What Does Your Tongue Say About Your Health?

 

While your tongue is not the window to your soul, it can tell a story. The color of your tongue or soreness can indicate that you have something going on that you need to take care of. While some of these things may go away on their own, others may require treatment. Get the facts! Here are 3 things to watch out for. 

1.    A tongue that is sore or sensitive to the touch might be a sign of a food allergy. You may experience pain in just one spot or you might have pain that seems to be all over. If the pain does not subside in a reasonable amount of time you will want to contact your cosmetic dentist. 

 

2.    Be aware that a bright Red Tongue that is redder than normal could be a symptom of several different things. The most common is B-12 deficiency. If you are worried and not sure if you are getting enough B-12, a visit to the doctor can help with this one. 

 

3.    White patches on your tongue might be a sign of oral cancer. If you are a smoker or chew tobacco to be on the safe side you will want to quit and schedule a consult with Dr. Judy Strutz and her dental team to be sure that it isn’t something more serious. 

Have You Had An Oral Cancer Screening?

Oral cancer can impact any part of the mouth. Your tongue, lips, cheeks or gums. There are several different signs and symptoms of cancer in your mouth. This includes a lump or thickening in the cheek, a sore throat or a sore that does not go away with time. The problem with oral cancer is that most people do not catch it until it is in the later stages.

An oral cancer screening can help to identify, find and treat oral cancer faster in order for you to be able to move on with the other things that are important in your life. Oral cancer is also twice as common in men as in women. Tobacco use can increase the risk of oral cancer.  An oral cancer screening just consists of the dentist checking the inside of your mouth looking for any lesions or unusual bumps in the mouth.

The dentist will most likely put one finger in your mouth, under your tongue and a couple of fingers on the skin under your chin. This exam may be able to find problems sooner and help you take care of the problem. For more information about oral cancer, screeners contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team.

Adult Laser Procedure

Have you heard of a lip or tongue tie? You may think this only impacts children, however, if you have not had this procedure done as a child you may one know that is impacting your life. A tight frenulum can impact your speech, reading, and even your speech. While you may think it is minor and is not impacting you long term, having a laser procedure can allow you to have the benefits of a tongue or lip release.

This procedure is quick and usually takes only one office visit. While a consultation is critical in order for all parties to be on the same page, this can be a great time for you to get all of your questions answered as well as determine the impact of the lip or tongue tie on you. 

While the site may be sore for a few days after you have the procedure, making sure to take care of the site and ensuring you follow the aftercare procedures can help you to get the results you are looking for. You might be surprised at the end result of this release.

For more information on adult laser procedures contact Dr. Judy Strutz and her team.

Two Potential Problems of Tongue-Tie

Some parents have found there is very little information on tongue-ties. They may have a baby that is fussy and struggling to latch on properly when breastfeeding. As a new mom, it can become overwhelming and frustrating, and you may feel it is your fault your baby cannot eat. At wits end you seek help and determine your baby is impacted with a tongue-tie. While you may be told to hold off on any procedures because it may 'fix itself', in order to give your baby the proper nutrition, you may have to provide other food sources. Dr. Strutz wants you to know there are risks to waiting to have a tongue-tie procedure and many times it solves the issues related to breastfeeding and much more.

Dr. Judith Strutz, says that some babies who do not get the procedure done relatively quickly after diagnosis may struggle to maintain proper weight. Without eating enough, they are not able to gain the necessary weight to stay healthy. Once the procedure is completed most babies are able to resume their normal eating habits and many breastfeed immediately after.

Then as your child gets older they may struggle to say certain sounds. The tongue in the mouth sits in a particular spot when saying particular sounds. When your child is saying the 's' or 't' sound if their tongue is not able to position itself correctly the sound may become more of a 'w.' While this may seem like a minor problem when they are younger, the older they get the more trouble they may experience with talking.

For more information on the problems of a tongue-tie, contact Dr. Strutz and her team.

