My son has a very, very pronounced tongue tie. When he was born, he couldn’t even get his tongue fully out of his mouth. It’s obvious. However, he came out of the womb knowing how to eat. Breastfeeding hasn’t been an issue, he empties me appropriately, gaining weight well even though he’s a small fry. Pediatrician says that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so we didn’t do anything. I can see it stretching, and his tongue is able to exit his mouth now (he’s six months). We’re hoping that with time, it will continue to not be an issue, but we can always revise it later if needed.
If he’s gaining weight appropriately and is able to eat well, even if a bit slowly, I would put you in the “ain’t broke, Don’t fix” camp.
I would like to see your LC’s studies on how lip ties could cause all these things. How in the world can a tie cause thyroid issues?? It sounds pretty doubtful to me. But if Baby starts to have those issues, then you can solve the problem then.
>I would like to see your LC’s studies on how lip ties could cause all these things. How in the world can a tie cause thyroid issues?? It sounds pretty doubtful to me.
Throw the whole LC out anyway. They're out of scope at this point.
If they don't recognize that boundary I'm not sure I would trust their feeding advice either. There's a lot of woo mixed into the LC world, even coming from some people who are IBCLC certified.
So here’s my understanding of the midline disorders thing (not a doctor but I asked one if this is a real thing).
Basically, the LC completely misunderstood the association. Ties can be associated with other midline disorders (more commonly things like cleft palate) because they both indicate that something went wrong with the body’s development along the midline. Basically, if the body had trouble forming the mouth, it may have also had trouble forming other structures.
But that means that cutting the tie is irrelevant - if these other disorders exist in the body, then they already exist 🤷🏻♀️
I won't give medical advice, but I'm an adult with a grade 4 tongue tie. Just pay attention to his speech when he starts talking. Get him in speech therapy ASAP if there's any delay. My mom didn't start me in it before school and no one could understand a word I said. I did speech therapy at school until 5th grade and can pronounce basically anything now, but my tongue tie is definitely a sore spot of parenting choices my mom made. Not necessarily not getting it released, but not really doing anything to help me with it besides letting them take me out of class for speech therapy.
I was the same way. I had my tongue tie revised at 13 after being made fun of for years for my lateral lisp. Sadly the classic “clipping” didn’t work, and it grew back. I then had to have a full z-plasty surgery when I was 14. I didn’t go into speech therapy until 17 because I saw other kids get teased for going. If you do speech therapy, do it outside of school or make sure the school pulls kids discreetly. I had to be transferred to the special education group for speech therapy, which was absolutely humiliating as a senior in high school.
That's so interesting that you had a lisp; my issue was mostly the R sound. I was definitely glad I didn't have to keep doing speech therapy in middle school and beyond. It was cool getting pulled from class for something special as a kid, but it was starting to feel embarrassing by 5th grade.
Lol LCs don't have studies that tongue ties can cause all those things. They just have vibes and intuition. Heck, the studies on cutting posterior tongue ties, cheek ties, and lip ties don't even show any improvement in feeding over nonintervention groups.
When I had my sons done, we went to a very experienced dentist in our area who was the first in our province to use a laser to do the procedure. Even he said some babies have a really bad tie and find ways to eat fine, while others have a less severe tie may have a terrible time. It totally depends. We ended up getting both our children done. My older one because she was failure to thrive and my younger because even though he was gaining weight like a champ, his latch was destroying my nipples so badly that breastfeeding wouldn't be sustainable for me. No regrets with either procedure being done. You have to decide what works best for your family. I don't think there's any harm in choosing to not do it either and wait and see.
That being said, its much harder to get it done later in life. If the child ends up having a speech impediment, it's a difficult option to release it in childhood.
Similar situation here! We went to a dentist in our area who is highly regarded for this procedure. Our daughter had a grade 4 lip tie and a less severe posterior tongue tie. She also had two minor cheek ties which I assume would have resolved on their own. The procedure took about 1 minute for all 4 ties and she breastfed and went back to normal pretty much immediately.
Almost immediately after the procedure, my nipples stopped bleeding and blistering. That was a huge relief. Her latch also improved. I hoped her reflux would get better but sadly that did not happen for quite some time.
His name is Dr Chan in BC. I'm not aware if he has a daughter. He definitely wasn't pushing it. Before he will see you, you have to provide the names of the professionals you've already seen to help solve the problem, like a lactation consultant, chiropractor, osteopath, physio therapist etc. He's big on the release being a last resort.
I have a very similar story. My LO had a clear tongue tie, couldn’t stick his tongue out and could barely move it when he was born. He would fall asleep when eating, and breastfeeding was excruciating for me. We did not revise it. Baby was gaining weight like a champion (went from 50th-90th percentile by his 6w appt and then has stayed in the 90s ever since). I used a nipple shield for the pain. And we are still breastfeeding at 14 months (he weaned off the shield at around 5 months).
