Tongue tie, otherwise known as ankyloglossia, is often overlooked, misdiagnosed and its impact on infant feeding and facial development widely underestimated.
Tongue ties affect 4-10 per cent of the population and are known to make feeding difficult for babies because they can’t move their tongues adequately to extract sufficient milk.
Babies will often present with the following: Shallow latch, clicking sounds while feeding, dribbling milk out of the corners of mouth, excessive wind and tummy pain, and lip blisters.
Lack of normal tongue function may make breastfeeding painful for these mums and they commonly suffer from cracked, flattened and bleeding nipples.
Their baby has to exert more energy to feed and often falls asleep easily through sheer exhaustion and are incorrectly labelled as ‘lazy feeders’.
Geelong osteopaths Dr Carrie Nisbet and Dr Brigid Sandell are fast becoming recognised for their integral role in the care of babies and infants before and after tongue tie release.
They also provide the much needed emotional support to parents through this process.
Mums will often present feeling frustrated that it has taken so long to have their babies correctly diagnosed. They have often seen multiple practitioners before someone with adequate training has picked up on the problem and made the necessary referral.
Unfortunately, these mums are often told that ‘tongue ties are a fad’, that their ‘baby isn’t tongue tied because they can stick their tongue out’, or that their baby’s tongue tie is ‘mild and they will just grow out of it’.
This type of misinformation leads to many babies not receiving the adequate care they need.
Osteopaths recognise the importance of optimal tongue movement in a baby’s ability to latch, suck and swallow effectively. If this function is compromised with a tongue tie, the baby has to compensate by over using and tightening up the muscles of the lips, cheeks, jaw, neck and shoulders to feed.
These muscles need to be treated with hands-on techniques, and the baby has to have suck training exercises so that a more optimal outcome can be achieved after surgical release.
Geelong does not currently offer laser surgery for tongue tie so most babies have to travel to recommended providers in Melbourne to receive treatment.
Osteopaths Carrie and Brigid from Bump & Bub Health Hub are highly trained to work with babies and have undertaken five years of university training plus additional courses to give them the skills required to take a thorough feeding case history, examine the oral cavity, complete a suck assessment and tongue tie check.
They are also able to write the required referral to see a recommended laser provider to have the tongue tie corrected.
For further information, please call 5298 2985 or email carrie@bumpandbub.com.au
