What to Do About Tongue Tie

I just took a class on lactation and the instructor said she's seen dads and babies get the clipping done on the same day...and neither seemed to have any pain at all, I guess there just isn't any nerve to damage there? I have also heard that it can effect speach, but from time to time people just leave it and there isn't a problem. Maybe just leave it till he starts talking...and see how he does? She said that one mom commented she got her first real "french" kiss from her hubby after he got the clip done...

I don't have a child that has had this problem, but I do have a cousin that was tongue tied. He never had problems eating, in fact was a very fat baby, but at 5 and getting close to starting school, noone not even his parents could understand him. After they had it fixed, and speech therapy, he was fine. So I guess the main issue to consider is speech and his ability to communicate later, and wether it would be easier to do this now while is little and will have no memory of it.

I had a friend in jr.high that had this problem. I never would have known she had this untill one day she told us she couldnt stick out her toung? so puzzled I asked her what she ment and she showed us how she couldnt stick out her toung and it was tied down. it was no big deal, she spoke fine, ate well, and had lots of friends. the only question would be if he wanted to have it done would he be able to when he was older. I would imagine it would be hard for him to kiss girls when he was older. I dont know it might not be a problem for him at all.

J.,

I had my the skin under my tongue when I was very young. I'm now 38yrs old. The procedure does is easly done. Although your baby still is quite young. I would definately check with a pedi dentist.

My son is 2 and is also tongue tied. He has not had any surgery to correct it and has just started really talking. There are alot of people who have this problem and never have the surgery. We have no plans to make him go through this surgery right now and although the problem caused me to stop breastfeeding, it doesn't appear to be affecting his speech.

I am partially tongue tied and my brother was completely . took him 4 hours to drink a bottle. It was always told to us that it can cause problems later on. I wish that mine had been fixed when I was little. You may have to take him to the dentist or the Ears Nose Throat Doctor. That is who also did my oldest who was also partiallytied.
Good Luck.

both my boys were tongue tied, we had our first son, now 3.5 yrs. clipped at 11 days old, per the advice of our pediatrician, we thought it would help with breastfeeding, it didn't, but at least we won't have to worry about the speech problems later on. as a former teacher, I couldn't knowingly let my baby have a speech problem later in school... there's enough pressure in school as it is. anyway- he cried for 3 hours the night we had it done, now we know that was just his personality!
my 2nd son, now 2.5 months old, was also t-tied, his even worse & we had it clipped at 9 days old, he didn't cry at all the night of & seemed just fine, he's our laid back baby!
So, it is easy... it literally takes the ENT dr. about 5 minutes if that... yes, they cry when it happens but mostly just from being held down. Also, they have no memories at this age so you aren't doing any permanent damage. it is my advice to do it now before he gets any older. our dr. also told us it restricts their tongue movement making it hard to use their tongue to get food out of their teeth...
I also have another friend who did it (after asking us for advice) & she agreed it was no big deal & was so glad she did! good luck!
i just have to add... after reading all the other responses... why in the world would you just wait to see if there is a problem later when this is such a safe, easy procedure...it will hurt later & he'll have to learn to use his tongue the right way later if he lives with it 'tied' for years.... I REALLY Hope you just do it now while he's a baby...it really is so easy, quick, & much better to do it now rather than wonder if he might have issues with it later in life..why set your baby up for possible obstacles when you can get around any of them now with a simple procedure. contact me if yu have any questions... we've now had two boys with it & one done just recently with our 2 month old!

Hi J. - One of our parent users for our Baby Insights product had a baby who was tongue tied. You can read her story here: http://www.babblesoft.com/parent-story-erikas-family.php. She had a lot of problem breastfeeding so she did have the skin cut under the tongue. I hope that's helpful.

A.

My middle daughter was tongue tied. My mid-wife noticed it immediately after she was born. She breast fed very well right after she was born. However, when my mid-wife snipped her tongue, I noticed right away that her suck was much stronger. There was no blood and no crying from my newborn infant. She is now 4 1/2 and has been going to speech therapy for over a year. I am not sure if it is related or not. Some of her speech problem was stuttering.

My son was tongue tied and we had it clipped at 3weeks old. They said it didn't hurt, I am always wary of people telling me what another feels and weather or not another is in pain. All I can tell you is what I observed.

He was having severe nursing issues. He was not getting enough milk and was biting me the whole time he was nursing. By 3 weeks I was RED and swollen.

