Let’s Talk About BabyLase

 
 

What it is:

A gentle and safe laser therapy that achieves 3 primary objectives:

  1. Optimize the function and tone of the oral and facial muscles

  2. Stretch tight/dense fascia

  3. Regulate/calm an under- or over-responsive nervous system

Laser therapy (also known as photobiomodulation) has been used successfully in medicine since the 1950s for conditions such as injuries, pain, neuropathy, and has a robust amount of literature supporting its efficacy. In 2010, new research evolved the technique to treat infants and bigger humans in the application known as BabyLase/SmileLase/OraMyoLase to achieve the aforementioned objectives.

Why would my baby need BabyLase?

All muscles are powered by motor nerves.  The tongue, facial, and head/neck muscles are controlled by 12 cranial nerves; the tongue is the most complex and is powered by 4 cranial nerves. 

Muscle activity can be either voluntary or involuntary.  Involuntary muscle activity is otherwise known as reflexive behavior. With newborns and infants, these reflexes are what initiate sucking, swallowing, and the coordination of sucking/swallowing/breathing. 

There are different reflexes present at different stages of development in the developing human. In the womb reflexes help protect the developing fetus from stressful events during pregnancy.  After birth, reflexes should be present to help baby latch, suck, swallow, and more.  As the baby further develops, reflexes start to disappear, this is known as integration of infantile reflexes. 

Reflexes, although automated, may not be functioning properly; they may be under-responsive or hyper-responsive.  These are some of the events that may alter reflex maturation/function:

  1. Premature birth (before 39 weeks)

  2. Late birth (after 41 weeks)

  3. Traumatic gestation/pregnancy (cord around the neck, intense stressors)

  4. Traumatic birth (quick, long, sunny-side up, stuck)

  5. Induction birth

  6. C-Section birth

  7. Respiratory events after birth

The birth canal and vaginal birth process mold/shape/prepare the baby and turn on the newborn reflexes.  When birth goes not as nature intended (and luckily modern medicine has given us options), the automation and switching on of the reflexes may not take place and we have a baby that then has uncoordinated, under-responsive, or hyper-responsive reflexes.  BabyLase is the therapy that helps to turn on the "switches," regulate and coordinate the nervous system to give optimized function. 

A nervous system that is under-responsive or over-responsive does not allow the body to heal well.  Surgical procedures create wounds and wounds heal with tissue contraction.  The post-surgical stretches and exercises help to guide wound healing and minimize wound contraction.  However, if the body is tense or the nervous system is hyper-responsive, the wound more often than not will contract despite the best stretching efforts.  AirSync uses BabyLase as a method to prepare the baby and body for tongue-tie surgery to optimize the healing process and give the most successful functional outcome.  

BabyLase is also used to break up scar tissue and better define a frenum.  If prior tongue-tie surgery has failed and there is significant scar tissue or tightness, BabyLase helps to soften and reduce the amount of scar tissue. 

BabyLase can benefit babies who do not need surgical intervention, who simply need improved oral function. 

Lastly, BabyLase can be used as an option in lieu of surgery, for parents who are concerned about surgical interventions.  It may not provide the same result as a tongue-tie release, but it is an excellent option that will certainly improve function.

How it works:

We use a very specific wavelength of laser (1064nm) to administer the gentle energy to the body.  It feels like gentle warmth on the skin.  The laser is then carefully moved over the arms/hands/face/neck/inside of the mouth/under the tongue in a specific sequence that awakens the sensory system, organizes and sequences the motor nerves, improves the nerve-muscle communication and enables the reflexes and muscle function to flourish in a balanced way.

BabyLase is not a thermal event and does not alter the DNA.   

The benefits of BabyLase are optimized by the application of craniosacral therapy or cranial osteopathy.  

How many sessions does my baby need?

It is case dependent.  The more dysregulated the baby, there will likely need to be more BabyLase sessions.  

The average patient benefits from three BabyLase sessions. 

If BabyLase is being used as the sole tongue-tie intervention, it will likely need 6 sessions.