advise accordingly to enhance their weight.

How would you know?

Sometimes you observe a few unusual activities or consider lip tie symptoms in your child. It can be from the below-given list:

If a labial frenulum seems very firm.
If your baby is not doing latching enough feed.
If he makes a clicking sound while breastfeeding.
Too much-spitting milk.
Poor weight gain or lack of latching.
Colic
Mastitis
Difficulty in breathing during feeding.
Occurring pain during breastfeeding.
Jaundice in early stage in which skin of baby turns slightly yellow.

If you ever feel that your baby has the problem of lip tie, then you should contact your pediatrician immediately; lip-tie treatment is not impossible. Only the following can provide you with suitable suggestions:

Your child’s pediatrician
If your child is doing breastfeeding, lactation expert.
A dentist who guides you for correcting lip tie

Besides the above-given details, this problem may affect your baby as they get older. Untreated lip tie can result in speech delay, sleep apnea, chewing and swallowing food. There is a noticeable gap between the front two teeth.

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Complications of lip tie in babies

A lip tie does not have too many complications in nursing babies. When a baby cannot do latching properly. It does the number of issues, few of them are followings:

Pain during nursing even for a long time.
Itchy, sore, and cracked nipples in the mother’s breast
Malnourishment and dehydration in the affected baby
The risk of breastfeeding-related infections can be yeast infections or mastitis in the woman.
The breastfeeding duration is concise.
The affected baby does not gain weight

There are multiple levels of lip tie, in which the fourth one is the most severe. These levels are followings:

Level 1 – Mucosal
Level 2 – Gingival
Level 3 – Papillary
Level 4 – Papilla Penetrating

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How to deal with the diet of the lip tied baby?

Different breastfeeding techniques make it comfortable for babies in nursing. Some techniques are followings:

Frequently feeding the baby:

If your child has a lip tie issue, make sure that he gets enough food. For this, you should feed him as frequently as you can. Avoid your breast from becoming hard and engorged so that your child can latch easily.

Keep the position of your baby’s chin downward:

This position can help your child in deep latching. So that child can get enough feed.

Feed milk by hand or with the help of a pump:

This way of feeding milk can ensure an adequate milk supply to your baby. It has the option of getting sufficient food for the child, which helps him for proper growth.

Keep the area of the nipple moist:

Challenging areas of your nipple can be hard, creating problems in latching. It’s a big help for the child in latching. Place his chin under the nipple, which will be helpful for him.

Lip tie Pictures

Lip tie treatment

Lip tie doesn’t need any particular medication, but if this tissue attachment is broad and firm, it needs surgery. But initially, doctors prefer some therapy techniques that help loosen a lip-tie, which makes it easier for babies in breastfeeding.

For this sliding your figure in the top portion of your child’s lip and practicing loosening the gap between lips and gums, you will have to do this regularly.

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Level 1 and Level 2 lip-ties do not require more than this practice. The doctors generally recommend only this loosening therapy, and after some time, it will be beneficial for the affected child.

Level 3 and Level 4 lip ties need frenectomy procedures, which require some experts to perform, can be any pediatrician or pediatric dentist.

In a Frenectomy, the membrane needs surgery, which connects the lip and the gums. It can be done by using a laser or surgical scissors. There is no need for any anesthesia for the patient in this surgery. According to doctors, very little pain or discomfort is aroused during this procedure.

Lip tie and speech

At present, no research proves that lip tie creates problems in speech problems. Tongue-tie creates problems in speech due to poor movement of the tongue.

There is no such sign of a gap between two front teeth. It is normal to have a gap between two front milk teeth. But this can be overcome when permanent front teeth are developed; then, the space can be closed. So, it’s effortless to keep this for that time.

So, it’s normal to have lip-tie at the infancy stage, and later it tends to get slower with age. So, there is no more connection between lip tie and speech problems.

That doesn’t mean leaving this problem, but you don’t need to worry. You should consult your doctor at once. He will suggest the level of lie-tie solution. That’s why you should consult your doctor before taking any decision.

Lip tie vs Tongue tie

Tongue-tie is also called ankyloglossia, a condition where the tongue is attached with tissue to the inner part below the tongue, which controls the movement of the tongue. Which creates problems in speaking, swallowing, licking, and other oral functions of the tongue.

On the other hand, the upper lip is connected with the tissue with the upper gums in the lip tie case, which controls the movement of the upper lip, such as latching, sucking, and sometimes speaking.

Both have different issues, and both can be cured. Only experts can diagnose the problem and provide you with proper medication for your problem. So, if you observe any of the above-given issues, consult your doctor and get rid of your problem.

FAQs:

Q1. How will we get to know that newborns have the lip tie problem?

Ans. Specific symptoms indicate that your child has a lip tie problem. For if a child produces a clicking sound while latching. The child needs very frequent feeding. There is a weight gain problem with children. So, if your child is suffering from such issues, you should consult your doctor.

Q2. Do speech problems arise with lip tie?

Ans. Lip tie can create a speech problem, but it’s completely wrong to say that lip tie always creates problems in speech.

Q3. Lip-tie can be cured by surgery only?

Ans. Lip-tie can be cured by surgery only but not always. Sometimes it needs some therapy and can be cured by that only. There will be no need for surgery, but you should consult your doctor or dentist before deciding anything. Only they can advise you on this concern.

Conclusion:

Lip tie is a condition where the upper lip is connected to the gums of the upper jaw with a tissue called the frenulum. There are a lot of complications with the child having lip tie. He can’t feed properly, which degrades the health of the affected child. This problem can be diagnosed by your baby’s doctor or dentist, specializing in correcting lip tie.

Front teeth gaps and teeth anatomy can also be aroused due to lip tie. Sometimes the child is even do not able to speak correctly. So, it’s better to visit your doctor once you got any doubt about the lip-tie problem with your child.

Surgery is not the only solution to lip-tie. Sometimes doctors prefer only therapy to correct the problem or lip tie. So it’s not a significant issue if your child has a lip tie problem. The main thing is to observe the problem at the right time, which can be cured by either the dentist or your baby’s doctor.

Some lactation experts have also proven effective during this period. Because of lip-tie, your child cannot latch correctly, which can lead to malnutrition, so having the guidance of lactation experts can be very helpful to the mother of the affected child.

Make sure that your child still takes proper feed if he suffers from the lip-tie problem, as his health should not be affected. Frequently breastfeeding is strictly recommended to the affected child to fulfil his appetite. Else this is not an issue.

So be calm if your child is diagnosed with lip tie. Just visit your doctor and follow his instructions carefully. It can be your child will be fit in the coming days.