Are you worried that your baby may have a tie?
The amount of tongue and oral ties being diagnosed in recent years has been growing rapidly, and it is hard to join a forum or mothers group that does not raise this topic! The problem is that both the diagnosis and management of these tongue ties is controversial, and there is no clear consensus on what is best. Parents are often referred for expensive and painful procedures for their babies even though the evidence for these is lacking.
I have read, researched and attended many conferences about this topic. If you are concerned that your baby may have a tongue, lip or buccal tie, I am more than happy to assess this for you and provide my opinion. If it is an anterior tongue tie and it is affecting your and/or your baby's ability to breastfeed, I am able to snip this during a quick and simple procedure in my office. If it is more complex, I am able to refer on to a surgeon. If you would merely like a second opinion, I am also more than happy to provide that.
I practice in accordance with the following evidence base:
"Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine: Position Statement on Tongue Ties"
"Australian Dental Association: Position Statement on Tongue Ties"
The following podcast is a great overview of what we know about tongue ties, from an evidence-based scientific perspective:
The following articles by Dr Pamela Douglas may be of interest to you:
"Deep cuts under babies tongues are unlikely to solve breastfeeding problems"