He went in and was asleep. I did not stay in the room, I was a little afraid that my nerves would make him more anxious. I took his older brother out of the room. When I left the room he was asleep in his fathers arms. I heard him crying an angry cry. His father said that was when the dr was touching his mouth. After it was over (and I heard him crying) I was back in there holding him and when I did he stopped crying immediately. It never bothered him and he was HAPPILY nursing at home about 3 hrs later. There was very little blood.

I think we did the right thing and I am glad I did it so early. Our Pedi told me that as they get older that tissue thickens and the blood vessel becomes a littler bigger and it is a bigger deal. She said at his age the tissue was very thin and there was very little blood.

Good Luck I understand your fears I questioned myself right up to the procedure but afterwards I knew we did the right thing as nursing was back on track which made him much happier.

J.

I know what you are going through!!! my son was also born very tongue tied. he couldnt even move his tongue past his lower gums. but on the other hand he was eating very well and gaining plenty of weight 90th percentile on weight. his father is also tongue tied and never had his tongue clipped. my sons dad did have speach problems when he was young but has mostly grown out of it. i talked to pedi about the tongue tied and was refered to an ear/nose/throat dr. who wanted to wait until the six month mark. i noticed my son was behind on cooing and other baby noises. this and the fact that i am breastfeeding and it hurt when my son nursed was the deciding factor for me. i had my sons tongue clipped when he was four and a half months old. they put him under laughing gas for the procedure ( yes its scary) but he was out of his surgery in less than 5 minutes literlly. my son was fussy for about the first week after the procedure that was about it. i did notice that the very next day he was making new sounds and blowing rasberries which he was unable to do before his tongue was clipped. also my son had started on babyfood before having tongue clipped and i noticed that he was much better at eating and keeping food in his mouth. nursing also was not painful, which was wonderful for me, since he is my first i had no idea that nursing didnt hurt lol. i know i would do it all over again if i could. it was definetly the right decision for me to have my sons tongue clipped.
best of luck with your decision and best wishes
A.

J.,

My son was tongue tied as well and it really is just a little snip. They numb the area with a gel so he won't feel a thing. My son was having (some) issues feeding, but the question was whether or not he would have speech problems later in life. I figured a little snip would be worth the piece of mind just to make sure. My son didn't cry at all from the pain. He fussed a little because some big guy had his hands in his mouth, but it was so quick. I understand your hesitance though, I was so worried and scared that my "baby" was getting cut, but looking back it was nothing at all. Don't worry and just have it done. There are no side affects or abnormalities, no scars, nothing of the sort. Plus you'll have pice of mind knowing that he for sure won't have any speech problems. Better safe than sorry I say!

Good luck
S.

P.S. My son is now 20 months and is talking beautifully.

When my son was born (4 months ago) the nurse told me the same thing. He needed to have his tongue clipped or it would cause a problem. When we left the hospital and took him to his 2 week check up with his pedi I asked him about it and told me it was up to me. As long as he can eat he should be fine. Well my 4 month can EAT! When he was 2 months he was weighing 17 lbs. I don't know how much he weighs now but he is in 6-9 month clothes. My point is he is fine. He can scream, cry and eat.

J., I don't know if this will help at all, but my husband is "tongue tied". He does not have any speach problems and unless he shows you, you would never know it! He does not have any problems usually associated with Ankyloglossia.

It is a big decision whether to have the surgery or not, but keep in mind, the older your son gets, the more developed his nerves will become. Take into consideration the degree of Ankyloglossia your son has, the complications that may arise with not having the surgery, as well as the "quality of life" factor. Remember, kids can be and usually are cruel during school years. Best of luck to you! God Bless.

Hi J..

Being an LPC, I'm surprised you are questioning this. It is an easy procedure, especially now. If you wait any longer, it will be traumatic and could also harbor a life-long speech impediment, which, as you know, can cause some self esteem issues both as a child and adult. My neice had this procedure done before she even left the hospital. It was not a big deal. Do your child a favor and get this done asap.

Take care

Been there!! My son was tongue tied when he was born, also. I asked several pedis about cutting it, and all said the same thing yours did. One told me we should wait until there's a problem with speech and then worry about it. I refused to wait until other children were making fun of him and we had an established problem so that he had to go in for SURGERY to have it fixed. I too thought he had no problems nursing, but would not wait. I called a specialist on my own in the Woodlands and went in to have it cut. The doctor looked at his tongue (then mine for comparison), we talked a bit about it, she told me I MADE THE RIGHT DECISION, and we did it. I stood facing the wall at first and she told me I know you don't want to, but I need you to hold his head still. So begrudgingly, I did, and we both cried, but she snipped once, maybe twice to be sure, dabbed it with a rag, and we were DONE. He screamed for a while because yeah, it hurts. But soon stopped and we headed home. On the way he got hungry, so we pulled over to nurse and I could ALREADY feel a difference. I didn't think we had a problem, but he could now really move that tongue and get the milk. I do not regret taking matters into my own hands. Like I said - if you wait you will have an establish speech impediment and to fix it will then require a surgery to fix because muscles have developed there. The sooner you do this for your baby, the better. Good luck!!!

