Ankyloglossia = Tongue Tied Baby

My son was tongue tied. We found out at 3 weeks old. His was pretty severe, so we had it clipped right away by an ENT. (Sorry, we were in the Phoenix area so I can't give a reference for you.) It took 5 minutes in the office, and he slept through the whole thing and didn't even cry. The ENT just put a pair of scissors under his tongue, and snip! And it was all over. My son had feeding troubles before, but they cleared up immediately after. His latch was much better, and I healed quickly. I am so glad I did it. He is now 4 and has had no speech problems whatsoever. I think it was much harder for ME than for him.

My son is tongue tied. We did not have it corrected. His speech is fine.

I wish we had done it sooner. My youngest had it done at 3 1/2 yr old and he had to go under which was the worst part, his tongue healed quickly, he had little pain, but he had it done in august and is still learning how to use his tongue bc he wasn't able to for so long. I say go ahead and get it clipped. At this age it can be done right at the surgeons office without the need to go under
Edited: I wanted to add that not snipping it cannot only cause speech problems but can cause dental problems.

my first and third were/are tongue tied. my first was noticed at birth, he had trouble latching on during breastfeeding, we had an ENT clip the frenulum at 5 days old. my third didn't have any trouble latching(though i did notice the tongue issue immediately after birth), and she is not talking a whole lot yet, but it's looking pretty severe, so i'm gonna talk to the dr about it at her 2yr well check - i wish we had corrected it at birth. MUCH easier to do with a baby.

Hi,

My experience comes from my brother and nephew. My brother was tongue tied and had it sniped, I do not remember they being any problems. My nephew was tongue tied and his mother chose not to have it sniped. His speech is okay, but he often complains about not being able to clean food off the back of his teeth and as he came into his teen years he requested to have it sniped because it affected his ability to kiss girls :)
(This was told to my husband and I in private) I spoke with a family member who works in the dental field and was told that it is much harder to correct it when they get older and to have it done as a baby. And it does interfere with things we take for granted.

I come from a line of tongue tied people! We had our 3rd's done at 7 days old. We walked in with him asleep and walked out with him 5 minutes later, still asleep. We had to 'manuver' his tongue for a couple of days to insure it didn't grow back together but he never cried- not once- during or after. We were referred to an ENT for our procedure but I don't know of any in NM. Sorry!

My ds was and his pediatrician clipped it in the office at 5 weeks old. There are not nerves in that piece of skin. He only cried when we held his mouth open and immediately afterwards nursed. I could tell a difference in his latch right away, so much better! There was nothing to do or take care of.

I do know that some kids are tied much worse, his ped says his was moderate, so I am not sure if yours is severe and if so whether that requires a more detailed procedure.

Have you discussed it with your ped?

My 5 year old is ... my pediatrician has said since birth that it isn't necessary to snip it. He does have a speech delay, but so does his 6 year old brother who is not tongue-tied. They have the same speech patterns. The SLPs they have seen have also said that it is unnecessary. I seem to agree since Hudson doesn't have the same issue and speech therapy is helping alot.
The only thing we laugh about is that he won't be able to stick out his tongue at anyone.

Your pediatrician will probably do it. If they won't, they will refer you to someone nearby.

My pediatrician missed the fact that my son is tongue tied and we didn't know until a speach therapist evaluated him at 3 years old. He doesn't articulate and there are some sounds he can not make at all. His therapist helped him stretch the tongue tie through exercises. He does speach therapy 4 times a week and has a long road ahead of him. Bottom line, get it snipped now.

A baby will have very little bleeding, not require stitches and not need sedation. A child will need sedation to keep them still and will need stitches to minimize bleeding.

I haven't read any of the responses yet, but I was born tongue-tied and my mother opted to not get it corrected. I have had zero problems with my speech or eating (I can even tie a cherry stem with my mouth-- discovered one intoxicated night at the local bar in my, eh-hem, younger years), so looking back on it, I'd have to say my mom made the right choice to not have me suffer through a procedure that I ultimately did not need. My son is now 8 months old and he was also born with the same tongue issues and my husband and I have chosen to wait and see what becomes of it. Since I turned out okay, I believe we have made a good choice. Tha being said, it is a choice and it's ultimately your to make, just thought I'd give you my experience! Good luck!

Any Dr and ARNP can do the quick SNIP of a scissor to the correct piece of skin under the tongue.

my daughter was/is it was found at birth and it was not super bad to where it effected her eating and it was relooked at, at 1 year and her ped. said she was fine. but now i am not so sure

I have not had a child with this but a friend of mine does.
Her daughter was at least 3 or 4 when she had hers done.
She enjoys life so much more now.

I would think that the earlier it is done the better.
Sorry cannot help you with a referral either.