Tongue-ties and lip-ties are common afflictions in infants, and while they can cause serious discomfort for nursing mothers they are fortunately very easy to fix. Christopher Coplin DMD, Dentist at Alaska Dentistry for Kids in Anchorage has performed hundreds of outpatient corrective procedures to eliminate tongue and lip ties. Over the years they’ve fielded lots of questions about how to correct this frustrating problem and in an effort to better help the community they’ve created this FAQ guide:

What exactly defines a tongue-tie or lip-tie? A tongue-tie is when a baby’s tongue is attached to the bottom of their mouth by a small piece of skin and a lip-tie is when a baby’s lip is attached to their upper gum area by a thin piece of skin. Both can result in reduced difficulties with nursing and eventually speech because they limit oral mobility and dexterity.

How can this issue be corrected? According to Dr Coplin at Alaska Dentistry for Kids  he performs this using a  modern laser method. In This technique can be performed as a straightforward outpatient procedure that is very low risk and commonplace.

Why is using the laser the method Dr Coplin chooses? Dr Coplin  prefers to use lasers rather than surgical scissors for this procedure because Lasers are more precise and cause less bleeding than scissors. They’re also completely sterile, which minimizes risk of infection.

If your child’s tongue-tie or lip-tie has been causing problems with nursing or speech call Alaska Dentistry for Kids today at (907) 274-2525 to make an appointment.