My son was tongue-tied at birth, too. He was nursing fine but we opted for him to be snipped early on. He was around a week old I think and it took a minute or two and never bled and he never cried. The longer you wait the more complex the procedure (sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear!) My son, as it turns out, has developmental delays and with that a speech problem anyway, so I'm glad that we don't have to wonder about that contributing to it as well.
I have a friend who did not get her son's fixed and he's always spoken fine, even as a young toddler. This, as with sooooo many things about kids, you just can't know in advance and have to make the best choices you can with the information you have at the time. there is not a right or wrong, but being comfortable with the choice you make. One thing...if it's very short and he can't stick his tongue out at all will he be a great kisser one day? We may not be able to picture our dear babies as sexual beings, but you want him to be able to make out some day, right? Like when he's 27 and paid you back for college? :)
Get some doctor referrals and go with your gut after meeting some specialists.

P....mom of three boys (7,5 and 2, so only kissing me so far! :)

My son turns 8 months this week. He's tongue tied also and I'm choosing not to do anything about it unless there is a problem later. Our doctor supports my decision and says since he's never had an problem with eating that she's not concerned either. My husband and his mother are both tongued and have never had issues with speech.

A friend who had it done to her child said its not painful although it does feel like a quick pinch (very few tears) and its sore for a day or 2 but it heals quickly.

The biggest issue we've had is that he can't stick out his tongue like the other kids so he makes the "motor boat" sound instead.

If theres not an issue I feel its a personal choice, good luck!

My younger son was born with a tongue tie and we did have his frenulum clipped at 2 weeks old because it was hindering his ability to breastfeed. It's actually a quick procedure done at the pediatric ENT's office. They put a topical numbing solution on the frenulum and clip the skin with a pair of surgical scissors. My son didn't appear to have much of a reaction and there was only a few drops of blood. We chose to do this because he was having a tough time breastfeeding and not gaining weight due to the tongue tie issue. Good luck on whatever you choose to do. If you need the name of a good pediatric ENT let me know.

My little sister was tounge tied when she was little they told my dad that she needed to get her tounge clipped....we were raised by our father and he opted out of having it done....when she was little you couldnt understand a word she was saying but as she got older it got better she 19 now and she has no problem with her speech except for the fact that we cant get her to shut up!...lol! I think they grow out of it. Its like they have to grow into their tounge. hope this helps!

My husband was tongue tied and had his fixed as an infant. They did not clip it enough then so he had to have it done again as a 16 year old.

Our third child 9 months old and is tongue tied. His big issue was that he wouldn't open his mouth to receive food from a spoon so I was having the same issues trying to decide what to do. I was freaked out by the thought of doing that to my baby, but my husband said that it is less traumatic to have it done now instead of waiting because an infant won't remember while an older child will. He obviously knows.

Anyway, we just had it done two weeks ago in the pediatrician's office. It was a short, simple procedure. My son mostly screamed because they were pinning him down. They clipped it, he cried, we went home and he took a nap. When he woke up, he was fine and other than a little redness, you never would have know that we had it done.

By the way...he opens his mouth to eat from a spoon now. :)
Good luck!

Two of my three kids had the release done, but they were younger than four months. Not sure if that will make a difference or not. My son was borderline, but the thought that it might interfere with his speech later and necessitate either a much bigger procedure (like having to put him under due to being so much older) or therapy was enough to make us go ahead with this VERY SIMPLE procedure. Basically, numbing ointment is put on the frenulum, the baby is held upside down so the mouth drops open (I was able to hold both of my kids) and the doctor does a little clip. There's some bleeding for a few minutes as well as some tears. The baby's able to feed as soon as the next feeding time. With the first kid my husband came with me. I didn't even need him the second time. It may hurt a little, but nothing like it would having it done on an 18-24 month old when you're finally realizing that something needs to be done because he's having trouble talking. There are no bad memories at four months either. I would at least consult with an otolaryngologist (we used Chris Thompson in Austin both times. Highly recommend). That doctor may feel you don't need to do anything either, but at least you'll know and will have that peace of mind. Do it soon, though, because the older the child gets, the harder it may be to do. I feel like we did the best thing for both kids. Good luck!

