My 8 Yr Old Daughter Is "Tongue-tied"...

Hi S.-
I wanted to tell you my little sister was tongue tied, and actually choked on her food a few times because of it. At the age of 3 my father decided to get it clipped. She is now 11 and doing great. There were no side effects or regrets! Do it!

My daughter, who is 8, was tongue-tied at birth. We had it clipped when she was 6 weeks old. It was horrific for us, her parents, but a quick result for my daughter. She was comfortable again in a few minutes. I have seen lots of info on this site about older tongue-tied children so I hope you get lots of good advice. Good luck!

If you go to a dentist with a laser they can usually laser the lingual frenum with only topical anesthetic. We've done it in our office with great results. It's a very simple procedure and heals very quickly.

I haven't heard of anyone being "tongue-tied" in a long time. But I do know it happens. When I was a kid, I had a friend named Cheryl. She was a super sweet girl and "talked funny." She was very open about showing her tongue. She wasn't ashamed of it...it was kind of a novelty. The first time she showed me, I said, "Well, why doesn't your mom just take the scissors and snip that thing?" She said the doctors were going to do it but they were waiting for her to be a certain age.
She did ultimately have the procedure and said it didn't hurt at all. She went to speech class once a week for a while to learn how to place her tongue on the roof of her mouth to pronounce her L's properly, etc. I do know that there are varying degrees in the width and length of the band that connects the tongue. In her case, they waited until she was old enough to understand not to fiddle with it or touch it while she healed. She sailed right through.
You didn't say how old your daughter is, but if it's affecting her speech, you should definitely have it done.

I was born tongue-tied and interestingly enough, so was by husband. My husband's tonge was clipped as an infant because it was noticed early on. I, however, am still tongue-tied. My parents didn't notice it until much later and it never became an impediment. It was never a problem for me in school as I never really told anyone nor did anyone notice. I know of a young girl who had hers clipped, but it grew back. My husband's never grew back. I guess it's just her and your preference. Either way, I hope the outcome is one your daughter is happy with.

Hi S.,
My son was also tongue-tied. We had his tongue clipped when he was 8 or 9 months old and he is now 18 months old. We decided to do it so early because my husband also has a tongue-tie that was never clipped and he struggled with speech development all through elementary school (both he and my son got their tongues clipped at the same time--bonding moment? :) ). Anyway, the doctor numbed the area and clipped the frenulum. There was bleeding, but it stopped fairly quickly. We gave him his pacifier and some tylenol. He was fine by the end of the day, but we still gave him tylenol that night just in case. It hasn't been a problem since. It may bother your daughter a little more since she's older--my husband said he had a sore mouth for a couple of days. But that's it!
Good luck!

Hi S.,
I can so relate to what you are asking. I was born tongue tied but had it fixed because I did have speech issues. I actually had a 'New York' accent I am told. I had a lot of issues because I couldn't even pronounce my own name correctly. (That is something that I will always remember).
My second child was also born tongue tied and his pediatrician told us it probably wouldnt be something that we would have to worry about. Turns out, we did have to get it taken care of. As he got older and his speech was not as good as it could be for his age, the dentist recommended we have the procedure done.(He was three at the time) I don't regret it at all!! It was a procedure that took literally less than 5 minutes. It was the prepping that caused a little anxiety with my son, only because he knew that they were going to do something, but he didnt know what..After the procedure, my son starting learning how to pronounce more letters and we couldn't get him to stop talking! The same day of the procedure, my son learned that he could actually stick his tongue all the way out, and even touch the roof of his mouth. He was pretty excited. He is still in need of speech therapy now due to being delayed at pronouncing a lot of letters correctly.
*Speech is not the only issue at hand. Hygiene can be a problem also. After eating, we tend to use our tongue to clean out our teeth of food reminents..you can't do that being tongue-tied.
I could give you the name of our doctor. It was Dr. VanBrocklin in San Ramon. He also had a son that was tongue tied and he performed the procedure on him, so you know that he can feel your worries not just as a doctor, but also as an experienced parent.
Good luck to you and your daughter. just remember, things like this are always more tramatic for us mothers than it is even for the children. Let us know how things work out!

