# Anyone else with an "intact" tongue-tied toddler?



## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

DS is "tongue-tied" (has a short frenulum -- that thin piece of skin underneath your tongue). It never affected his nursing and hasn't affected his speech in the least, so we're leaving it alone. I guess my DH had the same condition, and in those days they automatically snipped the frenulum at birth.

Eating and speech issues appear to be unaffected in DS, but are there any other issues that could arise in the future as a result of his tongue-tie? Have any of you opted to have your little ones' frenulums snipped? I figure we might as well leave it "intact" unless it poses a problem -- just curious what others' experiences have been.


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## wannabe (Jul 4, 2005)

kissing, licking ice-cream.


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## brogansmomma (Jan 4, 2006)

You know what? It sounds SO stupid but as the pp said - "kissing". **eta: stupid because that continues to be the thing that jumps ahead of all the other reasons in my mind, NOT "stupid" being a reflection on the pp's response.







**

My son has a severe tie - it's directly on the tip of his tongue; he can lick ice cream pretty well but he can't stick his tongue out beyond 1/4" past his lips. Cute now but.... I wonder how it'll affect him later on. I actually have to start really thinking about this. I went to the ENT when he was under a year old and he referred us to a speech therapist for the following spring (his standard practice). He was under 18 months - probably 15 or 16 - and she did her thing and put in her report that he could make all the sounds necessary for speech (he wasn't talking beyond one or two "words" at that point; talks incredibly well now) and that she didn't feel a snip was necessary. We went back to the ENT for a follow-up and it's ultimately my decision. My thoughts are as follows:

- sure he can make all the sounds and speaks very well for his 33/34 months but he talks like a 2-year-old, which he is. You know? He has a twang or whatever toddlers have when they talk. So the way he talks know is not, to me, a perfect indicator of how he will talk as an adult - his enunciation, etc

- the whole kissing thing. Hey, I adore a good tongue kiss







- I have trouble envisioning (not that I'm really wanting to) him being able to do the same with the severity of his tie

- I know a speech impediment/lisp is not the end of the world but why should I choose to subject my child to the potential associated struggles with that if he doesn't need to? I know that at this point I can't predict the future but I don't want to look back and say, "If only". I know he can get is snipped as an older child or adult but by then his speech patterns will be established and hard to undo

- there are other thoughts (I think







) but I should be in bed; early shift tomorrow.

I have an appointment with the ENT again this month (I have to check on that date!!) so I need to be thinking on this more and more. Right now I'm leaning heavily towards snipping it.

eta: he never had feeding issues. We didn't nurse so I don't know if we would have with bf'ing or not.


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## HappiLeigh (Mar 30, 2005)

My own DD was not effected by this, but a good friend's DS was. She did not have it clipped. He did have difficulty nursing at first, but they got it together a few weeks in. He had a bad latch and it was unclear if the tongue was part of the issue. They used nipple shields for a few weeks. Her doctor thought the BFing might help stretch the tongue out.
Now the child is four and he does have a speech problem. He is seeing a speech therapist. I'm not sure if they have considered having the tongue clipped at this point.
HTH!


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## delfuego (Mar 17, 2006)

i grew up w/ a friend who couldn't stick her tongue out very far. i never realized that was what it was until i had my own baby and heard others talking about their kids being "tongue-tied".

we used to tease her by sticking out our own tongues at her (good-naturedly of course). she couldn't really do it back because we'd all laugh.

also, she did very poorly in spitting contests! that's about it that i know of. i could ask her husband how she kisses!


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## +stella+ (Apr 17, 2005)

my husband is tongue tied with no problems now, I dont think his mom nursed him and he speaks fine to this day. But yeah he cant stick his tongue out far at all. I dont have any complaints about kissing either. lol. but Id say hed be ok if it doesnt affect his speech, and even then thats up to you as to whether its a real problem. hth


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## MCatLvrMom2A&X (Nov 18, 2004)

The only girl I know who didnt have hers cliped have major trouble speaking







dh has a short frenulum and it does affect some things like kissing and the way he eats. As well as a few issues we cant talk about here







:


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## pigpokey (Feb 23, 2006)

We notched my son's a bit when he was a baby because he couldn't nurse efficiently. He articulates very well for his age so unless it becomes a problem, I'll wait until he's old enough to sit there with his mouth open to snip the rest.

