Is Your Baby Having Breastfeeding Issues?

Find out if Your Baby is Tongue-Tied or Not with One Visit

By treating tongue tie as an infant, you can quickly and easily fix many issues your baby maybe experiencing now as well as avoid many problems that will last a lifetime. One quick and easy consultation at our Westwood (Los Angeles) office is all it takes to treat your baby and avoid a lifetime of issues.

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Dr. Pinto’s interest in helping babies with breastfeeding issues turned into an undeniable passion after having her first son and experiencing her own successful breastfeeding journey.

When a mother has breastfeeding problems, she should feel confident and comfortable turning to her established system of medical support for help.

– Dr. Chelsea Pinto

What Is Tongue Tie?

A tongue tie occurs when the thin membrane under the baby’s tongue (the lingual frenulum) restricts the movement of the tongue. All babies are born with some of this tissue, but for approximately 5% of newborns, it is so tight that they cannot move their tongues freely. This can affect their ability to breastfeed and lead to poor latch, nipple pain and trauma, decreased milk intake and a decline in milk supply over time.

The medical term for tongue tie is “ankyloglossia” and studies show the defect is likely hereditary.

What is a lip tie?

Many babies with a tongue tie, also have an abnormally tight membrane attaching their upper lip to their upper gums (the labial frenulum). This is called a lip tie. Babies with a lip tie often have difficulty flanging their lips properly to feed and can’t create a proper seal at the breast.

This can cause them to take in excess air during breastfeeding, which often makes these babies gassy and fussy.

What Parents Should Know about Tongue Tied Babies and Breastfeeding

Call Us Today to Learn More or Schedule a Consultation (310) 579-9710

WHAT ARE SOME SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF TONGUE AND LIP TIES

Some babies with tongue ties and lip ties are able to attach to the breast and suck well. However, many of these infants have breastfeeding problems. The following signs are common amongst infants with tongue and lip ties and their mothers. However, it is important to note that these signs can be linked to other breastfeeding problems and are not solely related to ties.

Mothers may experience:

flattened nipples after breastfeeding
nipple pain and damage
prolonged feedings
poor breast drainage
decreased milk production

Infants may exhibit:

noisy suckling or clicking
popping on and off the breast
leaking on the sides of the mouth
poor weight gain
coughing or gagging
lip blisters
gas pain
noisy breathing/snoring sounds when sleeping
reflux or colic symptoms

DR. CHELSEA PINTO

Dr. Chelsea Pinto is a skilled dentist and infant tongue-tie specialist at the Breathe Institute.

As a laser-certified dentist and member of the International Affiliation of Tongue Tie Professionals, Dr. Pinto offers in-office laser frenectomy treatment for assisting babies to latch on to the breast. In addition, she treats children and adults with a functional frenuloplasty technique, that integrates myofunctional therapy to best treat tongue restrictions.

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TESTIMONIALS

When my son was born he wouldn't latch and every nurse on staff tried helping us. We were seen by two different lactation consultants and they both believed he was tongue tied and referred us to Dr. Pinto. We went to our pediatrician and she told us our son wasn't tied. My husband and I decided to see Dr. Pinto anyway. Our son was diagnosed with a tongue and upper lip tie which we had lasered on the spot. It was a really quick process, about two minutes. Dr. Pinto was super kind and helpful. She showed us how to do stretches to make sure the ties wouldn't reattach and even called us the next day to see how we were doing. We tried latching right after the procedure but no luck, however, the next day, he latched! We had a really painful week trying to breastfeed, but with the help of a few visits to lactation consultants, we are now exclusively breastfeeding. We are so grateful to Dr. Pinto! This had made such a difference in our lives and would highly recommend her to anyone who thinks their child may be tied.

Honestly, I absolutely love Dr. Pinto!! I first found her on yelp after suspecting my newborn had a lip tie and tongue tie. I emailed her on a Friday afternoon and she responded back on Saturday! I mean that itself blew me away because what doctor does that?? Lol. She recommended I meet with a lactation consultant who can give her more information on the tie should my daughter have one. I met with Linda Goodman, IBCLC who ALSO highly recommended Dr. Pinto for tie revisions. After my consult with the lactation consultant, I was able to make an appointment with Dr. Pinto right away and got my daughter's revisions done promptly. Dr. Pinto went through the stretching exercises with me and my husband to make sure we knew how to do it when we got home and even gave us her personal cell phone number to call/text if we needed any help! I cannot recommend Dr. Pinto enough! She is ALWAYS available to be of any sort of help during this process and even follows up with you 3 weeks after the revision to ensure things are going great.

Dr. Pinto did my daughter's posterior tongue tie revision via laser. The procedure itself only took a few minutes, and I was able to nurse my baby immediately after. Dr. Pinto is incredibly down-to-earth and from our very first appointment, she wanted to make sure we were comfortable moving forward with the procedure and never pressured us in our decision making. She also has an infant son so understood where we were coming from in the hesitation involved with having your baby undergo a procedure. She is knowledgeable about ties and shows you how to do the aftercare stretches (she actually watches you do them to make sure you're doing them correctly). She also gave us her cell phone number in case we needed anything and did both follow up calls and texts to make sure we were doing well. The aftercare stretches are awful (but necessary!) and I'm happy to report that our nursing sessions have gotten significantly shorter and I'm not in any pain while breastfeeding! I highly recommend Dr. Pinto for tongue tie revision via laser!

After meeting with a lactation consultant (the wonderful Jessica Claire) I discovered that that my almost 4 month old daughter had a tongue and lip tie that were inhibiting her feeding and leading to weight gain issues. After a couple weeks of monitoring, she recommended we see Dr. Pinto about getting the ties released. Dr. Pinto was kind and communicative from the start. She spoke with me on the phone about my concerns surrounding performing the frenectomy on an older baby - another well regarded area pediatrician refused to see us about a frenectomy even one day after my daughter turned 4 months. Dr. Pinto was realistic about potential outcomes, but optimistic when I gave her more info about our situation. Her staff worked to fit us in that week after another client cancelled. Dr. Pinto was patient and did not pressure us as my husband and I debated getting the procedure after the initial consultation. The procedure was quick, but of course it was very difficult to listen to our baby cry and scream. Dr. Pinto gave us good instructions for after care and her cell number in case we had any questions over the weekend. I was diligent with the wound care and also visited a pediatric chiropractor to help with jaw tension on Dr. Pinto and my lactation consultant's recommendation. I'm grateful to say that my daughter's breastfeeding has greatly improved. I'm happy we went with Dr. Pinto and the laser based technique!

Just as the other reviewers have commented, we found Dr Pinto to be kind, knowledgeable, and efficient with excellent bedside manner and follow up. We were referred to her by our lactation consultant Elena Vogel (also excellent) for my baby's lip and tongue tie which was causing him delay in nursing and bottle feeding, and weight loss. After the frenectomy that Dr Pinto performed on our 8 day old infant, we completed the after care that she prescribed. Baby gradually improved and three months later (combined with treatment by chiropractor Dr Gerardo) you'd never know that he was born with a tie. Breast feeding is no longer painful, he's at the top of percentiles for his age (after having dropped 12% weight in the first week) and he is meeting developmental milestones. We're so thankful that we received her help and early intervention!