CONSULTATION
The decision to correct the structural anomaly can only be achieved after a comprehensive evaluation. Dr. Villalta will conduct a thorough assessment of your child’s overall health, lip tie, tongue tie, as well as possible issues with sleep, speech, eating, dental malocclusions, and other functional disorders due to the physical restrictions of oral tissues.
If treatment is recommended and depending on your child’s age, you will be referred to our occupational therapist, speech therapist, or myofunctional therapist for further guidance. They will establish an exercise-based treatment plan (customized by age and needs) to strengthen and train the tongue and surrounding muscles to work together in preparation for surgery.
If you were referred to us by your occupational therapist or speech therapist, consultation notes will be sent to her/him, and we will work closely with them to ensure a successful outcome.
In some instances, a consultation with our craniosacral therapist will be recommended to locate and alleviate areas of your child’s body that are restricted and/or unbalanced as a result of tethered oral tissues (TOTs).
THE PROCEDURE
The release is done by Dr. Villalta using a state-of-the-art CO2 laser. The noninvasive procedure lasts 10 to 15 seconds with minimal to no bleeding and involves little to no pain.
AFTERCARE
Dr. Villalta will give you a set of stretches and exercises to do at home to prevent reattachment.
A follow-up visit will be scheduled one week after the procedure and subsequent visits might be recommended depending on your child’s healing.
Once the release is complete, your child’s oral tissues will have a whole new range of motion and they won’t necessarily know what to do with it. Therefore post-procedure therapy exercises are of paramount importance in order to correct functional disorders and to achieve normalization of the function.
If you suspect your child has a tongue tie or lip tie, call us today to schedule a comprehensive evaluation with Dr. Villalta.