My child is 19mo. His little tongue is connected at the end of his tongue to the bottom of his mouth. It is kinda hard to explain. The piece that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is connected to the tip. That's the best I can do to explain it. He has been to his dentist 3 times since he was 5mo. He said it needs to be clipped but will not do it until he is 3. He said he might have to go to speech classes. It has already started to mess with his speech. No one can understand him but me. I can't understand him all the time either. He sometimes gets frustrated because we can't tell what he is saying. I am thinking of consulting another dentist. My friends child had the same thing and her dentist clipped it right away to avoid the speech problems. I would see that dentist but we live 200 miles away:(!
What would you do?
Thanks! I did talk to my pediatrician when I noticed it. He sent me to this pediatric dentist. I will call his ENT to see if they can do something. I am really thinking about changing pediatricians because my child has many things come up and he does not really do much about it. I usually contact the "specialty dr. myself" My child has a Milk allergy, eczema, severe ear infections, and other things that I have had to contact those types of drs. Someone said on one of my post that my pedi. was not well informed, I believe they may be right! I was thinking maybe my child is sicker than others but none the less he should be more informed! Thanks for all the support! The sad thing is that my husband and I both interviewed our pediatrician and really thought he would be the best out of them all. I am thinking we were wrong!~
My daughter had the same thing. We had her tongue "clipped" at 6 weeks old. Go to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat) doctor. They will do it.
it's called the ferenum...
it can be clipped and he might have to have speech classes...you can talk to your pediatrician as well about this...
You can have tounge tie clipped shortly after birth. It actually heals faster and is less traumatic for the child if it's done younger. It also saves them from all the problems that come with the tounge tie. You might want to look into an Ear Nose & throat doctor as many of them will clip it. Ask your pediatrition as well, they might do it or can refer you to who can do it. If you wait until your child is 3 it might be considered major surgery, involving full sedation and it will be a longer healing process and may even have to be redone.
The faster and sooner you have it done the better!
Sounds like he is tongue-tied. I would definitely get a second opinion, but keep in mind that at only 19 mo he may not speak clearly anyway. My son will be 2 in a couple weeks and has an extensive vocabulary, but he is still very difficult to understand. I believe his speech is normal...??? Anyway, I would still consult another dentist if I were you...perhaps a pediatric dentist sees more of this??
Good luck!!!
He's plenty old enough for the procedure. Find another dentist.
I'd talk to the pediatrician for a referral. Maybe to an oral surgeon. Perhaps a children's hospital will have an experienced specialist who has done this surgery before.
Yes, it needs to be done ASAP. The longer you wait, the more speech problems he could have. This is also a major cause of breastfeeding latch problems that so many moms (and pediatricians) don't even realize. I'd definitely check with the ENT. Personally, I'd rather have an ENT than a dentist doing surgery anyway!
they can do this shortly after birth because sometimes it would interfere with nursing and such. I would go to a ped or a surgeon not a dentist.
You are in a city where there should be plenty of good pediatric dentists. Call around and/or ask friends for a reference. I would definitely speak to another about their procedure and age they would be willing to do this. Our neighbor's son had same problem and they had his done at 2 yrs. old and it corrected any problems he had with speech.
That little bit of stringy skin is the frenum or a frenulum. It holds the tongue down, but sometimes it's too long and/or thick and results in what some people call being "tongue tied."
It CAN be clipped in a simple, easy, quick, in-office procedure younger than 3 years old. It would, however, require 2 or 3 stitches which would require general anesthesia and many doctors are hesitant about being responsible for that. Not to mention, I've never heard of dentists handling the frenum issues. Many dentists don't even take children for frequent visits until they turn 3 years old, so two things could explain why he's hesitant.
When my brother had his clipped my mom took him to the pediatrician. Or call your local Children's Hospital and ask them to hook you up with the right department. They have offices for everything.
I would seek a second opinion. I think I remember a lady at our church having that done with one of her children and I think they were under/around 1 year old. I would try to find a dentist that specializes in that or at least has done many of these, our current dentist works with children who have facial deformities (clef palate, etc).
Talk to your pediatrician...not your dentist. I'm sure it can be done younger than 3. My son is 8 and his is partially connected (not a speech issue with him though) and I kind of just wish we had done it when he was really little!
Pediatricians do it shortly after birth around here. I would find another pediatrician if they aren't helping you.
I would find a new dentist! Why wait cause more speech problems and then not to mention all the speech therapy your going to have to pay for....sounds much easier to get it done now!