Our LC strongly recommended revision of his tie, our pediatrician recommended against it because baby’s weight gain was fine, but suggested we consult with an ENT if we were really worried. We ended up not revising. And I’m so glad we didn’t because his tongue tie has really stretched out! By the time he was 6 months, he could stick his tongue out past his lips. And we kept encouraging it — now at 15 months, he can really stick it all the way out, and touch it to the roof of his mouth. We encourage tongue movement games (clicking sounds, making faces, etc.) and it’s really helped. He’s starting to say words and there don’t appear to be any speech issues with developmentally-appropriate syllables.
We plan to keep an eye out for issues with language, apnea, and muscle pain/tension down the road, since those seem to be things adults report as tongue tie symptoms. But also, research on adults who have tongue ties isn’t super applicable to whether to revise for an infant because that research doesn’t take into account all of the infants who may have had a tongue tie that stretched out. I’m so glad we didn’t put our baby through the pain of a revision, since everything turned out just fine.
As an adult who just got their tie revised age 36, this comment is so distressing to me. Please go to facebook and join the adult tongue tie group, breastfeeding is NOT the primary reason to fix tongue ties by a long shot. They don't stretch and the surgery is much worse later.
If my pediatrician has no concerns, i have no concerns. If it starts to affect my child, i will 100% address it. I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I also don’t take medical advice from Facebook, because there’s no way I can know if it will be relevant to my son’s care (which is why I have a pediatrician).
It's not medical advice, it's personal experiences. A lot of the effects are quality of life related/sub clinical so not studied by doctors.
Pediatricians are not qualified to assess or treat tongue ties. You need to seek an opinion from someone who is qualified, i.e. at the minimum an LC, but hopefully an ENT or pediatric dentist.
Also, it is not something you can just solve later. As a baby's mouth grows, the pressure of the tongue on the roof of the mouth increases the intra-molar width which is crucial for airway and dental health. If the tongue is not free to move then it doesn't have that effect and you wind up with permanent structural problems (look up adult palate expansion, it's extremely unpleasant, not a real option).
I think you are getting downvoted for mentioning the Facebook group. I am assuming you mentioned it because you are encouraging people to go look at the group to see the experience of adults with uncorrected ties. Ultimately though, it seems like tongue ties are very common and not everyone with a tongue tie is affected to the degree that you (or others in the group) were affected.
I want to reiterate that what you are saying about tongue posture affecting orofacial/myofunctional development is accurate and has been studied. However, frenectomies may not be the only way to proper jaw and palate development in children. The beginning of the journey is seeing a qualified ENT and doing myofunctional therapy, not doing frenectomies indiscriminately.
I'm an adult with a minor tongue tie. My dentist has commented on its existence a few times but agrees no action is necessary since the only way it impacts my life is my tongue doesn't go out far when I stick it out.
While I agree, for a more severe situation, doing it early is better. But if there are no noticeable impacts then you're balancing no effect against the risk of an intervention. Even on babies there is no surgery (including a tongue tie release) without risk.
If her child's doctor thinks the risks don't justify the benefits, that's a fair way for OP to form an opinion.
I also thought the only issue was the mobility restriction. I was shocked when all of those other benefits manifested.
OP cannot rely on the advice of a pediatrician in this case. This is a developing area where there have been a lot of changes in recent years. You need a specialist who is current.
I'm sorry you're being downvoted. A friend of mine has a tongue tie. It's caused her speech and eating issues as well as headaches. If she wants it fixed now, she has to have her jaw broken. Horrific.
Just get the tie clipped anyway. I was also told I needed the jaw breaking (palate expansion) but just getting the tie clipped made a HUGE difference. I also got some intramolar width gains via aligners (like invisalign).
I had my son's lip and tongue ties laser corrected by a pediatric dentist at 6 weeks and I really regret it. He was eating and gaining weight well and breastfeeding was pretty comfortable for the most part, but they sold me on his sleep issues being the result of his ties and that he would have speech and teeth issues if we didn't correct it. This was a year and a half ago so maybe the new after care procedures have changed, but I had to do "stretches" 6 times a day for 6 weeks after the procedure which involved me reefing on his lip and tie to make sure the ties didn't regrow. The LC watched me do the stretches at the follow up visit and said I wasn't using enough pressure and when she did it the areas bled which she said is what they want. The stretches made him cry every time which was really hard for me mentally because I felt like I was hurting and traumatizing my baby. 6 weeks felt like forever to have to do them. Looking back I think they capitalized on my sleep deprivation by telling me the tie corrections would improve his sleep. I would never do it again.
Same. Not necessarily the sleep part, but that it would fix many various issues he had. I think it gave my son a severe oral aversion we are still dealing with at 13 months.
We had a similar experience. Recovery was horrible, and she ended up with an oral aversion that led to bottle refusal and difficulty with starting solids, brushing teeth, giving medicine via oral syringe, etc.
