Tongue tie assessment in Brisbane
A tongue tie is identified by how the tongue functions, not by how it looks. If feeding is painful, slow, or never quite settles, an assessment tells you what is actually happening — and often the answer is not a release.
Most families arrive here after someone has glanced under their baby's tongue and said a word that changed the whole week. Sometimes that person was right. Often they were looking at the wrong thing.
You cannot tell from a photo, and you cannot tell from a quick look. What matters is whether the tongue can lift, extend and cup, and whether the suck it produces actually moves milk. That is what I assess.
Plenty of babies sent to me for a tongue tie turn out not to need a release at all. Getting positioning, latch and supply working properly resolves a great deal of what looks structural from the outside.
What an assessment actually involves
A full oral function assessment, not a glance and a verdict.
Lift
How far the tongue can raise toward the palate, and whether it can hold that position under load rather than only in a brief flash.
Extension
How far the tongue can move forward past the gum ridge, and whether it does so symmetrically.
Cupping
Whether the tongue can form the shape that holds and moves milk, or whether it flattens and loses the seal.
The suck itself
A suck assessment with a gloved finger, because function matters far more than appearance. A tie that looks dramatic may feed beautifully; a subtle one may not.
A full feed, watched
I watch a whole feed from beginning to end. Most of what I need to know shows up there rather than in the mouth.
Your history
Nipple pain and damage, milk supply, weight gain, reflux symptoms, clicking, wind, and how the last few weeks have actually gone.
I don't perform releases
I assess oral function thoroughly, and I do not perform releases. That is deliberate — the person who assesses and the person who performs the procedure being different people keeps the assessment honest.
If a release is the right step, I will tell you plainly and refer you to a trusted provider. If it is not, I will tell you that too, and we will work on what is actually causing the problem.
Either way I see you afterwards, because the release is not the end of the story.
Aftercare, and why the first two weeks matter
The first two weeks after a release matter most. The wound heals quickly and can reattach, so the work is keeping tissue mobile and helping your baby relearn how to feed with a tongue that suddenly moves differently.
A baby who has been compensating for weeks or months does not automatically know what to do with new range of movement. That relearning is the part most people are not warned about.
I offer a Serrapeptase Tongue Tie Aftercare Support consult — 60 minutes, $160 — as part of a comprehensive aftercare plan, alongside hands-on work on feeding itself.
Training behind the assessment
Tongue tie is an area where practitioners vary enormously. This is the specific training behind mine.
- ·Tongue Tie Institute — Foundation Course
- ·Tongue Tie Institute — Advanced Course: Infants and Toddlers
- ·Tongue Tie Institute — Advanced Course: Children and Adults
- ·Tongue Tie Institute — Bodywork and Oral Restrictions
- ·Enhance Myofunction Mastery — Advanced Tongue Tie and Orofacial Education
- ·Enhance Myofunction Mastery — Insights on Tongue Tie from Toddler Years to Adulthood
- ·Intuitive Parenting Network — Serrapeptase in Tongue Ties
Alongside board certification as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).
Questions families ask
How do I know if my baby has a tongue tie?
You can't tell from a photo or a quick look under the tongue — a tongue tie is identified by how the tongue functions, not by how it looks. The signs that actually matter are nipple pain or damage that doesn't settle, a baby who feeds constantly but never seems satisfied, clicking, slipping off, poor weight gain, or a feed that leaves you both exhausted. Any of those is worth assessing properly.
Do you diagnose and release tongue ties?
I assess oral function thoroughly, and I don't perform releases. An assessment with me looks at lift, extension and cupping, plus the suck itself, because function matters far more than appearance. If a release is the right step, I'll refer you to a trusted provider and see you afterwards for aftercare. Plenty of babies sent for assessment turn out not to need one.
My baby has had a tongue tie released — what happens now?
The first two weeks matter most. The wound heals quickly and can reattach, so the work is keeping tissue mobile and helping your baby relearn to feed with a tongue that now moves differently. A baby who has been compensating for weeks doesn't automatically know what to do with new movement, and that relearning is where most of the difficulty sits.
Does every tongue tie need releasing?
No. Not every tongue tie needs releasing, and a great deal of what looks structural resolves with positioning, latch and supply work instead. That is why the assessment comes first and the referral second, rather than the other way around.
How much does a tongue tie assessment cost?
Tongue tie assessment forms part of an initial consultation, which is 90 minutes at $230. Aftercare following a release is a 60-minute consult at $160. Home visits carry a travel fee worked out by distance — call 0450 188 411 and I'll give you the figure before you book.
Where do you see families for tongue tie assessments?
At the clinic in Moggill, or in your own home across Brisbane's western suburbs and Ipswich — Kenmore, Indooroopilly, Toowong, Brookfield, Bellbowrie, Pullenvale and surrounds. Telehealth works for some of the conversation, but a suck assessment needs to be in person.
Not sure whether it's worth assessing?
Call and tell me what's happening. I would much rather talk it through first than have you book something you don't need.
Or call 0450 188 411
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