I know the doctors make a big deal out of this, but it's a pretty thin membrane. I'd just do it myself rather than make a production of it. Sharp doctor's scissors and it shouldn't hurt that much in a willing subject. If you put Orajel on it it would probably be completely numb.


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## *guest (Oct 7, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pigpokey* 
I know the doctors make a big deal out of this, but it's a pretty thin membrane. I'd just do it myself rather than make a production of it. Sharp doctor's scissors and it shouldn't hurt that much in a willing subject. If you put Orajel on it it would probably be completely numb.

We went ten rounds with tongue tie as an infant, and ended up getting it removed because she couldn't really nurse. I would suggest caution with any home surgery plans. Mouth wounds bleed like crazy, for one, and if you slip up, you really can dramatically affect speech and eating. I am not into blind doctor worship, but after consulting with several LCs, peds, a DMD, and a ped ENT, there is no possible way I'd try it on my own. I don't think they just wanted to dupe me out of a co-pay or anything. There are variations in individual anatomy where the usual "no big deal" does not apply (we got one, unfortunately), and unless you really know what you're doing, I would not suggest anyone even try this route.

OP, if it's not causing a problem, there's nothing wrong with leaving it alone. If your child later feels bad about not being able to lick ice cream or tongue kiss (or other unmentionables, oh my), that's a child who is old enough to ask for medical assistance in the matter.


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## brogansmomma (Jan 4, 2006)

I wouldn't try it on my own either. Part of the reason I've waited so long (apart from being a little indecisive) is because over a year old, the ENT puts them under for the few seconds it takes to do it because it is really a delicate procedure; you can't just snip blindly as there are (from what I understand) saliva glands and other not-to-be-messed-with things in the immediate area. Yes, I've heard babies are snipped right in the office (though my aunt, who is a retired nurse-turned-O.R.-supervisor) was shocked to hear that; they ALWAYS put them under at her hospital, baby or toddler (or adult for that matter).

Best left to a doctor, I'd say.


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## D_McG (Jun 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pigpokey* 
I know the doctors make a big deal out of this, but it's a pretty thin membrane. I'd just do it myself rather than make a production of it. Sharp doctor's scissors and it shouldn't hurt that much in a willing subject. If you put Orajel on it it would probably be completely numb.









:


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## turtlewomyn (Jun 5, 2005)

DD's short frenulum was affecting bfing, so we did have it clipped. During all of our troubles, DH talked to someone who had never had their frenulum clipped, and they got mad at their parents every time they were in a new relationship, because apparently they sucked at kissing, and every new girlfriend told them so. I can imagine what else it would affect.
I do know that they can stretch out over time sometimes too.


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *pigpokey* 
We notched my son's a bit when he was a baby because he couldn't nurse efficiently. He articulates very well for his age so unless it becomes a problem, I'll wait until he's old enough to sit there with his mouth open to snip the rest.

I know the doctors make a big deal out of this, but it's a pretty thin membrane. I'd just do it myself rather than make a production of it. Sharp doctor's scissors and it shouldn't hurt that much in a willing subject. If you put Orajel on it it would probably be completely numb.

Doctors make a big deal out of this b/c if you cut the wrong thing it can cause *permanent damage*, not b/c the membrane is hard to cut.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *turtlewomyn* 
DH talked to someone who had never had their frenulum clipped, and they got mad at their parents every time they were in a new relationship, because apparently they sucked at kissing, and every new girlfriend told them so.

In a situation like that, couldn't the affected person just go to the doctor and have it clipped since it was bothering them? I think we'll just leave DS's alone -- it's not like he can't choose to have it done later if he really wants to, and since he can eat and talk (and even lick ice cream!) with no problems, it's not negatively impacting his life yet.


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## *Erin* (Mar 18, 2002)

my dd is now 5 and still has a short frenulum-she was totally to-the-tip-tied at birth, but it didn't bother her latch. She ebf for a over a year, and continued to nurse like a champ until she self weaned at 4.5. Her speech is lovely, clear as a bell, and has always been. She doesn't seem to have great difficulty with her ice cream either







She recently had her first dental check up and cleaning and the hygenist showed me some tarter on the backs of her bottom front teeth, which was easily cleaned. She was really keen on us having it cut, even saying, well, her speech is really great but what if she regresses? lol! what?! I was very nice and non committal-never gonna do it. It has stretched out fine, and i'm sure will stretch even more in the future. I felt strongly about leaving dd's alone, but. If she had had some kind of major problems from it, i'd have it clipped. And when she is older, she is of course free to choose to have it clipped if she feels it's a hinderance .


