Lifelong Poplar Bluff resident Dr. John Blaich has a heart for helping those in need and is currently using a non-invasive water laser procedure to do just that.
Blaich graduated in 1986 with his Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry from Washington University School of Dental Medicine in St. Louis. He grew up in Poplar Bluff and continues to practice here with his brother, Dr. Rick Blaich, as well as other family members at the Dental Arts Group.
For the past seven years or so, his team, as he refers to them, has performed a procedure to assist babies, as well as suffering parents, with a condition referred to as lip and tongue ties.
Lip and tongue ties, according to Blaich, are conditions in which a baby’s lingual frenulum — the flap of skin that connects the tongue to the floor of the mouth — is abnormally short, or the labial frenulum, which attaches the lip to the gum, may be attached too closely to the upper gum.
Lip and tongue ties can make feeding a newborn effectively a difficult and often painful task. Some signs of this defect include difficulty latching during breastfeeding, clicking noises, infant fatigue, poor weight gain and limited tongue mobility, medical professionals report.
“A large percentage, about 4-10%, depending on where you’re at, of babies, have issues nursing because of this,” said Blaich.
This condition is often identified by pediatricians, lactation consultants and sometimes even chiropractors, according to Blaich.
The procedure to correct the defect takes about 30 seconds with the help of a non-invasive water laser procedure and the recovery time is quick, Blaich explained.
“The recovery time is, we usually say 10 days, but the mothers are able to nurse as soon as the procedure is over. They will go nurse immediately after surgery,” said Blaich.
He estimates he and his staff will perform about 200 of these procedures a year, at no charge.
“The normal fee would be about $200 per region, per tissue area, but we don’t charge for this procedure, and we don’t because I don’t want a parent who might think, ‘Oh, I can’t afford that, because diapers are expensive, everything’s expensive.’ I know that I’ve got grandchildren,” Blaich said. “So by taking that off the books, then I know they’re not going to be hesitant. I would rather see (the babies) nourished and healthy.”
Blaich said patients come to him from many places but the majority of babies he sees are within a two-hour radius of his practice.
“They’ve traveled from a lot of places, Branson and Springfield, but a parent will go a long way to get their kid healthy,” said Blaich.
There is no charge for the laser procedure Blaich offers, but he does encourage those who can to make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“We ask the parents if they’re able, they can go on St. Jude’s website with the image on our brochures and they can make a donation in their child’s name, which I think is kind of cool,” said Blaich.
There are many long-term benefits of breastfeeding, according to Blaich.
“They have fewer allergies, eczema, a lower risk of type one and two diabetes, fewer incidences of Crohn’s, fewer speech and orthodontic impediments and lower caries (cavities),” said Blaich. “They have a stronger immune system. They’re healthier. They have less diarrhea, constipation, gastroenteritis, reflux, fewer colds, ear infections, fewer cases of meningitis and they have lower rates of infant mortality.
“If I can get these kids healthier, not as sick, and then the mother’s healthier too, then it’s really a big win.”
For more information on this procedure or how to schedule an appointment visit biolase.com/laserfrenectomy.