My girls are all tongue-tied, and none have speech problems, but two of them eat very slowly. My younger one did have her frenum revised when our pediatric dentist diagnosed her with severe tongue-tied with 7mm frenum (the free portion of the tongue- Ideally it should be about 12mm and above).

The procedure is called frenulectomy and check out the different classes of Ankylogolssia (tongue-tie).

After the procedure, she ate much faster. She did have a few months of OT to learn to adjust the new tongue. She was 9.5 years old at the time.

Is she having problems talking? I' m tongue=tied and never had my tongue clipped because the doctor told my mom that as long as I am able to speak and be understood I didn't need it. I do admit there are certain words that cause me a little difficulty to say but have learned to pronounce them more clearly. As a young girl I had a couple sessions with a speech therapist that really helped. Then again I do get a lot of,"you have a little bit of an accent, where are you from...? I just proudly say I'm from Chicago and then they seem to get it. Is your daughter getting teased at school? I used to get that a lot and sometimes wished my mom wouldn't have listed to the doctor. Not sure if I'm not any help but if its not too severe, maybe with some little help on pronouncing she'll be fine.

Hi S.,
I was tongue tied until I was 19. My doctor always said that as long as I didnt have problems talking everything was fine. But when I was 19 I had gone to a dentist that noticed that the gums around my bottom teeth were being pulled away. So I had my tongue cliped, it was a little painful but if I had not done it I probably would have surgery to fix it or would have lost my front tooth (my grandma was tongue tied and lost a lower front tooth, probably due to her tongue pulling on the gums). My tooth is still loose due to it. So even if your daughter is talking fine and her gums and teeth seem fine now she may have problems down the road. I wish I would have had mine cliped at an early age so that I could have avoided the problems I've had by waiting. Eventhough its a little painful its a lot better to get it done before there are dental problems also.
P.S. I didnt have to be "Put under" the doctor gave some shots under the tongue (felt like a small pinch) to numb it. Its a little painful after it wears off.

My daughter was found to be tongue tied when she was 4 or 5 days old. She wasn't nursing right and she got jaundice really bad...21.5 was her beli-reuben level and 25 is brain dead. So they clipped her tongue. She was so small that they accidently clipped part of the muscle under there too....not to scare you....but she is fine and healthy now....turning 4 in July and she has NO effects from the whole ordeal. It will look different for a little while under there...and it may turn yellow because Mouth bruises do that. Other than that....it is a great procedure! I think she will be happier and her speech with improve quickly!

I am a brand new mom (my son is 7 weeks old) and we had his frenulum clipped at 5 weeks after experiencing some challenges with breastfeeding. Whether or not to clip was a tough decision to make. I agonized for about a month before finally having it done. My husband and I read up on different people's experiences (posted online), read the American Academy of Pediatrics articles on frenotomy (or frenulectomy, depending on which article you read), and just sat with it for a long time. We had decided before our son's birth not to have any invasive procedures done to him during the birth or afterwards (no pain medications during his birth, no circumcision, etc)...I say that only to emphasize how hard a decision this was for us. We saw five different lactation consultants and two different ENTs to get LOTS of professional opinions before having the procedure done. But after being told by the second ENT specialist that the tongue tie may affect his speech in the future, we decided to have it done. My son practically slept through the procedure, and I have noticed more dexterity with his tongue since then. Long story short, my only advice is to make sure the ENT specialist is good with kids. It seems like a totally obvious point, but the first ENT we went to was not, and I would not have been comfortable having him clip my son's frenulum. The ENT at Children's in Oakland was wonderful and I totally trusted him. His name is Robert Wesman, and you can check out his website online. http://www.robertwesman.com Good luck with your decision.

