Lip Tie Vs. Tongue Tie

You may take a look at the piece of skin that is between the teeth and gums in your baby's mouth and believe that it is a lip tie that is causing your breast feeding challenges, but in fact, it may be a tongue-tie. Dr. Judy Strutz suggests, "each one impacts breastfeeding differently and can eventually lead to speech or reading problems, and both may require laser surgery in order to release to the tie." Here are two differences between a tongue and a lip tie. 

A lip tie is the piece of skin that attaches to the top of the lip versus a tongue-tie, which is the piece of skin that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. When a lip tie impacts your baby, the frenulum may come between the two-front teeth and wrap around, while, a tongue-tie may be thick and inhibit the full movement of the tongue.

When nursing, a lip tie can cause the baby to have an improper latch, because they may not be able to open the mouth wide enough for correct suction to occur. A tongue-tie, can position their tongue in the wrong spot. When their tongue is not able to be in the correct position, they may suck on the side of the breast, take a long time to get any milk and become tired. The tongue is what allows proper pressure to be placed on the nipple in order to release milk properly.

Each type of tie requires a different type of laser surgery and will impact your baby’s ability to properly breastfeed. 

For more information on lip and tongue-ties, contact Dr. Strutz today.