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

My ds has a short frenulum too, though not short enough to cause any problems with bf or speech. I'll leave it alone. Hadn't thought about the kissing thing. I guess I'll let him decide if his tongue interferes with kissing (or other pleasurable activities







), and he'd get it snipped then.

I'm a speech language pathologist, and I'll tell you what I'd tell a parent of a patient. Short frenulums only rarely cause any problem with speech. You say her articulation sounds fine. If it's not a problem now, there's no reason to do anything about it. If a frenulum is so short that the tongue can't reach the alveolar ridge (the bump right behind the front teeth), that's when speech is affected. If a child can say, "s, t, d, n," etc., then the tongue is structurally fine for articulation. I can't think of an anatomical reason she'd suddenly have a lisp later in life because you didn't snip it now.


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

... The DIY approach to clipping sounds really dangerous to me. Infections, bleeding, injuries, oh my.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Thanks noralou -- what a helpful answer!







I didn't think to ask my SIL who an SLP about it -- oops!









DS can say all the letters you mention without problem, and can actually stick his tongue out beyond his teeth a little bit, so I think we'll definitely continue to leave it alone and maybe just tell him about it when he's older and let him know that he's welcome to get it snipped if he chooses.


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## Kama82 (Mar 12, 2006)

I am fairly certian I have this problem, I can't stick my tongue out very far at all, I can lick ice cream but it makes my frenulum very very sore and inflamed if I do it too much. It does make kissing complicated and you really would be surprized how many things are similar to licking that make it sore.
I never had speech problems and I never breastfeed so I dunno about those things but I can say I DEFINATELY wish someone had clipped it when I was a baby.
As for why I haven't done it on my own. The first thing is that I haven't had reliable health insurance ever in my life and its not something I can afford to pay for out of pocket, the other thing is its really akward to go into the doctor and be like yeah I read about this condition online and I have it can you cure me please.
I don't think its a big thing, you aren't taking away a part of his body, I mean who would WANT to be tongue tied? Why NOT get fixed?


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## pigpokey (Feb 23, 2006)

OK, you guys have ragged on DIY. I said I would wait until he was old enough to sit there willingly and still, since his speech is good. If you have a willing subject it's easy to see where the simple thin membrane is and the salivary glands are on the lower part.

As a newborn, a doctor gave us our blessings to notch it at home initially, loaned me the surgical scissors, and said that her own son busted his on a toy when he was six months old. Furthermore she'd never done it (she's in her 50s) but come on down to the office if I wanted to. Lessee, ah, nothanks.

Anesthesia is not without risks, too, so pick your risk. There was a rat study showing that baby rats getting anesthesia had brain damage / changes.


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## darciedoodle (May 30, 2005)

We did not have our daughters clipped and she is now 2 1/2 and it seems to have gotten better than when she was first born. It didn't effect her nursing and doesn't seem to effect her speech so I think we'll leave it alone. She can even say "I am tongue tied".

I had mine clipped when I was about 10, but I don't know why, I didn't have a speech problem. I guess the doctor needed to make a boat payment. Mine didn't really change my life when it got cut.


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## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

My son is tongue tied - and intact! hehe








Unfortunatly it DID affect his nursing







...and I NEVER got any help for this - silly me with my first child to trust those around me I thought I could trust...only for them to tell me I should put him on formula







.... I am proud to say that I pumped for him though!








So far - it hasnt effected his speech yet either...but hes only 2 so we shall see!

Both my dh and I were born tongue tied - this didnt cause speech issues with my dh but his MIL says he couldnt nurse either (and as that was 34 years ago, I doubt she got the help for that!) - but it did cause speech issues for me (not nursing ones though! lol) and I had to get it snipped when I was 8 years old... OUCH!









So...because of this ....the fact that BOTH dh and I have the 'tongue-tie' gene - I can only expect my next child to be tongue tied as well!... I have a friend whos daughter was born tongue tied and to help her nurse she would massage the frenulum to help 'stretch' it out to help with nursing and she is proudly still nursing her nearly 2 year old daughter!







