post-treatment
To prevent infection, it is important to always maintain oral hygiene. The doctor will give specific instructions on mild remedies. Osteopathy, oral therapy and continuous breastfeeding support are helpful.
After the procedure, the child must first learn to drink normally again, since the tongue is now mobile and able to perform its normal function. Active wound management by means of strengthening stretching exercises and tongue training helps here. Clean hands, short nails or finger cots, and medical gloves are prerequisites before touching the baby’s mouth. Exercise is important for a stable interaction of the tongue/lip ligament and the surrounding muscles and tendons, as the baby still has to learn to use his tongue properly. This can take a few weeks.
- Carry out active wound management 4 to 6 times every 24 hours at intervals of 4 to 6 hours, also at night, for 4 weeks, at least 4 times every 24 hours at intervals of 6 hours.
- Perform with powder-free gloves or clean washed fingers with short and rounded fingernails. If disinfectant is used as an option, rinse it off with water before mouth contact.
- At a minimum, perform stretching exercises as recommended by your referring therapist
- Fish mouth – smooth out the masticatory muscle on both sides to the corners of the mouth
- Draw and stretch the upper lip over the nostrils
- Tongue with index finger spread in a V-shape, pull back and up and stretch
- Hold all stretches for 4 seconds.
Please do not do this directly (1 minute apart) before drinking/eating. Active wound management should not be linked to food intake. Follow-up checks after 2 days and then at weekly intervals for a total of 4 weeks, if possible with a photo or video of the wound.
More information on https://youtu.be/0-PssP2-Q_c
It can help to talk to the baby during the exercises or to sing something while the jaw is massaged in a relaxing way and the finger is used to encourage sucking and lip protrusion. Touching the chin, the tip of the nose and the upper lip stimulates the baby to open his mouth wide. A lactation consultant will also give you further advice. The mother can also have problems with milk production due to the limited milk transfer and now needs additional stimulation, for example with a sustained pumping and breastfeeding system. This is available in the pharmacy.
