Lip and Tongue Tie Treatment (Frenectomy)
We are the trusted and preferred provider in Southeast Minnesota serving infants, children, and mothers struggling with symptoms associated with lip and tongue tie. Our compassionate team provides education, resources, and collaboration with healthcare specialists treating patients with tethered oral tissues to establish a lifetime foundation of proper feeding, speech, sleep, health, and growth and development.
Please click here for more information on adult frenectomy treatments
Quick Guide
Why We Are Passionate and Want to Help
What is Lip and Tongue Tie
Symptoms in infants
Symptoms in nursing mothers
Symptoms in children
What to Expect in Our Office
Why Choose Us?
What People are Saying About Their Experience with Us
Why We Are Passionate and Want to Help
Dr. Funke’s wife and daughter struggled with many of the symptoms you will read below. Dr. Funke’s wife felt that breastfeeding had become a full-time job due to the frequency and duration of every feeding. It was also very painful and “worse than giving birth” – she was told to “tough it out and it would get better”. His wife worked with a lactation consultant that believed everything looked great with the latch and technique, but she was still having pain as well as daughter having odd symptoms. A chance interaction with a lactation consultant lead to evaluation with a chiropractor. Chiropractic adjustments helped make nursing a more tolerable experience but required appointments every two to three weeks. His daughter also still had odd symptoms like constantly hiccupping, spitting up after every time she ate, always had nasal congestion with mouth breathing, and the list goes on. Dr. Funke and his wife were both first-time parents but they knew that this was not normal. Dr. Funke wanted to find answers to help because we were not feeling heard or receiving help from the medical community at the time..
His daughter had been screened at the hospital at birth but was never diagnosed or recommended to seek treatment for lip and tongue tie. Dr. Funke also did not see anything out of the ordinary based on his original training. He knew there had to be better treatments out there. He pursued training in the diagnosis, treatment, and post-operative treatment of lip and tongue tie release. He learned that lip and tongue tie is not treated based on appearance, but rather the symptoms that are present in both mother and baby. With his new training, Dr. Funke was able to properly diagnose and treat his daughter in his office with a laser. His wife felt immediate results from nursing. It should not hurt to nurse your baby! Over the following weeks, many of his daughter’s symptoms like spitting up, nasal congestion, hiccupping, gassiness, and feeding problems were resolved. As his daughter got older, she did not have any challenges transitioning to solid foods and no longer is a noisy sleeper or mouth breather.
Treatment changed the lives of his family. Dr. Funke hopes to reach, help, and give hope to others that may have the same questions and struggles.
We Are Here To Help!
Contact us with any questions or to schedule an appointment.
What is Lip and Tongue Tie
Lip and tongue tie, also known as tethered oral tissues, occurs when muscle attachments of the lip and tongue prevent proper movement and function. These attachments are normal anatomy. The problem occurs when it prevents proper movement and function of the tongue and lip leading to common, but not normal, symptoms. Lip and tongue tie disfunction is relatively common and as many as one in five people have a lip or tongue tie that could benefit from treatment! The condition often runs in families and has been shown to have a genetic component. Unfortunately, the condition is often not properly diagnosed and treated. Often times posterior tongue ties can go undiagnosed because they are not easily seen, yet they can cause many of the same symptoms of anterior and “to the tip” ties.
Tongue and lip tie disfunction can present as a number of symptoms. Although many of these are common, they are not normal! These symptoms can often lead to a challenging relationship with the mother-infant bond, eating challenges, speech challenges, breathing challenges, sleep challenges, growth challenges (orthodontic and skeletal problems), and social struggles. Disfunction of the lip and tongue can lead to long lasting complications.
There is hope!