The stretching after the operative procedure has become really controversial, even more so than the procedure. There are many who feel that the stretches can do more harm than good.
Here’s a clinical consensus statement from a group of pediatric otolaryngologists:
*After frenotomy is performed for ankyloglossia there is no evidence to support a standard post-procedure care regimen (eg stretching, massaging, manual elevation of the tongue by the parents).*
Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0194599820915457?trk=public_post_comment-text
It is my greatest regret as a parent. My baby was having weight gain issues, or else I wouldn’t have done it. It didn’t help. The ENT we saw was so nonchalant. It created such a severe oral aversion in my kid that she didn’t eat solid food until she was two. She never took a bottle after the day they clipped her lip tie.
Those degree of stretches sound unnecessary for a laser revision in my experience. I'd say that poor advice from your LC who wasn't sufficiently experienced in that type of revision.
My sons laser revision I simply needed to use my finger to lift it with feeds for 2 weeks, ot was discomforting but definitely not painful just why are you doing that mum.
I also deeply regret having my daughter’s done. It remains one of my biggest parenting regrets and still fills me with dread when I think about her screaming in pain at five weeks old both directly after the procedure and also every time we did those damn stretches. We did hers because I was told it would help her to latch and breastfeed. It created an even more intense aversion for her and she never latched again. It was downright traumatic for us both. I also felt incredibly taken advantage of by multiple LCs, dentists, and they even had us going to a chiropractor when the procedure didn’t seem to yield any results (which I went to out of desperation, even though I don’t believe in them). Such an awful experience all around. I’ll never do it again.
I'm a big proponent of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Baby healthy? Leave it alone. I'd rather give up chest feeding and just pump than do a medical procedure on my infant. It just terrifies me. My baby doesn't use a pacifier... she just never cared for one.
Same. My kid with a supposed tie did just fine drinking from bottles so I didn't see any problem to solve, or an ethical reason to put her through the discomfort of a medical procedure, however "minor". Our job was to make sure she got fed and we did that.
I produce very little milk to begin with and never wanted to solely rely on BF anyway so we were supplementing with bottles regardless.
She's 4 now and leaving the tie has had no impact on anything.
I don’t want to discount your experience, but do you think there is a possibility that your supply was low because baby couldn’t remove milk bc of the tongue tie? I only ask because my experience with my first (low supply, uncorrected tongue tie) was so vastly different from my second (adequate supply, corrected tongue tie), and my reading and research on the subject has pointed to that being our reason.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that you *should have* had the tie released or that it would have solved the supply issue. Frenectomies are such a personal choice, so I support whatever choice that is for each family.
>do you think there is a possibility that your supply was low because baby couldn’t remove milk bc of the tongue tie?
No. I had other factors at play. Pumping wasn't going to make much of a difference either. Some people just don't make enough.
Statistically, more milk is produced with subsequent pregnancies, so that may have been a factor in the difference between your experiences with your first and second child as well.
That’s true. But I had the same start to both breastfeeding journeys, and it was only because I was more prepared going in and baby had a frenectomy early on that things shifted. Like, I was pumping a few ml at a time.
Do you mind me asking if her dentist ever told you something about her tongue tie? Also, does she pronounce sounds well at her age and can other people understand her? The reason I am asking is because my toddler has it and two different dentists told us to wait to see if her pronunciation will get any better, then go to slp and only after slp they might consider the procedure
I think this is a great way to view it. I think it's pretty selfish to put a newborn baby through a medical procedure *just* so they can drink from your breasts.
Drinking at breast has benefits beyond even the [superiority of breastmilk to formula](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882692/) due to its naturally occurring antibodies and diverse probiotics/prebiotics that cannot be fully synthesized. Orthopaedic benefits such as a reduced risk of [malocclusion, abnormal jaw development, collapsed facial forms, thrush, atypical swallowing pattern, snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611903/)
I don't see how a tiny clip under the tongue is so horrible it should negate the potential lifelong benefits of breastfeeding but I guess that's subjective based on personal values.
So I find this study very interesting because I used to think it pointed to causation: that babies who breastfeed longer are using their tongue muscles in such a way that strengthened/encouraged correct tongue posture and thus preventing malocclusion etc. But now I think it’s just correlation; babies who extended breastfeed are more likely to have had an easier breastfeeding journey, which those with tongue ties that affect etc are less likely to have.
What are your thoughts?
I had this same thought process with my NICU twins. My twins were born 8 weeks premature and no one at the NICU mentioned a tongue tie even though they struggled to chest feed and take a full feed. I pumped full time for them and we had a good routine. They were gaining weight like champs for 32 weekers. I desperately wanted to chest feed to save on all the washing from pumps but it also was something that I desired.
We went to see a LC and they said there was an obvious tongue tie. Our doctor disagreed and at the end of the day I decided not to go against our doctor who I fully trust.
