Breastfeeding is intended to be a comfortable, bonding experience for mother and baby. Yet for many mothers, nursing is excruciatingly painful, and infants struggle to feed efficiently. In many cases, the hidden culprit is ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) or a tight maxillary labial frenulum (lip-tie).
What is an Infant Tongue Tie?
A tongue tie occurs when the lingual frenulum—the membrane beneath the tongue—is unusually tight, thick, or short, anchoring the tongue to the floor of the mouth. This restriction prevents the tongue from elevating to the roof of the mouth and extending past the lower gumline to compress the breast tissue.
Warning Symptoms in Nursing Mothers:
- Severe pain during latching and feeding
- Flattened, creased, or blanched (white) nipples after feeds
- Cracked, bleeding, or traumatized nipples
- Recurrent blocked milk ducts, mastitis, or nipple thrush
- Incomplete breast drainage and decreasing milk supply over time
- Postpartum exhaustion, anxiety, or feelings of feeding failure
Warning Symptoms in Infants:
- Shallow latch, slipping off the nipple, or chewing on the breast
- Clicking or smacking sounds while nursing
- Feeding marathons lasting 45+ minutes with frequent falling asleep at the breast
- Poor or slow weight gain
- Swallowing excessive air leading to severe gas, colic, reflux, and spitting up
Toddlers & Older Children:
If uncorrected, tongue ties can affect solid food chewing, speech articulation (sounds like L, R, T, D, S, TH), and restrict upper jaw arch development, leading to narrow palates and mouth breathing.
Gentle 90-Second Laser Frenectomy in Chennai:
At Bunny Teeth in T. Nagar, Chennai, Dr. Santosh Kumari Rathod (Diploma in Laser Dentistry) uses state-of-the-art soft tissue lasers to release the restriction. The laser procedure takes under 90 seconds, produces zero bleeding, requires no stitches, and enables immediate, comfortable breastfeeding in our private nursing room.
Read more on our dedicated Infant Tongue Tie Release in Chennai page.