S.,

Both of my sons were tongue tied. My older son is now 2. We had his tongue clipped at about 3 months because he was having trouble nursing and taking a bottle. We just had another baby 9 weeks ago and his tongue is tied too. We just spoke to a new ENT and he is going to clip his at 5 months. His is not a severe as my older sons. However, we want to fix it now instead of waiting until he is older. The procedure is quick and heals in a couple of days. When we clipped my older sons tongue, the Dr. had him nurse immediately after the procedure. The was more blood then I expected, but I don't think the pain lasted too long since he was able to nurse so quickly afterwards.

hi, mine had this at birth, with a heart shaped tongue-i insisted that they did it b4 we left the hospital,and it was no big deal then, just a quick clip,hope it isnot much now,it shouldnt be! best wishes-patti

My son was 2 when he had this procedure done. He was put under general anesthesia for about 15 minutes total. The procedure only lasted about 5 minutes. The doctor clipped and then stitched and that was it. He came out of surgery screaming and crying and eventually was throwing up, doctors said from the medication to put him to sleep. He started surprising himself within 2 days by doing things he couldn't do before, like sticking out his tongue. We are so glad we did this. Our 3 month old daughter also is tongue tied and I will be talking to our primary doctor to see what we should do to correct hers also.

I am tongue tied - severely, it turns out, but no one ever mentioned anything or noticed until my own mother, a dental hygenist in her youth, noticed one day when I was about 8 or 9. She talked to my dentist about it: the only reason there might be to clip a tongue tied child is in infancy if it causes latch issues when breast feeding. Other worries with a tongue tied infant are possible speech issues, but those are rare, even in severe cases such as mine. I can only stick the tip of my tongue out of my mouth, but have never had a moment of speech issues or impediments: in fact, I was reading by the time I was 3, so my language skills were always very accelerated!
I am a Stanford trained speech pathologist now (funny I should go into that field!) and I would very strongly suggest against clipping your daughters tongue now, for this reason: clipping it may very well CAUSE speech issues now. She has already learned to talk, her brain has already learned how to "deal" with a "tongue tie", and she will most definitely have to see a speech pathologist in order to re-teach her to speak with a freed up tongue. Because she is 8 years old, there is no good medical reason to clip her tongue now and it will certainly cause speech issues that are not currently present. Is there a reason why you want to have it clipped? I always loved showing other kid's my tongue - they always thought it was cool, and I was never teased about it if thats what your issue is with it.

I will even go so far to say, since we are speaking to each other without children around, it has caused no issues in my adult sexual life either. The fact that it doesn't easily stick OUT has nothing to do with the function of it. I will leave it at that...LOL (that is a question I got from friends once we were in HS.... "How do you french kiss....?" Trust me it isn't an issue.

Hi S.,
The procedure is very simple. I suggest you also consult a pedodontist regarding the possible (if any) dental ramifications of leaving your daughter tongue tied. It can sometimes cause a space between the lower two front teeth and can also make it difficult to play some wind instruments. I most cases, no treatment is necessary.
L.

My two-month-old son is tongue-tied, pretty badly. He can't stick his tongue out past his bottom lip at all, and his tongue is pulled in at the tip (someone said their tongue is heart-shaped, and that's probably the best way to describe his). He had problems nursing at first, but due to me getting sick and losing almost all my milk about a week after he was born, he quickly learned how to get all there was to be got. I talked to his doctor about getting it clipped, and he told me that, unless it caused problems (which, by that time, it wasn't), he recommended against clipping it. He said it might stretch out on its own over time. He also said that some people's frenulum have a vein in them, and other people's don't. While the people who don't can just get it clipped and that's that, if there is a vein (which my son had), it would have to be done in the ER under anesthesia because of possible concerns over the amount of bleeding. That might be different in your daughter, who is older, but it's something to think about.