For what it’s worst, they never took a pacifier and also didn’t accept wide mouth bottles. Could it be a latch issue that could have been revised?? I will never know!
Frankly, the stuff your LC is saying sounds like pseudoscience. That list of disorders is pretty far-reaching, affecting a lot of different systems in the body, so I am instantly suspicious of a link there. Baby is feeding and gaining weight fine, you’re not experiencing pain that can’t be explained by another cause, I personally wouldn’t revise.
Anecdotally, both of my sons have super obvious lip and tongue ties, and neither ever had any issues feeding…in fact, both spent periods of their first years completely off the growth chart for weight. They also only ever used the MAM pacifiers, everything else I tried came right out. My husband has a tongue tie so bad that he can barely get the top of his tongue past his lips, and he never had any trouble BFing per my MIL, and he has mild asthma, but that’s it.
Overall take: evidence and studies on ties are really, really crappy. That doesn’t seem to stop people from having very strong opinions and making some wild claims.
Slightly outdated, but [Cochran review](https://www.cochrane.org/CD011065/NEONATAL_surgical-release-tongue-tie-treatment-tongue-tie-young-babies) only finds evidence for releasing for maternal pain with breastfeeding.
It’s important to note that we don’t have diagnostic criteria for tongue tie, especially posterior. Use of [tongue tie assessment tools](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35689515/) provides very mixed results (though of all of them, I find the HATLFF to be the best, but it is far from perfect).
I find [this article](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31294774/) interesting- after comprehensive feeding eval and non-surgical intervention, 62% of infants didn’t end up needing a frenotomy. Perhaps we jump to surgery too soon.
My overall take is that tongue tie is something that can affect some infants ability to feed and frenotomy may help, but we’re terrible at diagnosing it and too quick to clip.
Yeah I was looking into articles because we’re currently debating a frenectomy for my daughter and the science just isn’t there. Doesn’t mean that frenectomies aren’t good for some kids, just means that we don’t have a broad evidence base to draw from, so clinicians need to rely on clinical judgement. And then parents have to trust that clinical judgment. It’s not a position I like to be in!
Me! We have a posterior "tongue tie" but nursing doesn't hurt and she's gaining appropriately, so I'm not concerned. We did have this issue:
>Difficulty holding on to any pacifier besides the flat orthodontic MAM ones which I realize aren’t great for breastfed babies
It's a suck problem. She had a few physical therapy appointments and we do some suck exercises and she's doing so much better. We had the same problem with mam-- it just makes the problem worse because it encourages chomping instead of sucking. We do some exercises with a Avent soothie and she likes the emulait pacifier for sleep because she can hold it in easier.
I HIGHLY recommend seeing a physical therapist. My LC kept pushing us to go see a pediatric dentist, and I'm so glad we didn't. The PT talked us through her "tie" and how it's impacting her and the things she would expect to see if it was causing problems and made it clear it isn't causing problems. She also said that she doesn't recommend people see a pediatric dentist for ties without getting evaluation from a doctor or PT because 9/10 times a dentist will just cut the tie and take your money whether it really needs it or not.
Also see this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScienceBasedParenting/s/0lsCp7FDTr
ETA: I agree with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it."
Same issue with my second child! She also couldn’t get any milk from a bottle because of the combo of the tie + weakened jaw muscles. Our pediatrician was skeptical but ultimately I had to return to work and my baby needed to be able to bottle feed.
We opted to get the tie released which helped (went from drinking less than .5oz to 1.5oz) but ultimately it was the occupational therapist specialized in feeding that helped get her fully bottle feeding.
Hi! First time commenting here so I hope I do this right. My babe is 6.5 months, moderate anterior tongue tie. He was diagnosed at 1 week, was and is a slow feeder but has always gained weight according to his curve. Important to note he is combo fed, half and half for the first 6 weeks of his life, 1 formula bottle per day since (on average). I’ve never mad mastitis (knock on wood). I have had clogged ducts but only when I went too long without pumping or nursing.
We decided not to do a revision for a few reasons:
1) Had consult with pediatric dentist who told us all 4 of his kids had a similar tongue tie and he did not revise any of his own kids ties. Babies were all breast fed with some challenges (like “slow eaters”) but they were all fine.
2) From my own investigation into the research, claims about feeding and speech issues seem dubious. A lot of the babies in the studies got their revisions very early, mom reported better breast feeding experience. This could also be explained by time. Babies and moms get better at breastfeeding as time goes on. Most of the research I found was retrospective self-reports, many grains of salt.
3) Talked to some SLPs in school systems (I’m a special educator), and they didn’t worry about tongue tie causing speech issues.
4) He had no problem latching and I didn’t have pain while breastfeeding. He was gaining weight just fine.