)....
I have also heard that they can 'snip' it right away after birth and that this is 'pain' free for the child? (also bloodless as if you do it right after they are born, no blood vessels have formed in that part of the mouth yet?) - Is that true!







....Any other advice on this would be great as well! - Glad I saw this thread, I will ive it a good read through a bit late when I have the time!

Thank you!


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## ErikaLeigh (Dec 24, 2006)

Z had to have his done around a year. It was affecting his nursing, eating, and speech skills.

Now you can't get him to stop talking or eating


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ann_of_loxley* 
I have also heard that they can 'snip' it right away after birth and that this is 'pain' free for the child? (also bloodless as if you do it right after they are born, no blood vessels have formed in that part of the mouth yet?) - Is that true!









I can't imagine that it is (I don't know about the blood vessel thing, but I'd think that newborns would experience pain just like anyone else). That doesn't mean that you shouldn't have the frenulum snipped if that's what you feel is best, but I would assume that it would hurt the child and insist that some form of numbing medicine be used.


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## Kayaking Mama (Feb 15, 2006)

Another SLP putting in my .02 on this. Tongue-tie can affect nursing, articulation, and dental hygiene as the child may not be able to effectively clear food residue out of his/her teeth/cheeks after eating. It is typically done without anesthesia with newborns--the area that is snipped doesn't have much for nerve endings so it doesn't really hurt. Later the anesthesia is used more because the child needs to be quite still to get this done. When it is done later in life, anesthesia might be needed because they have to do the surgery differently--with newborns it's just a snip and everything heals right up, but with older kids they have to create some extra stretching space while avoiding scar tissue. There are a lot of photos of this online (I believe the procedure is called a z-plasty or something along that line).

Another sound to watch out for is the /r/--the tongue tip needs to come up and back a bit for this and with a very tight tie it is difficult. This may not be as noticeable with young kids since most of them haven't developed a mature /r/ sound yet!

Anyway, from what I've read about this, it's much simpler to do early rather than waiting until later...


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

OP, you can see this is a little bit of a controversial subject even among people in the same field. Sure, a tongue-tie _could_ cause articulation problems, but this is not typically the case. That's why I wouldn't recommend clipping it in a young child without any speech or feeding problems. Also, /r/ can be articulated in more than one way (with the tongue tip pointed down), and a tongue-tie would be unlikely to interfere. Here's a quote article from ASHA (the national professional organization for SLPs and Audiologists):

Summary:
There is virtually no evidence in the literature to establish a definite causal relationship between ankyloglossia ("tongue-tie") and speech disorders. In fact, there is very little in the literature that addresses ankyloglossia and speech at all. This is probably because a causal relationship is not what is typically seen clinically. Therefore, it can be assumed that ankyloglossia is unlikely to cause speech problems in most cases.

Most experienced speech-language pathologists would conclude that frenulectomy is rarely indicated for speech reasons unless it is very severe or there are concomitant oral-motor problems. It may, however, be warranted for problems with early feeding, bolus manipulation, dentition, or aesthetics. Although frenulectomy is a minor procedure with a low risk of morbidity, the true danger is the disappointment that can result when parents are led to believe that this will correct speech problems that are actually due to other causes.

http://www.asha.org/about/publicatio...7/f051227a.htm


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## Kayaking Mama (Feb 15, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *noralou* 
OP, you can see this is a little bit of a controversial subject even among people in the same field. Sure, a tongue-tie _could_ cause articulation problems, but this is not typically the case. That's why I wouldn't recommend clipping it in a young child without any speech or feeding problems. Also, /r/ can be articulated in more than one way (with the tongue tip pointed down), and a tongue-tie would be unlikely to interfere. Here's a quote article from ASHA (the national professional organization for SLPs and Audiologists):

Summary:
There is virtually no evidence in the literature to establish a definite causal relationship between ankyloglossia ("tongue-tie") and speech disorders. In fact, there is very little in the literature that addresses ankyloglossia and speech at all. This is probably because a causal relationship is not what is typically seen clinically. Therefore, it can be assumed that ankyloglossia is unlikely to cause speech problems in most cases.

