Oral Function & Tongue/Lip Tie
Tongue Tie and Oral Function Support for Infant Feeding
Assessment, frenectomy preparation, and recovery support, led by IBCLCs who work with feeding every day.
When feeding is not getting easier with the usual early changes to latch and positioning, how your baby’s mouth works may be part of the picture. Some babies have an oral restriction, like a tongue or lip tie, that makes feeding harder than it needs to be.
Our IBCLCs assess oral function as part of feeding care and support you through the whole process if a release is needed. We do not perform the frenectomy. That is done by a frenectomy provider, usually a pediatric dentist or ENT, that we refer you to. We support you before and after.
Whether your concern is feeding, oral function, or you are not sure, start with the intake form and our team helps route you to the right visit.
When to look more closely
Is oral function part of the feeding problem
If any of the following apply, an oral function assessment may be worth doing. These signs can have other causes, so they are reasons to look more closely, not a diagnosis.
- Trouble latching, or needing a nipple shield to latch
- Painful nursing, cracked or bleeding nipples
- Clicking, coughing, leaking, or gulping during feeds
- Long feeds, or falling asleep at the breast
- Trouble gaining weight, or losing more than expected
- Colic, gas, or reflux symptoms during or after feeds
- Loud breathing, mouth breathing, or constant congestion
- A white coating on the tongue
- A high, narrow, or bubble-shaped palate
- Bottle or pacifier refusal
These signs do not automatically mean your baby has a tongue tie.
They are reasons to look more closely at feeding, oral movement, milk transfer, and body tension. An assessment tells you whether oral function is contributing and whether a frenectomy provider should evaluate further.
The assessment
What an oral function assessment includes
Every standard postpartum and bottle feeding visit includes a full oral function assessment of your baby. We look at both structure, the anatomy of the tongue, lip, and oral cavity, and function, how your baby uses those structures during a feed.
The assessment tells us whether an oral restriction is contributing to feeding difficulty and whether evaluation by a frenectomy provider is warranted. If a restriction is identified, we go over your options and refer you to a frenectomy provider we work with regularly.
When a release or bodywork is the right step, we refer to and coordinate with a vetted network. See the frenectomy and bodywork providers we work with.
For an initial postpartum lactation visit, start with Feeding & Lactation Care.
Offered in your home, in our offices, and by video.
Around the release
Frenectomy support, before and after the release
If your baby is referred for a frenectomy, we support you through the whole process. We do not perform the release. These are the visit types that surround it.
Frenectomy Preparation
Scheduled three to seven days before the procedure date. We check your baby’s readiness, walk through what to expect on the day and right after, demonstrate and practice the aftercare exercises, review pain management options, and answer your questions.
This visit is for established patients and focuses only on procedure preparation. If you also need help with latch, supply, bottle feeding, or weight gain, schedule a standard lactation visit.
In our offices.
Frenectomy Procedure Support
Some frenectomy providers have an IBCLC in their office; many do not. If yours does not, one of our IBCLCs goes with you. We review aftercare expectations, attend or observe the procedure when the provider allows, help with feeding right after your baby is back with you, and talk through what to watch for as the site heals.
For established patients.
At the frenectomy provider’s office.
Post-Frenectomy Recovery
Aftercare can be an important part of healing, depending on your provider’s protocol and your baby’s situation, and many families find the exercises hard to do well on their own. We suggest scheduling the first recovery visit three to four days after the procedure.
Most families have three to six recovery visits across the roughly eight-week healing period. Each visit focuses on the site and on how the exercises are going, not a full feeding assessment. If feeding needs to be reworked after the release, a longer lactation visit (see Feeding & Lactation Care) addresses that.
In our offices.
Locations
Where we offer oral function care
IBCLC-led oral function and tongue tie support is available across all of our offices, plus virtual visits where appropriate.
See all locations →Insurance & self-pay
We bill several plans for IBCLC visits, and self-pay is available
We verify your benefits during intake, before your appointment, so you know where things stand ahead of time.
When body tension is also part of the picture
Some babies carry tension patterns that affect how they feed, turn, or settle
That is chiropractic and bodywork, provided by our chiropractic team and described on the Chiropractic & Bodywork page. The two are assessed separately and coordinated when it helps.
Related pages
Get started
Begin with our intake form
Whether your concern is feeding-related, oral function, or you are not sure, the next step is the intake form. Our scheduling team books your first visit and our billing team verifies your insurance, both before your appointment. Our team helps route you to the right visit type.
Start your intakeOpens our intake form in a separate, HIPAA-secure system (new tab).