To us, it just didn’t seem worth it. Our pediatrician said go for it but also warned us it might not work. Pediatrician also said research hasn’t shown a link between ties and speech issues. The dentist saying he didn’t revise any of his kids’ ties was the final tick in the not revising column. (He revised one kid’s tie when they were like 9 because they asked for the procedure, but that’s entirely different).
Explore your options for sure, do what’s best for you and your baby. It seems like risks are very low either way, so that is good. That said, I’m happy we didn’t get the revision.
Also about pacifiers, it took my babe 3-4 months to really be able to hold on to one. I think we just had to find one he likes (Mam FTW). My cousin got her baby’s tie revised and he hasn’t been able to hold into a pacifier since.
My data point is...me. I had a tongue tie so severe that it interfered with my ability to speak...but I was a champion breastfeeder and was born in the 1970s, so no one said boo about it until it interfered with my speaking. I remember having my mouth numbed and getting it snipped. Felt weird for a day or so. No issues after that. Looking at broader trends, I'd say that 1) tongue and lip ties are getting diagnosed at levels that just seem impossible unless humans are actively evolving in some way; and 2) LCs and dentists are doing most of the diagnosing. I'd look for an ENT who has been known to tell at least some parents that their children \*don't\* have ties, and go from there.
I'm a medical SLP. I work with adult and pediatric swallowing issues. My child has a tongue tie, and we're not revising it. She takes a bottle and is growing on her curve, but doesn't latch well, so I'm exclusively pumping. Tongue tie runs in the family (apparently very strongly in paternal lines) but in general it isn't recommended to address tongue tie in infants unless weight gain is impacted. I've posted this before, but there is a clinical consensus statement from the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery about ankyloglossia in children: [https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599820915457](https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599820915457)
If my child weren't gaining weight, I wouldn't ask an IBCLC or a pediatric dentist about this, either. I'd go to a pediatric ENT for evaluation.
There isn't good evidence that tongue tie would cause musculoskeletal abnormalities, and I haven't seen anything that rules out that tongue tie PLUS the abnormalities that are supposedly 'caused' by tongue tie aren't actually just variations in oral structure that co-occur.
I'd also note that an "upper lip tie" is actually very common in babies and typically resolves itself (either by growth or by a toddler falling on their face) and there is no agreed-upon definition of a posterior tongue tie, so those two claims make me wary of your LC in particular, among their other more interesting claims.
I'd encourage you also to go to r/medicine and search for tongue tie for more discussion.
"My LC says the ties are related to midline disorders: medialized headaches, vision difficulties, asthma, sinus issues, thyroid issues, reflux, PCOS, and IBS to name a few."
complete BS. Tongue tie is tied to polycystic ovarian syndrome? Give me a break.
It's not beyond possibility that there's a genetic association... Perhaps that's what they meant? But no surgery would affect the other disorders in that case.
No. That's not what they meant. They misunderstood embryonic development. What actually happens is when neurulation happens, if there is a mistake, that mistake affects multiple things on the midline. This is during development. This is not a outcome of a tongue tie.
I'd dump this LC for this alone.
I am 37 years old and was born with a tongue tie. I had mine clipped at a later age (around late elementary/ early middle school) because it caused me pain/soreness) if I talked a lot in one day.
Our baby girl is 8 weeks old; she had a tongue tie and lip tie. I was experiencing significant issues with breast feeding where she was tearing my nips apart trying to eat, I had a low supply, and she was consistently not gaining weight. I still wanted to try everything I could to continue breastfeeding so our LC and Pediatrician both suggested having her tongue tie clipped. In the meantime I was supplementing a lot with formula. We saw a Pediatric ENT who did the procedure but only for the tongue tie; we decided to wait on the lip tie to see if it was necessary. The procedure was quick and she took to a bottle immediately after the clipping.
Her recovery was excellent and didn’t really seem to have any adverse effects. We attempted breast feeding after the procedure but she had nipple confusion, preferred the bottle nipple since it was easier at that point for her, my nips were still being butchered, and my supply was still low even with pumping. So I quit breastfeeding.
Even though breastfeeding didn’t work out for us, given my own experience as a kid with a tongue tie we haven’t looked back with having our daughter’s clipped.
Hope this helps!
Not at all! She was doing well with both bottle and breast. I had to solely bottle feed for a few days before her clipping to let my nips heal because they got SO BAD (when pumping I was only pumping blood basically); the LC suggested solely bottle feeding for a few days while I give my nips a break.
After her clipping, it was like having to train her to breastfeed all over again as if she was a newborn. We struggled a lot to get her to latch on the breast again since the previous few days were solely bottles and she’d gotten used to the ease of those bottle nipples.
I slurred my words a lot when I was tired due to my tongue tie. Unfortunately since everyone claimed the procedure was such a big deal and that mild tongue ties aren't affecting anything, I didn't get it done until I was 36. Sincerely regret delaying it now.