Most experienced speech-language pathologists would conclude that frenulectomy is rarely indicated for speech reasons unless it is very severe or there are concomitant oral-motor problems. It may, however, be warranted for problems with early feeding, bolus manipulation, dentition, or aesthetics. Although frenulectomy is a minor procedure with a low risk of morbidity, the true danger is the disappointment that can result when parents are led to believe that this will correct speech problems that are actually due to other causes.

http://www.asha.org/about/publicatio...7/f051227a.htm

Just wanted to point out, I said a _very tight_ tongue tie might interfere with some articulation, as does the ASHA statement, and as in the ASHA statement, I mentioned the dental aspects. I'm up on the literature as I recently evaluated a 6 year old with a significant tongue tie.

Don't mean to sound snarky here, just defending my statement and my opinion.


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## fek&fuzz (Jun 19, 2005)

My friend had to have hers snipped when she was in her 20's because it was starting to pull her gums down behind her front bottom teeth.


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## noralou (Jul 19, 2007)

Hey, Kayaking Mama,
Didn't mean to be snarky, either! I do respect your opinion, and I agree with you about the very tight tongue-tie.
In this particular case, it doesn't sound like a very tight tongue-tie:

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limabean* 
DS can say all the letters you mention without problem, and can actually stick his tongue out beyond his teeth a little bit, so I think we'll definitely continue to leave it alone and maybe just tell him about it when he's older and let him know that he's welcome to get it snipped if he chooses.

I also recently saw a 4yo with a tongue tie and articulation problems. Her mother wondered if she should have it clipped, but her artic problems had nothing to do with the short frenulum. It would have been too bad if she'd had it clipped, without any benefit to her speech.


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## EStreetMama (Sep 5, 2003)

Mine too...totally messed up his nursing...but we didn't know it was tongue tie at the time. We did go to an ENT who wanted to clip under anesthesia, but we decided against it because of the risks and just the whole experience for him.

My mom is a speech therapist so we're trusting her to tell us if his speech is off. So far so good...

We would NEVER attempt to clip on our own at home.


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

Why it's ok to do in a doc's or dentist's office as a newborn: the tissue is very thin, like tissue paper; and has fewer nerves.

Why it's not OK to do at home with scissors and anyone over 6 months old: because the tissue is thicker, and because it will bleed, and because everyone will cry.

Just had to make that point. Anyone wanting more info might want to read this dentist's site: http://www.brianpalmerdds.com/frenum.htm.

It's really too bad more peds don't look at tongue tie as a cause of breastfeeding problems. I do not think it's the same thing at all as "intact" boys; this is a medical problem that interferes with natural nourishment - that's a cosmetic decision. We chose the clip at 5 weeks old because I noticed that the nursing was dramatically different with my second (i.e. PAINFUL), and he was so fussy after eating because of latch problems, leading to air intake. It was in a dentist's office, while I was holding him. Usually only ENTs want to do the whole under anesthesia thing - in the old days, midwives and docs did it themselves. However, over 6 months, I can see the point of anesthesia. Our dentist used a quick douse of novocaine, which he said was probably more painful than the snip, but he had to do it (malpractice insurance or something).

I think speech issues are a tricky thing though. I've noticed many six and seven year olds have interesting speech patterns still, without tongue tie. So I wouldn't really worry until they're much, much older.


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## bri276 (Mar 24, 2005)

I'm glad they don't routinely clip them all instantly after birth. my daughter was born with a very severe cleft palate, and if she hadn't been tongue tied, it may have caused her tongue to slip back and obstruct her breathing (which we suspect it did slightly, but would have been much worse if her frenulum wasn't tight).

otherwise, I would have done it at birth if there had been latch problems, turned out I couldn't bf her directly anyways so the point was moot in our situation.

Now at 26 months, DD has speech issues, but she has a chromsome disorder with global delays, hypotonia, the repaired palate that will never function normally, and then at the bottom of the list, a moderate tongue tie. She's been through oral surgery twice, there is just no way in hell I'm putting her through it again for something with so little evidence that it would be beneficial. General anesthesia is very safe in the sense of mortality rates, but there can be subtle neurological effects, and I've already done that twice, walking away from your baby on that table is not easy. It needs to be proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that it's worth it before I put her/us through that again.

She does make "n" and "d" noises, not "l" or "s" yet but there are many sounds she doesn't make that wouldn't be related to that. I'm not going to lie- if it was as easy as a quick snip like it is for newborns, I would probably do it in a second, but once they're older it's a different ball game.