I WISH they had caught my baby's tongue tied issues as she couldn't nurse and I didn't know why. They never figured out she was tongue tied until after I finally gave her a bottle. But she was gaining weight and the pediatrician said they don't clip otherwise. He offered to give me an oral surgeon or ENT dr referral but he insisted that it was best to wait. So I did.

She's now 5 and talks just fine. Her tongue has grown fine and hopefully she'll have no problems later on.

S.

my 3rd son was born tongue tied and we waited almost a year before having it clipped for the same reasons you mentioned...he is now 6 and talks non stop so maybe I should have left it attached!! In all seriousness, it was a big deal for me, he had to be put under anesthesia and that scared me to death! It was very quick and I guess medically not a big deal but it was very hard for me to see my baby taken away from me and I had no control over what the dr did. It was painful for him afterwards, he had baby tylenol and advil for a few days and cryed alot more than normal and didnt want to be fed for a while either, maybe it hurt to suck? Either way he survived and is as normal and chatty as can be!
best of luck

My advice is to do it, do it, do it!!!!! It is such a minor procedure. I did worry about the anesthesia but they use such a small amount since it takes two seconds to clip the skin!! It was that minor. We used Dr. Nowlin at Austin ENT. The procedure was across the street from Dell Children's Hospital at Strictly Pediatrics. All the doctors (anesthesiologists) work at Children's. I would recommend you use them. Nowlin is the greatest! Can't say good enough things about him. So, our son is nearly 4 now. He had his fenulum clipped last January (he was 3 yrs, 3 mos old). He was having trouble touching the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Now that it's done, he still can't touch it because he doesn't know how to move him muscle in that way. Now we are having to do speech therpay. I have no idea why there is so much controversy surrounding this topic. It's silly. I wouldn't be in this boat, shelling out $20 for every therapy session...and time and stress, had I just done the procedure when he was a baby. Good luck!

My son was tongue tied and the pedi said that most likely as he got a little older it would break on it's own so I waited but at 18 monhs he was still not talking very much and it still had not broken. We then got the prodedure done. It was a big ordeal. I would get it done now rather than wait. He did start talking almost right away after the procedure was done it was pretty amazing. My advice is the sooner the better. At 18 months the little guy was big enough to fight back during the procedure.

My niece is 10 years old and just had hers clipped this summer because they way her tongue was tied down was causing pressure on her bottom front teeth and causing them to stick out. It never caused problems with her eating or speech, but here we are thinking all was fine and this happened. It was very scary and painful for her, and she now has to get braces. I say if it is going to be clipped do it as early as possible while their little bodies bounce back so fast.

Hi J.,

I am not a mother who has had a similar experience, so I found some sites that address your questions, and they give points of view from parents, physicians, and a SLP (speech and language pathologist). The 2nd to last one addresses the "no big deal" procedure. The last one is the most informative as to real-life implications, and explains why it would be a good idea to have a SLP evaluate your child to determine if surgery is necessary.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_94.html
http://children.webmd.com/tc/tongue-tie-topic-overview
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1005121401901
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/tonguetied.html
http://members.tripod.com/~Caroline_Bowen/tonguetie.html

If you decide to have a SLP evaluate your son, there are 2 options I know of. You could exercise one or both.

One: call the special education dept. in your school district and tell them you would like a SLP to evaluate your child and make recommendations (you may need a referral from the pediatrician). This is the freebie option.

Two: check around and find a reputable SLP who has extensive experience with children with tongue tie. Get the pediatrician to write the referral, and see if your insurance will pay for the evaluation and any follow-up treatment, if needed.

Note: the SLP might recommend follow up treatment post-surgery, if you go this route. If so, see if your insurance would cover this. The SLP's know how to word things AND how doctors can word things to get insurance companies to pay.

Try to put yourself in your son's shoes and imagine what it will be like to KNOW how things can be said, but not to be able to SAY it; and to not be understood well, no matter how hard one tries. In OT school, we had to wear a rubber glove on our dominant hand for 24 hours (to mimic the decreased or complete lack of sensation typical of a stroke patient), in order to comprehend what a person with a "dead" hand must deal with. I "got" it, and I'm convinced it made me a better, more compassionate therapist. In your son's case, he is fortunate because his defect need not be permanent.

Your son is blessed to have a mother who gathers information and looks down the road. I was an OT in the schools for many years, and I can tell you that it is a blessing when a child is given the opportunities to be able to speak as clearly as possible, as early as possible. Good luck! jenifer

My daughter has the same thing and is almost 3 years old and has absolutely no trouble at all. At birth it took her awhile to learn how to nurse but after that no troubles. I waited to do it until I thought there might be trouble and she speaks better than my other 3 girls did at her age. Now it might not be the same for you. I just tried the wait and see , and things worked out. Best of luck.

