Does your little one seem fussy or have difficulty feeding? Don't let him experience tongue tie, Bun. You don't understand what it is tongue tie and how to solve it? Come on, sCheck out the following article!
Tongue-tie is a congenital condition in infants that makes the tongue unable to move freely because the frenulum of the tongue is short, thick, or attached to the floor of the mouth. The frenulum of the tongue is a thin tissue that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth.
The cause of this condition is not known with certainty, but some cases tongue tie known to be related to genetic or hereditary factors. Tongue-tie It affects about 5% of newborns, and is more common in boys.
Recognizing Characteristics Tongue-tie
Babies who experience tongue tie It is usually difficult to stick out the tongue and suckle. This condition can also interfere with the baby's ability to eat, talk, and swallow. However, there are also babies with tongue tie which does not experience any disturbance.
To find out if your baby has tongue tie or not, there are several signs that you need to recognize, namely:
- The shape of a baby's tongue resembles a heart when it is stretched out.
- Babies find it difficult to move their tongue from side to side, or from bottom to top.
- Babies find it difficult to suck milk while feeding.
- The baby's weight gain is not adequate.
- Babies have a hard time sticking their tongue out past the lower front teeth.
- Mother constantly feels pain while breastfeeding.
In some cases, tongue tie can improve on its own. Even so, there are also those who require medical treatment because it causes interference with the baby's basic abilities. baby with tongue tie and experiencing breastfeeding disorders, for example, may need to get medical treatment because it is feared that their growth and development will also be disrupted.
How to overcome Tongue-tie
If tongue tie What happens to your little one makes it difficult for him to breastfeed or causes his growth and development to be disrupted, the doctor can recommend medical actions, including:
frenotomy
This procedure is performed on infants with indications: tongue tie shortly after birth. After examination, the doctor can immediately cut the frenulum with sterile scissors to free the tongue movement.
The process is very fast, so you don't have to worry about your little one experiencing pain. Moreover, the frenulum contains very few nerve endings and blood vessels, so bleeding is rare. Although there is bleeding, the blood that comes out is only a little, that is, a drop or two.
After this procedure is done, your baby can breastfeed. The milk that comes out of the mother's breast can be a natural antiseptic and pain reliever.
Frenuloplasty
This procedure is performed with surgery and anesthesia if the frenulum is too thick. Currently, the frenuloplasty process can be done with a laser, so it does not require stitches, minimizes pain, and reduces the risk of complications.
After this procedure is done and your little one's condition has recovered, invite him to do tongue exercises. This is done to reduce the risk of complications in the scar and restore tongue movement. The treating doctor will explain how.
Procedure for dealing with tongue tie is still a matter of debate among doctors and lactation counselors. Some doctors recommend doing it immediately after the baby is born, but there are also those who choose to leave it alone and wait for this condition to go away on its own.
To ensure the conditions tongue tie in infants, parents should consult a pediatrician or ENT doctor, to take appropriate action.