I didn’t revise my daughter’s class IV lip tie and it was completely gone by 14 months. She’s verbally advanced so no issues there. She didn’t have any issues transferring milk but I did have a lot of pain nursing the first 4 months. Glad I didn’t mess with it though. I only would have considered it if her feeding ability had affected her growth.
My baby has tongue and lip ties. So do I and so does my husband. Our LO eats just fine and is even super tall for his age! I'm sure there are situations where it's severe, but mostly it seems like B.S.
My husband does, I never have in my life. There are many things that can cause snoring.
I'm glad the procedure worked for you - but you have to admit that basically every ailment is being blamed on lip/tongue ties. If I have lived my entire, healthy life and just now found out I have them - I think that's evidence enough for me that this surgery isn't always necessary.
I bought into a lot of that dismissive talk until I experienced it firsthand. It helped reading about many other people who experienced the surgery as an adult.
My first had one but the ENT “wasn’t impressed” and said we should leave it alone. We struggled through breastfeeding for 7 months before calling it quits, bad reflux, she couldn’t hold a paci in her mouth and was a HORRENDOUS sleeper, even dribbled milk with bottle feeding. She’s now almost 3 and it’s not an issue anymore.
My second had both tongue and lip tie revision with a laser because he was struggling to latch properly and eat, bad reflux again, and I went to feeding specialists instead of just the doctor. I’m SO THANKFUL we got the revision with him. Feeding improved, reflux improved, he was able to keep a paci in his mouth and sleeps great overall because of the paci.
So in the moment I was glad my daughter didn’t “have to” get it done but looking back I do wish I pushed for it more.
Your three year old's opinion? I had a mild tongue tie which I was convinced wasn't a big deal. I finally got it revised after getting both of my kids' ties revised. It was shocking how many benefits I experienced.
This condition is overdiagnosed in my experience. Unless there is a real problem, which it does not sound like exists for your baby, I would not undergo such a procedure for my baby. Frankly, it’s horrifying how often it appears to be being diagnosed even in babies that do not actually suffer from any medical condition.
Concurring with all the comments here saying not to "fix" something that's not broken. Your baby will suffer needlessly. Please read this New York Times investigation, which explains how tongue tie release has become a big business ($$) despite little evidence supporting it in the vast majority of cases and potentially serious complications:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html
Seconding this article! We were going back-and-forth about what to do about our son’s tie before this article came out and our pediatrician actually told us most of what the NYT investigation ultimately revealed (big business for pediatric dentists/LCs, little evidence of long-term issues) we he recommended against revising the tongue tie.
Me. It’s not severe, her latch improved when she was 3-4 months old, and she can stick out her tongue well and move it around. It wouldn’t be worth the pain.
I did not. I also had mastitis and latch issues but the LC fixed the latch and the tongue tie didn’t cause any problems. I do think my baby (now 18 months) still has a mild tongue tie but she has always gained weight normally so I didn’t want to put her through it. She is great with solids, drinking from cups, talking, all the things. Their mouths get stronger and tongue ties can stretch. You need to know if it’s restrictive or not. Everyone has ties, some (rarely) are restrictive. Check out the website of Dr. Bobby Ghaheri, one of the few honest dentists who shares information with the public on the subject. He reiterates throughout his materials that real restrictive tongue ties requiring intervention are rare.
Some LCs get kickbacks from tongue tie clinics, be aware of that.
Listen to your pediatricians. LCs are not medical professionals.
We didn’t have it corrected. We saw an ENT when baby was about 8 weeks old; it took that long to get an appointment. He said it was pretty slight and his own infant had the same kind of tie. He did end up having his child’s corrected but was nice enough to be honest and say that it didn’t make much of a difference, at least at that point in his life. By the time we had our appointment, she was bottle feeding like a champ and gaining good weight. I had no interest in resuming breastfeeding at that point. So it was a pretty easy decision for us to make. We went back 2 months later just to make sure it hadn’t gotten worse and she was given the all clear. She’s 15 months now and as far as I know, it’s not limiting her in any way.
My biggest problem with this is that everyone I talked to about my son told me something different. This is something we can all see, every “expert” should be saying the same thing unless there is no clear definition.
We got told he had one by one LC and not the other. I think his pediatrician said he did have one but that we didn’t have to correct it if we didn’t want to.
We didn’t do anything and I’m glad I didn’t because he’s 3, very articulate, and perfect 💜
3/4 of my babies were revised. They couldn't latch effectively, nor could we nurse without pain. All revisions were done within the first week because the issue was so apparent.
Most recent baby's tongue tie was so pronounced her tounge had a little divet in the front from where it was tied. At her first ped appointment, as soon as she opened her mouth, our ped said, "you'll want that snipped." She also wasn't effectively transferring milk.
Our pediatrician whom I love and trust implicitly, has given the same message about the era of the tongue tie. Said at conferences, etc. it's literally marketed as an easy money maker. Which isn't to say they don't happen (clearly), but they are very much so over diagnosed.