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## limabean (Aug 31, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *flyingspaghettimama* 
I do not think it's the same thing at all as "intact" boys; this is a medical problem that interferes with natural nourishment - that's a cosmetic decision.

I totally agree. I just used that term as a joke since we use "intact" to describe "uncut" around here, and I was asking if others had chosen not to cut their DC's tongue-ties. That's why I put the winkie next to my thread title. Of course if a tongue-tie interferes with nursing, it needs to be clipped!


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## onelilguysmommy (May 11, 2005)

didnt get it snipped, it stretched on his own. it felt like someone slowly searing off my nipples witha dull saw blade when he was nursing as a little baby, and he couldnt suck right though it didnt affect his ability to get milk, at 4 days i had him weighed before anda fter, and he gained 4 oz WITH pooing right before he was reweighed and was 27lbs at 5mo... it just was incredible pain for me .


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## luvinmommylife (Aug 8, 2007)

OMG - I'm so confused! And I'm even more confused the more I read! What is Tongue-Tied? I hate to sound so naive, but I have never heard of this! What is clipped???????


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## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *luvinmommylife* 
OMG - I'm so confused! And I'm even more confused the more I read! What is Tongue-Tied? I hate to sound so naive, but I have never heard of this! What is clipped???????

Underneath the tongue is a thin membrane of tissue that connects to the floor of the mouth called the frenulum. In most individuals it is small, starts around the middle of the tongue and is unobtrusive. Sometimes though it starts just under the tip of tongue and prevents the individual from sticking their tongue out. This can lead to other problems with nursing, speech, eating and dental issues.

Clipping is a surgical proceedure that releases the tongue. It used to be performed on almost all tongue tied babies before they left the hospital with out even consulting the parents. It is now only performed on neonates if it is severe and an LC notices it.


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## dawncayden (Jan 24, 2006)

*I'M* tongue tied







:
I can't stick my tongue out very far.
My speech is a little hindered. I can't roll my 'R' while speaking spanish. And my normal speaking voice sounds a little like I have a stuffed up nose or cold.
French kissing







was a little embarrasing when I was a teenager


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## 4stgal (Oct 21, 2006)

I am tongue tied. Although i was bf, but i went through years of speech therapy caused by the tie. I wasnt dx'd until i was 7 and the doc told my mom not to worry about it cause it was stretching on its own. I still went to speech therapy for another 5 yrs though.

My ds was born tongue tied and he couldnt bf. His tongue just barely reached his lips. We had it snipped at the hospital when he was 2days old. I dont regret it one bit. I would hate for him to have to go through years of teasing because of a speech problem.

And someone mentioned that she didnt know if she was tongue tied or not but couldnt stick her tongue out far...a sign of being tongue tied is a forked tongue. Dh now constantly teases me about it since the ped ENT noticed mine. Ds has it too.


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## jennnk (Feb 6, 2005)

I have a really good friend/ex-fling with a severe tongue tie. Severe as in the frenulum is connected to the tip of his tongue. "Sticking his tongue out" looks like rolling the tip of your tongue completely under. I don't think he was breastfed, but he does have a slight speech impediment, his gums are receding, kissing was weird, he can't lick anything, and yeah the "unmentionables" were an issue when we were together, too. Andy's not tongue-tied, but I would have had him clipped at birth if he were. Too many potential dental issues, for one thing, and he has bad genetics in the tooth realm already, we don't need to add insult to injury, yanno? If it's not a problem for your son now, I'd leave it, but keep an eye on it as he gets older and definitely ask him if he wants it done before he's not on your insurance anymore. My friend wants his clipped, but like so many people my age, his job doesn't offer insurance, he's not on his parent's insurance anymore, and he makes too much to qualify for state assistance but can't afford private coverage or pay for the procedure out-of-pocket.


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## dbsam (Mar 3, 2007)

*Originally Posted by luvinmommylife*
_OMG - I'm so confused! And I'm even more confused the more I read! What is Tongue-Tied? I hate to sound so naive, but I have never heard of this! What is clipped???????_

I didn't know what it was at first either. I just thought my son had a cute 'heart-shaped' tongue.

My son is tongue-tied with no problems. He had speech - but not because of his tongue. He couldn't breast feed







- also not becuase of his tongue. He is three and his articulation is ok. I never thought about the kissing issue. Our ped said he only clips it for severe speech or feeding problems.


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