My pediatrician said the same thing. He said it often stretches out on it's own and that if it caused speech problems later on then we would take care of it then. My daughter is 15 months now and so far so good.

My two oldest were similar. My doctor told me the same advice. I wouldn't do anything until you knew there was really a problem, that would be silly. If they're feeding fine, then right now, there is no problem. My two kids eventually tore it on their own with falls and such. Doctor said that was fine and that nothing is wrong with them. I freaked out when it happened to my oldest - but all is well and it isn't a problem at all if it is "too loose" or whatever I could imagine to be a problem. I wouldn't worry about anything that is not currently a problem.

My sister in-law had my nephews cut last year and he was fine after. He is 6yrs old and he did have speech problems thats why it was done. When we talk to him now he it is easier to understand. Each child is different so good luch to what ever decision you make.

I have a neighbor whose son just had that done. He is almost a yr old. He had it done two days ago and has been just fine the past two days. He plays and carries on just as if nothing had happened so I think the pain issue must be true, or at least very minimal. Our little guy talks now, where as before he could only make noises. It is a big relief for his parents who can now understand what he wants.

My 3rd child was tongue tied. His pedi also said not to worry about it. However, by the time he was 4 days old, it was killing me to nurse. So, I had it clipped. We went to a midwife who did not use an pain meds because we needed to make sure that he was latching on properly. But, I think that if you go to an ENT, they use some sort of pain meds.

My son cried, but as soon as the midwife quit holding him down, he stopped. Plus, the tongue is a very fast healing part of your body.

My sis-in-law is a speech therapist and agrees that it is not necessary to do it right away. One concern is clipping it too much and then the tongue will hand out and need to be trained to stay in the mounth when in a resting position.

However, my husband was 6 when he had his clipped and vividly remembers it happening. So, there's something to be said for getting done when they won't remember it.

Sorry, I guess this doesn't help much. But, that was our experience and I'm glad that we did it.

As long as your baby can curl the tongue upward and has some movement with it, there should be no problem. My daughter's tongue is attached and I am not going to clip it unless I notice a problem later on. As of now, she is doing great.

Hi J.,

My daughter was born with this 20 years ago. Her tongue is shaped like a little heart and we never did anything about it. She did have a little speech problem, (if you would call it that…she just sounded so cute!) Anyway, our Dr. in Newport Beach, CA, said she should be fine. And she turned out GREAT! By the time she was in the 1st grade you wouldn’t even know she ever had anything "wrong" with her. I do not see it being a big deal at all. Now, I know there are different degree’s of this so I'm not sure how tied your son's tongue is. If you live in the area, I'll be happy to look at it for you. Mind you, I'm not a Dr. just a mom that has experienced this. Let me know if you want to contact me.

i was born tongue tide and even though the doctor did the procedure i still had a speech problem. i think even though you get the procedure your still going to have a speech problem. my mom and a speech teacher at my elemantry school worked with me. I am a teacher now and i see how not speeking correctly can affect a child in many ways. and i even went through it. my daughter was born tongue tide and the doctor told me the same thing only if it casues her not to eat. so i never got the procedure done on her. but as she gets older i will work with--read to her everyday so she can her me speak (if you can not speak correctly you can not comperehend), build her confedence and if i see she needs more help i would get a speech therapist for her. modeling to her and corrcting her will help her. i work every day on making sure i speek correctly and it gets tiring but as you get older it becomes a natural thing. i hope everythings works out.

my daughter is 2 and we just found out that she is slightly tongue tied. We were not told this when she was born but she is having speech/therapy cause we couldn't understand her so her pedi recommended she have speech therapy. Just recently about a month ago while working with her speech therapist she started to ask us questions about my daughter and her feeding. She said I believe she may be tongue tied. So i made her an appt and yes she is slightly tongue tied. At this current moment because it is so slight we are going to wait until she is 3 and see if her speech improves her pedi recommended we wait since she has never had any problems with feeding etc. I feel it is a personal choice on if you should do it or not but as for me if her speech isn't were it should be and it still has to do with her being tongue tied then we will do the surgery. For me, this is best cause kids are cruel now a days and I would hate for her to be made fun of or for her to feel that there is something wrong with her cause she doesn't sound like the others. I have heard of people that are tongue tied and have had no problem but I have also seen what happens to those that have been made fun of. For me it's worth saving her the pain and humiliation that kids cause now a days, especially since it it a painless and fast surgery. Hope this help. Good luck to you in whatever choice you make.