S., my 3yr. old son was tongue-tied at birth and couldn't nurse. He even had trouble drinking from a bottle, it was aweful. My doctor said that they didn't do anything for children who are tongue tied until they were at least three. This didn't make sense to me, so I went with my motherly instincts. I found an ears nose and throat specialist in my town and he clipped it. He said it was good that I came when I did (he was almost three months) because after three months they can close their mouths and not let you in to do the procedure in the office and they would have had to go to the ER. It healed by the next day and he could take the bottle perfectly. I really recommend to go with your instincts and don't take one doctor's word for it, find a doctor that agrees with you. It was so simple and did such good.

Hello, both of my children were tongue-tied. I had their tongues clipped because they were having trouble with some letters of their speech. It is a relatively easy procedure and there is very little bleeding. Most doctors will not even do it unless it interferes with their speech. My son had his clipped when he was 2 while he was undergoing another procedure and the same with my daughter at age 3. They say it is familial.

Hi S.,

My son is 3 years old and we were told by the pediatrician that he is tongue-tied. He suggested that we not have it clipped because usually it does not cause a problem. The only time he suggested clipping is if he has speech issues. However to do date he speaks fluently and has no problems.

An exercise to help was to teach him to stick out his tongue. Sometimes you can stretch the skin under the tongue a little by practicing to stick out the tongue. It has worked a little so far for our son.

I did not read any other responses before writing mine, so I apologize if I am duplicating anything.

I was 30 years old when I finaly had mine done. I wish I would have done it sooner, because of the issues it caused with my teeth and pulling my gums back for years.

If you are thinking about it, do it. Yes, it is painful and it is hard to see your child in pain, but trust me, it will save you and her A LOT in the long run (and not just financially)

My son was born with his tongue attached to the bottom of his mouth. His speech is fine, and I never had him taken in to fix it. He is 12 now and he talks fine. He can't stick his tongue out, but he can talk fine. If you feel its necessary to snip it, go ahead. I hope this helps.

My nephew was tongue tied and his parents were afraid to have his tongue clipped. When he turned 18, he had the procedure done and said it hardly hurt and wished he would have had it done sooner.

My daughter and all 4 grandchildren were born tongue tied. Over the years it has stretched out but u can still detect it. So far all the children speak normally and doctors told me with her just to leave it. Naturally I don't know the extent to which yours is tongue tied, and you should always follow doctor's advise. We always talked about it being special, a heart shaped tongue. Good Luck!

Wow, this is so nice to see info on this. We have just started noticing some speech issues in our four year old that are related to him being tongue tied. It wasn't an issue with him latching on, but there are sounds that he doesn't pronounce correctly, that we used to just think would fix with practice due to his age. He's four years old and still doesn't make the L and th sounds properly. So while I don't have any advice to share I do want to say thank you for bringing this up.

Hi!
My son, who will be 3 this summer, is also tongue tied. We discovered this while still in the hospital. No one could figure out why he wouldn't latch on until one nurse looked into his mouth. An ENT was suppose to clip his tongue before we left the hospital but, no one ever came to us. We saw an ENT when my son was a week old. The doctor told us that there wasn't a need to have his tongue clipped. I had decided to not breast feed so the latching on was no longer a problem. The doctor said that if later down the road it caused speech problems, then getting it clipped would be something to look into.
Right now, my son talks as well as I would expect from a child his age.
Apparently this is a hereditary trait. My husband and his mother were both tongue tied.

This is long winded, sorry but, I also wanted to mention that I have a friend who's niece is tongue tied. She is around your daughters age and she doesn't have any speech problems.

My husband (my other baby) who is 32 just had his untied because no one had bothered to tell him and he never really knew. So his dentist finally asked him about it and he got it taken care of. Any way, coming from a 32 year old baby... it wasn't that bad because they cauterized it. She might have a problem with the gauze if she's a gagger. Just be sure to follow the dr's orders and wash the mouth out every time you eat or drink.
"The mouth is a disgusting place!" (Nemo)
It will be hard to monitor if she's going to school. Good luck with her untie-ing.