Symptoms in infants can include but are not limited to the following:
- Shallow/painful latch
- Falls asleep while eating
- Colic symptoms/cries a lot
Reflux symptoms (it is not normal to have a child on acid reflux medications)Clicking or smacking noises while eating
- Spits up often leading to nasal congestion and breathing difficulty
- Hiccups often
- Gassy
- Lip curls under when nursing or bottle feeding
- Snoring/noisy sleeping
- Head, neck, body tension
- Blisters on lips
Symptoms in nursing mothers can include but are not limited to the following:
- Creased, flattened or blanched nipples
- Blistered, cut, bleeding nipples
- Poor or incomplete breast drainage
- Need for nipple shield while nursing
- Baby prefers one side over the other (likely caused by torticollis with baby)
Symptoms in children may include but are not limited to the following:
- Speech difficulties (mumbling, stuttering, hard to understand, difficulty speaking quickly, in speech therapy, etc.)
- Feeding difficulties (grazes, packing food in cheeks, choking or gagging, spits out food, slow eater, etc.)
- Sleep issues (sleeps in strange positions, wakes easily, grinds teeth, sleeps with mouth open, snores, etc.)
- Neck or shoulder pain/tension
- TMJ pain/headaches
- Reflux/GI issues
- Hyperactivity/inattention (ADHD)
- Orthodontic and growth problems
What to Expect in Our Office When Seeking Help
Dr. Scott A. Funke has taken extensive hours of lecture and hands on training in the diagnosis, treatment, and post operative care of lip and tongue tie release (frenectomy). He also participates in a regional oral growth and development study club. His compassion, knowledge, and continuous training has allow him to successfully treat over one hundred infants and children.
Dr. Funke takes a team approach with lactation consultants, chiropractors, craniosacral therapists, myofunctional therapists, and healthcare providers. Dr. Funke will spend time reviewing symptoms and completing a thorough evaluation. Surgical intervention is not the first line of treatment for lip and tongue tie disfunction and we will review medical history at the first appointment. Benefits and risk of treatment will be reviewed. Post operative commitments will also be reviewed. Proper post operative stretching will be necessary to prevent reattachment and worsening of symptoms. It is also recommended to have proper musculoskeletal work completed by a craniosacral therapist, chiropractor, speech therapist, or myofunctional therapist. We are happy to provide referrals if necessary.
If treatment is indicated, infants can be treated with topical anesthetic and children with topical anesthetic and a small amount of local anesthetic (general anesthesia is not used or needed in our office). We do not believe in treating lip and tongue tie with scissors as there is greater risk of bleeding and risk of affecting tissues left behind. We believe that laser treatment is best, but not all lasers are created equal. Two common laser treatments are with a diode or CO2 laser. Diode lasers can create more heat leading to trauma to surrounding tissues and delayed healing. Dr. Funke uses a CO2 laser called a Light Scalpel to release the tethered tissues. The use of this CO2 laser allows for less bleeding, better visualization, complete removal of tissue attachments, no sutures, better accuracy, reduced thermal trauma, and faster healing.
If mother and baby are still nursing, mother will be encouraged to take their time to nurse or feed their babies right after treatment in our private room.
Treatment does not end at the release. Dr. Funke will review stretching and homecare. Dr. Funke makes sure caregivers are comfortable providing the stretches and have a chance to have all questions answered. Patients are encouraged to take advantage of any necessary follow-up appointments that are included as part of treatment in our office. We are only part of the team that will help achieve the best results and will provide referrals for musculoskeletal providers in our area to help achieve the best possible outcome.
Dr. Funke believes that there is hope and he is happy to share the experience his family has personally had with treatment.
Why Choose Us?
We understand that you have a choice of where you seek care and treatment of lip and tongue tie. Our team has been able to help even if previous lip and tongue tie treatment has been attempted elsewhere. We have been able to achieve lasting results through proper diagnosis, treatment, education, follow-up, and healthcare team approach. Our compassionate team is dedicated to helping create a safe, comfortable, and understanding space for all patients and families that visit out office. We invite families to view our videos and read our written testimonials to learn more about how our office is different.
What People are Saying About Their Experience with Us
“We were able to get in for consult and oral ties release in less than a week. They actually had an opening the day we called but we couldn’t make that work. Dr. Funke is personable and professional. His staff from front desk to dental hygienist/assistant are also wonderful. Currently only dentist in Rochester, MN that does ties, including buccal.
