What is a Tongue Tie or Lip Tie?

A frenulum is the piece of skin that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth and the lip to the gums. They can vary greatly in appearance from person to person and, in the case of lip frenulums, these can change as a child gets older. They are called ties when they interfere with normal function. It used to be thought that up to 10% of the population have a tongue frenulum but more recent studies from Brazil, where by law every baby is examined for tongue tie, they found 50% of babies have a tongue frenulum

Nearly 95% of the population have an upper lip frenulum. If the lip frenulum is restrictive this can affect the seal during feeding and for some children prevents the central incisors coming together leaving a gap between them.

Problems related to oral restrictions (tongue and/or lip tie)