After Lip & Tongue Tie Laser Surgery

Oral wounds can heal very quickly and without the proper care, all of the work done to release your baby’s tongue-tie could be lost. This is why it is important to do the stretches and follow the proper care after your little one’s procedure. Once an open wound is created in the mouth, the body will attempt to heal and close up that wound. If left alone, the lip tie will attempt to stick to the gum line while the tongue-tie will begin to reattach to the floor of the mouth. Once the laser surgery is completed, stretching can help to avoid horizontal healing.

The result you want is vertical healing. “Vertical healing allows the lip tie to loosen to allow for proper movement. In order to prevent the tie from rebinding, properly done stretches completed after surgery will allow the loosening of the tie and allow for proper vertical healing,” says Dr. JudyStrutz.

After a tongue-tie laser procedure is performed a new band connecting the tongue to the floor of the mouth will be created and after about 5-7 days a new soft wound should be created.

You should be able to move the lip back and forth completing the stretches without resistance.  Proper movement after the laser procedure is critical to allow the wound to heal correctly.

For more information on Lip & Tongue Tie contact Dr. Strutz & her team today.

Don’t Let Time Waste

Don’t let time waste! Some dentists and research may tell you that there is no reason to jump the gun and have your baby gets laser surgery for their maxillary frenum, but Dr. Strutz suggests it is important to take care of it as soon as possible. While your baby is growing and developing, it is not only critical for their overall health and development to be able to sleep and eat properly, but once they begin talking a maxillary frenum can impact their ability to say certain sounds.

 

Certain sounds when they are made require the tongue to be in a certain location in the mouth. Some sounds are made at the front of the mouth, while others are at the back. Another set of sounds requires the tongue to push up against the teeth to correctly say. If your child has a frenum that is thick, it can restrict the movement of the tongue.

Once your child enters the age of talking, it is critical that they receive access to proper language models and are able to properly say sounds. Children who have speech impairments can be impacted in the long term in school and may experience depression, school trouble and delays in reading.

For more information on surgery, contact Dr. Strutz & her team today!

Get Your Baby Laser Surgery

Laser surgery can help save you and your baby from hours of sleepless nights, gas and nursing pain. When your baby is born and you are staring at their perfectly formed ten fingers and ten toes, you may not notice the frenum - a thick piece of skin that attaches the lip to the roof of the mouth and another that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth.  This piece of skin should not obstruct movement of the tongue, but many times it does.

Some may suggest you wait to have surgery as the skin may fix itself, but when you are nursing your baby, it can become a problem for your child and you. A lip tie or tongue-tie may mean that your baby will have difficulty correctly latching on to the nipple. In order for you baby to have the proper attachment when eating, the tongue needs to be in the correct position.

A frenum, can decrease the movement in the tongue when a baby is trying to eat, which can become painful. Babies can cause sleep deprived mothers and fathers under normal conditions, if they are not eating correctly or if they are in pain, this can cause them and you to get even less sleep.

Surgery for this can be done using lasers and completed when your baby is just a few days or weeks old.  For more information on laser surgery, contact Dr. Judy Strutz today.

 

Laser Surgery and Frenums

Laser surgeries are more common in dentistry, and there are a number of procedures that can be completed now. Dr. Judith Strutz now performs laser surgery to correct Lip and/or Tongue-Ties.

There are two types of frenum ties and each one impacts the individual differently depending on the thickness of the skin, the location, and your age.

Tongue-tie, otherwise known as a lingual frenum, is a condition where the muscle inside the mouth and under the tongue is thicker than it is supposed to be. This extra skin may attach between the bottom lower teeth and make it difficult for you to say certain sounds because you are unable to stick or position your tongue correctly to make the right sounds. It may also be painful to eat and you may have difficulty removing food particles from your teeth with your tongue.  

A maxillary frenum is when the thicker skin on the outside of the teeth attaches to the inside of the lips.  An individual that is impacted with this type of frenum may struggle with saying particular speech sounds, eating maybe difficult and, depending on the thickness of the skin, it may push a gap between the two front teeth causing other dental concerns.

The surgery for tongue-tie used to be completed by a midwife that had a sharp nail and would cut the frenum when a baby was born as frenums can prohibit a breastfeeding mother to be successful. However, lucky for us technology has advanced where a special laser can be used to fix either type of frenum easily and quickly. Call Dr. Judith Strtuz today to learn more.