He shared his personal family story about oral ties, also available on his website. That connection really helps you feel confident in his passion to help.” – A. S.
“Absolutely amazing care provided by not only Dr Funke but the entire team! We came here after being referred by our chiropractor for our 1 week old daughter was having issues nursing and I was in a lot of pain. We had her evaluated for oral ties and she was found to have a lip tie and posterior tongue ties. They were able to get us scheduled immediately the next day” -K.B.
“Dr. Funke was so kind and really listened to what I was saying. He did a lip, tongue and cheek tie release on my two week old son. It was a quick 15 minutes. They cared for my son like he was their own. I highly recommend.” -M.C.
“Dr. Funke and his team were great. My newborn had a tongue and lip tie and he was able to get us in quickly for an evaluation and treatment. He did a thorough assessment, explained everything very well, and made me feel comfortable. I would highly recommend him.” -M.M.
“Took our 4mo son to Med City Dental to get a tongue, lip and buccle ties revised. Dr. Funke and his staff were wonderful and did a terrific job taking care our our boy!” -S.P.
Dr. Funke made us feel so heard and validated our emotions. We were referred to an ENT for our 6 week old daughter having a lip and tongue tie. The ENT acted as if he didn’t see the lip and tongue tie (in his notes he stated they were not bad and there was no reason to medically intervene as long as she is taking a bottle). I have been trying to breast feed but resorted to pumping as it’s been painful. Dr. Funke got us in the next day, told us exactly how bad it was (both were pretty bad and affecting her latch as well as giving her other problems, so how the ENT thought it was nothing is beyond us!) and comforted us during and after the procedure. He took time to get to know us, made sure any questions we had were answered and treated us like humans instead of just another reason to get paid. We would 100% recommend him to anyone. Especially for tongue/lip ties!” – A.B.
“We needed to get our baby seen for a tongue tie and Med City Dental got us in very quickly! Dr. Funke was so kind and knowledgeable, and was able to help our baby with a laser procedure. Excellent overall experience – they helped our child and gave us so much peace as new parents. The whole office was so kind. Thanks Med City Dental!!” – J.H.
“Cannot recommend Med City Dental enough! We brought in our 6 month old who had both lip and tongue ties. We had brought her into ENT when she was a week old and they told us they were not “severe” enough to correct. Well, after bad reflux and terrible sleep issues we finally brought her into Dr Funke and he was able to correct both ties. Our daughter no longer has reflux issues and is sleeping through the night!!! Highly highly recommend!” – A.S.
“Dr. Funke and his team were fantastic! Very professional and super nice! Dr. Funke was recommended to me from my daughters chiropractor. I sent a message on a Monday night, got a phone call early Tuesday morning to come in that day to get my daughter evaluated for lip tie. At the appointment it was discovered that she had 4 different areas in her mouth that were restricting her sucking and causing all her symptoms. He was able to do the procedure that day. He took such great care of my daughter when in his office. Post op stretches were shown to me not just told. I highly recommend Dr. Funke and his team!!” -J.S.
“We brought our son to Dr.Funke at Med City Dental for a second opinion after our concerns about his tongue tie were ignored by our original lactation consultant (LC). He was able to get us in the same day we called. He was friendly, professional, and empathetic to our situation. Dr. Funke diagnosed not only the tongue tie, but also a lip tie that had been overlooked by our LC. He had availability, so he performed the frenectomy same day! I cannot recommend Dr. Funke enough. It was great to finally be heard and our baby boy is having a much better time eating and can even nurse now!” – K.W.
“We were able to get in for consult and oral ties release in less than a week. They actually had an opening the day we called but we couldn’t make that work. Dr. Funke is personable and professional. His staff from front desk to dental hygienist/assistant are also wonderful. Currently only dentist in Rochester, MN that does ties, including buccal. He shared his personal family story about oral ties, also available on his website. That connection really helps you feel confident in his passion to help.” -A.S.
Call us today at Med City Dental Office Phone Number 507-289-8707 to learn more or request an appointment!
