Babies, Tongue Ties and Bodywork

One of the most common questions I get is “why are tongue ties and lip ties such a hot topic these days?”


They are not a new diagnosis but they have become more common since people started calling them a “fad” in 2017. It’s very important to recognize ties and treat them for the well being of infants. So let’s talk about why ties are very important in the world today.


Recently more studies have been completed and it is now known that oral ties have significant impacts on our little ones. Symptoms of ties are not the same for everyone. We are used to looking for a set of signs and symptoms to diagnose a specific problem. This is not the case here because oral ties can produce some obvious symptoms for mom and baby and some not so obvious symptoms. Some ties can produce; acid reflux, colic, difficulty latching, gumming or chewing when nursing, gasping for air or clicking while nursing or excessive drooling.


Many infants get releases for their ties but the truth is a release alone does not fix most oral ties. A multidisciplinary approach to treatment is mandatory for success and this is where body work, specifically chiropractic comes into play.


You may be wondering “what is body work?”
This term is all encompassing for different types of gentle therapeutic touch or manipulation of the body, including chiropractic. The goal of body work is to help the body function by increasing range of motion, improving body control, relieving tension in muscles, joints, the central nervous system and fascia. Accompanied with an oral tie release, baby can start to learn new motor patterns they lacked pre-release.


Supporting babies and families through oral ties and releases is something I’m passionate about, let me know if you have any questions. See you at Dalhousie Health & Wellness and your next appointment!


- Dr. Stav 💖