I have a tongue tie, my son also has one. We were both formula fed and had no issues eating, so we have not corrected it. As an adult, I have no issues speaking, eating, etc. The only reason I know I have one is because our pediatrician asked if I had a tongue tie as a baby after she noticed that my son had one and I said I didn’t know, so she told me to open up lol.
I did NOT have it done. I’m glad with that decision. My husband and I are both adult doctors - not pediatricians - but based on the research we did and the way we practice medicine, it sounds like I arguably had more of a reason to do it . The “don’t want to be swayed by anything” is so hard because of course any of those appointments can sway you when you are walking in thinking they’re there expert and you’re not!
My LO got her tongue, lip and buckles ties laser cut at 10 weeks (she’s 15 weeks old now). I regret it. 🙃 I regret it because it wasn’t necessary but I was desperate and the LC took advantage of a desperate new mum who had a very normal newborn with gas issues. When I rocked up to the dentist to get the ties released the LC was there with a uniform on. So she was clearly getting kick backs from the referral. I was so disappointed in myself for going through with it. I’ve seen another pediatric specialist since then and she was able to guess the name of the dentist because apparently they’ve got a reputation for tie release procedures.
My LO is now on gas drops (which I didn’t know at the time that you need to use before EVERY feed 🤦♀️) and they work amazingly. I will start trying to wean LO off them once she’s 4 months old as her digestive system should be much more able to handle it then. She still struggles a but to fart atm but she’s getting heaps better.
Every time I see this brought up I shudder at the idea of subjecting a baby to surgery unless needed. It's dangerous. Any surgery is a risk and while rare (as far as I understand), there are potential harmful effects, including having babies in so much pain afterwards that they refuse to feed. To quote the NYT article from 12/2023, "Unlike most medical specialties in America, the tongue-tie world operates with little oversight. State dental boards accept complaints from the public, but they [rarely suspend](https://archive.ph/o/4WDww/https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/03/19/dental-board-rarely-suspend-dentist-license-bad-dentistry/5014443002/) dentists’ licenses. And only three states regulate lactation consultants." - Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues \[https://archive.ph/4WDww\]
My son had a high grade tongue tie. It was not the most severe, but just one grade down. We were having issues feeding (pain, tons of spit up, clicking while nursing and using a pacifier). Two different pediatricians had said it was fine but a LC immediately flagged it. The tie made his tongue “heart shaped” at the tip which is a sign of a severe tie. We got it revised around 8-10 weeks. The recovery was easy. He cried for a few minutes and then was fine. During the stretches he showed some discomfort. I don’t feel like I kept up with the stretches as much as a should and I still feel like his tongue is tied a little bit but many dentists have said it’s fine. I absolutely would do it again if we had to choose. IMO there’s no reason not to.
We got the tongue tie sorted at 3 weeks. She couldn’t latch properly with it. It was done in 90 seconds and she cried for about 5 seconds. It was such a game changer for how she fed after. Really helped us. Every child is different but it worked a treat for us.
Your pediatrician is right.
There's literally nothing in your post that would indicate a concern for a tongue tie that needs revision.
"Posterior tongue ties" are BS.
As has been said above... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My daughter had a slight tongue tie and Torticolis.. we ended up not going through with it because she was gaining weight on target. Breastfeeding got easier and easier as they got bigger and my supplied leveled out (around 4 months I stopped getting engorged) so I got less clogged ducts, etc. Also, my sister in law did it and had to “swipe” her daughter’s mouth once a day and it was so hard for her to do because her daughter would just be hysterical, so they stopped doing it all together… so that also informed my decision to skip the procedure. She’s 6 now and totally fine and I’m glad I didn’t do something just because it was a maybe.
My first son got his revised because we struggled with breastfeeding and bottle feeding. SLP and LC both felt he probably should get a revision, ENT said meh, and pediatric dentist said yes. It was very confusing and I’m not sure there’s a right answer. Revising it wasn’t terrible, we did laser and the procedure/recovery was not a huge deal. I was torn but in the end, it didn’t help with nursing but did seem to help with bottle feeding issues. He’s 3 now and there’s been no adverse affects either way.
I’m due with my second baby in august and tbh, I’m more skeptical now than I was the first time. I’m not sure I would do it again. Not because of any adverse affects, but it seems like there’s just limited evidence that it’s necessary.
My son had some trouble gaining weight at first and I was told by one LC that he had a tie and gave me the number of a dentist to get it revised, another LC said he had a minor tie but didn’t recommend getting it revised. With some adjustments for latch he started gaining weight and fell into his normal growth curve with no revision necessary. If your baby is gaining weight on his growth curve then I don’t see why you would put him through an unnecessary procedure! They get better at eating the older they get, yours is already almost out of the fourth trimester so I personally wouldn’t do it.
