Pennsylvania Tongue-Tie Center

It is our greatest joy to have happy patients and families. Thank you to each one of them. We are humbled and honored to serve you all!

One of the best parts of our day is when we get to see the tiniest of patients. This little beauty is 3 days old. What a joy! We love helping our little tongue-tie babies.

Had my son’s lip and tongue tie revised this morning at almost 4 months old and I regret not going sooner! Every single person I encountered was absolutely wond...erful! I’ve never been able to nurse him sitting upright because he wasn’t able to handle the flow of milk. I was in tears when he latched in the rocking chair immediately following the revision and did so amazing, I could not believe it! Thank you Dr. Cockley and staff for an amazing experience! See more

I’m sharing my thoughts about the pros and cons of the rapidly changing world of Orofacial Myology with the awesome peeps @airwaycircle this Friday at 1pm!! . .... . #omtofyork #certifiedorofacialmyologist #myofunctionaltherapy #tonguethrusttherapy #airway #orofacialmyology #oromyofunctionaltherapy #omt

Today #TOTSTrainedProfessionals share the seal to let families know about our specialized training in tethered oral tissues, a.k.a. lip, tongue, and cheek/buccal ties. Oral ties affect the whole body throughout the lifespan, so a team approach to evaluation and treatment is ideal! #tonguetie #liptie #buccalties #LactationSupport #myofunctionaltherapy #craniosacraltherapy #eastberlinsmiles #chrysalisorofacial #tetheredoraltissues

Wishing all our PTTC family a happy Thanksgiving!

Be careful out there! Happy Halloween!

Some feedback from our wonderful patientsfrom our Yelp page! Thank you for the love! We adore our patients and want nothing more than positive experiences for them.

Moms are so clever

With the anticipated inclement weather we are expecting today, the office will be closed so our patients and staff can stay home! Enjoy your snow day; we will return on Monday, December 21 (7am-7pm).

We got to meet this little Cutie Patootie today. His shirt says it all!

Well.. today is a big day! The Pennsylvania Tongue-tie Center is celebrating our 2 year anniversary! We’ve grown a lot since we began as a branch of East Berlin Smiles just two short years ago!! We have treated literally thousands of patients (of ALL ages!) with Tongue-ties and other oral restrictions. ... The majority of our focus has been infants with breastfeeding difficulties since Tongue-tied babies often struggle to latch and feed properly. We also know that just releasing the ties isn’t always the end of the story and many infants need support to be properly rehabilitated. That’s why we work with amazing lactation consultants, feeding therapists, speech therapists, myofunctional therapists, pediatricians, midwives and body workers from all over the state! We have been blessed to have not only treated families from State College, Pittsburgh and all over the state of PA but have had patients come from as far away as West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and even Columbia (the patient flew in from South America)! As a tongue-tie infant herself, Dr Cockley is extremely passionate about helping these families! She has published two research articles on Tongue-ties in peer reviewed trade journals and recently lectured about oral restrictions in Zambia, Africa! Aside from our doctor, we are super proud of our in-house team! Moriah, a Licensed Massage Therapist, and Craniosacral Therapist treats many of our infants as well as patients of all ages. She has advanced training in intra-oral massage, oral motor function, TMJ, and cranial nerve dysfunction. Samantha is not only an experienced Registered Dental Hygienist at East Berlin Smiles, she is also a trained and certified Oral Myofunctional Therapist, specializing in treating children and adults with myofunctional disorders. And last but not least, Amber, an extraordinary Expanded Function Dental Assistant, published author, and surgical assistant, adds Lactation Counselor to her credentials! Our gratitude to all the amazing families and children we get to work with day after day!

Sounds like a good idea any time. :)

Have you heard that a baby is just lazy if they aren’t feeding well? Babies are born to feed. It is crucial to their survival and barring any physical causes,... they are going to feed well. Often I hear from parents that they were told their baby is just a lazy feeder and that’s why they have a poor latch or aren’t gaining well. We’re talking just a few days or weeks old and this baby already has a character flaw. While there are some babies that really are just very laid back, even the baby with the most laid back temperament is going to want to be fed as their very life depends on it. Unless feeding interferes with another vital function, such as breathing (a baby will always prioritize breathing over feeding) or requires them to expend more energy than they can take in (as may be the case with a heart condition) or causes them pain and fatigue (such as can happen with a tongue tie), a baby is going to feed. Suckling is comforting, feeding is essential for growth and survival, hydration is essential, skin-to-skin is crucial for brain development no baby is going to just not feed because of their temperament or character trait. https://bit.ly/300FPrL Besides, they’re a baby, have they even had time to develop a character flaw? Behavior is communication from day one. A baby that won’t feed is communicating something with that behavior that they lack the ability to communicate in any other way. It could be a number of things from oral tethers such as tongue tie leading to pain and exhaustion, small mouth and large nipple relationship making them tired, latch difficulties causing fatigue, acid reflux causing them pain and difficulty breathing, high palate making it difficult to maintain suction, low muscle tone causing them to choke, muscle tension limiting mobility, respiratory issues that require them to conserve energy, sensory struggles overwhelming their system, metabolic disorder so they don’t even have the energy to fed well, and others. Babies aren’t lazy. They’re efficient. A baby that isn’t feeding well is communicating that something else is interfering with feeding. Something that may need to be addressed. My lazy nurser actually had two holes in her heart. Thankfully we caught it early but it was only after I had already been told she was just lazy at the breast, she had pretty serious jaundice, her weight loss was significant, and she was clearly unwell. She wasn’t lazy, she was prioritizing conserving her energy as it took more energy to feed than to sleep. My next lazy nurser had muscle tension and tongue and lip tie that required a revision and some body work. She couldn’t get the calories in she needed so she too opted to conserve her energy and sleep. With both of these babies, addressing the underlying issue took time and the support of an experienced professional (or several) for breastfeeding to improve. Neither of them are lazy- as I write this the now 10 year old who was born with 2 holes in her heart is making not one, but two pies, is an excellent student, a dynamic soccer player, and an active big sister. Definitely not lazy. Now that we've addressed the issues that were making feeding difficult for her, the baby is an active participant in her feeding without any indication of being lazy. Assigning character traits to our babies early on can shape how we see them as they get older. If we believe our babies are just lazy or impatient or difficult or angry will we carry that negative impression of their character when they are 4 years old? Ten? Fourteen? Behavior is communication. Let’s stop calling infants lazy or any other unpleasant trait as though they have a character flaw and instead work to understand what their behavior may be communicating. Not sure what your nursling’s behavior may be communicating? We’re happy to help troubleshoot! Let us know what is going on if you’d like feedback. ***************************** The Leaky Boob is in danger of shutting down without your help. Join us in sharing information, support, and community around baby feeding, pregnancy, birth, and parenting. Become a TLB patron: https://bit.ly/300FPrL ***************************** Image description: Simple drawing style of five people featuring different baby feeding options including direct breastfeeding, breastfeeding with an at the breast supplemental system, tube feeding, bottle feeding, and breastmilk pumping. Around them is the text: Behavior is Communication Babies aren’t lazy, they are efficient Babies that seem to be "lazy feeders" don’t have a character flaw but may have feeding challenges that require them to conserve their energy or avoid pain. This isn’t lazy, it is efficient. Low muscle tone Respiratory difficulties Tongue tie Tension High palate Sensory Overload Cardio issues Metabolic Disorder If a baby doesn’t want to feed, look for a cause, not a character flaw. Theleakyboob.com The Leaky Boob