Tongue Ties

I think my baby has a tie, now what?

The first step is finding a knowledgeable provider to add to your care team. There are no professions that require specific training for ankyloglossia aka tongue ties. To become trained in ties one needs to seek out additional training outside of their degree/profession.

Be wary of people, even professionals, trying to diagnose your baby with a tie over the internet via a photo. A photo is only one snippet, a snapshot in time, and not a full picture. Everyone has a frenulum, it’s whether or not that frenulum is restricted that makes it a tie. To determine if your baby is tied, a functional assessment will need to be performed in order to see the babes range of motion and abilities along with structural anatomy. What’s the deal with diagnosing? IBCLC’s and lactation professionals cannot diagnose and some facilities even have gag orders where mentioning or even acknowledging a tie will cost them their jobs. It is outside of scope to diagnose, so verbiage is often confusing. Instead of saying “Your baby has a tie.” often you’ll hear “I am noticing restriction of ability/movement” or “It appears as though there may be lack of function/mobility” - this doesn’t mean that your concerns are being dismissed but rather they are being cautious for liability reasons while confirming it is something to look into further.

Not sure where to go for a functional assessment or revision, we have created a list of providers available in our Facebook group Tie Providers. For those not on Facebook, you can check out the list here.