What We Do
A large number of babies are born with a piece of tissue holding the tongue to the floor of the mouth which is called a 'Tongue Tie'. Breast and bottle fed babies normally feed well despite this and sometimes the tongue ties loosen or stretch on their own. However, if the tongue tie is tight, it may affect how a baby feeds. As breast-fed babies need to lift their tongue to feed, they are more likely to have problems.
Staff in the Tongue Tie service will support you to decide whether your baby needs a simple procedure to release their tongue and your midwife or health visiting team can support you with a feeding plan in the mean time
How to access the service
If you are having problems feeding your baby, and suspect there is a tongue tie you can contact your midwife or health visitor.
They will know how to refer you to our local tongue tie release service within our local Royal Blackburn and Burnley Teaching Hospitals.
You can also find information here: https://www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly/baby-friendly-resources/support-for-parents/tongue-tie/
Once a referral has been made you will be added on to the next available clinic.
Your appointment will normally be within 7 to14 working days.
Please see your appointment letter for details of where to go for your appointment as this may vary between Royal Blackburn and Burnley General teaching Hospitals.
Gary Cousin – Consultant and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
For any general enquiries or advice about our service please telephone 01282 803763.
You can contact the service Monday to Thursday 8am - 5:30pm.
Please bring your red personal child health record with you and ask the surgeon to write in here as a record of your consultation.