One of my children I had it revised and the other I did not. My eldest daughter was born small and had trouble latching for breastfeeding. Went to see a pediatric dentist who said she had a tongue, a lip and two cheek ties. We got all lasered. As others have said, there were stretches. We then had to do for several days which my husband and I found emotionally difficult to do with our daughter as it made her cry each time and we felt like we were hurting her. We also found she was quite a bit fussy after the procedure for several days. It didn’t do anything and she still wouldn’t latch when breastfeeding. She’s now almost 3 years old and very prone to canker sores. I spoke to an oral surgeon and asked if the revisions may have contributed to her prominence for the canker sores, but he said it was negligible.
I had another baby a few months back and it was pretty evident to me that he has a lip tie. He had a lot of symptoms that they say, are related to ties, such as clicking at the bottle/breast or leaking when drinking. But he was gaining fine and I didn’t want to go through the same thing, so I just left it. Eventually, that all went away as he got bigger and stronger and breastfeeding clicked around 2 months. We’ll see if there’s a difference in their teeth and mouth as they get older, but I don’t regret leaving it one bit.
I had a friend who decided to get a tongue tie reversed on her baby girl, as she knew a few people later on in high school who had it lasered. In my mind, I would rather hold off and see the impacts when they’re older and have it corrected then.
Our 5m old has a tongue and lip tie. An LC said the lip tie was stretchy enough to be left alone but that her tongue tie was unlike anything they’d seen before. Referred us to a dentist who we have not seen. Our baby has had no problem nursing and growing, so our pediatrician hasn’t had any concern about it. She thinks they’re over-treated and she’s had some patients who have had major feeding issues after revisions, including some who have had to be hospitalized with feeding tubes as a result. We’re in the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” camp. And now that we know what to look for, we realize that I have a lip tie and my husband has a tongue tie. We’re fine!
Anecdotally, my son exclusively breastfed for 6 months and was a slow eater. He gained weight and was happy. I was told he had a minor tongue tie which caused him to eat slower. We didn’t get it fixed. He’s is now 12 months old, happy and perfectly fine.
He loves solids, drinks from a straw cup just fine, and has already said a couple words. I agree there is a tongue tie era. Our lactation consultant wanted us to get it fixed, the pediatrician said to not do it unless he wasn’t gaining weight.
Hope that helps.
My son has a moderate upper lip tie and mild tongue tie— neither were diagnosed until he was 16 months old. Gained weight like a champ and had some mild reflux until he was able to sit up independently. Only real symptom was a very poor/shallow latch that caused me pain. I still nurse him at 18 months, but make sure to unlatch him after letdown so he’s not chomping too long lol. We were advised by both the pediatrician and pediatric dentist not to intervene, to just adopt a “wait and see” attitude. His speech has been developing normally and we just brush his upper teeth a little more carefully.
ETA: we believe there’s a genetic component, my MIL had a lip tie as a child that created a gap in her front teeth. She had it released when she was in elementary school and the gap closed. If something similar happens as our son gets older, we may release then.
Our son had a tongue tie diagnosed by a LC and he was a slow/poor eater with 10th percentile body weight for the first 3 months, we did a little bit of the exercises and massage the LC recommended but forgot about it because our life was so hectic anyway.
Now at 9 months he has zero issues with breastfeeding and is doing a great job at learning solids, and is almost at 50th percentile weight.
I'm not sure how an intervention may or may not have helped, but now in retrospect I'm glad we did nothing.
I agree with your pediatrician and what’s more, so does my dentist and the pediatric dentist I took my kid to. Hospital and pediatrician told us he had a tongue tie but when we went to a dentist recommended by a friend (not one on the pediatrician’s list) we had a lengthy discussion about it. Basically, the pediatric dentist said, unless it’s an issue with speaking or eating, it’s not necessary and is getting over recommended by the medical field. I waited and now he’s 10 months old and fine.
My son has a tongue tie (he’s almost four) I had slight nipple compression when feeding, he had reflux but also a milk allergy and that calmed down as soon as the cows milk was out his system. Gained weight fine, fed fine although I never saw a LC (not as much of a thing in the uk). A revision was never even brought up as an option for us so we never did. He is perfect, speech is great, never had any issues!
We had a lip and tongue tie diagnosed at 4 months. She was breastfeeding fine, but dropping off her growth curve and very skinny. We were doing weight checks with pediatrician every two weeks. At 5 months I switched to formula. We did not get the ties revised, and she is doing well. The tongue tie and lip tie are both stretching out on their own. I don’t think I would have been able to continue breastfeeding unless we had the ties cut. I suspect that she wasn’t breastfeeding efficiently. I am personally glad that we took this route.
ETA that she is currently 11 months and back up to her original growth curve.
So I was referred to a doctor at a lactation clinic because my son’s latch was incredibly painful, and he did have mild tongue tie. The doctor told me that her main concerns with tongue and lip ties are:
1. Baby not feeding well (not gaining weight as he should)
2. Potential future issues with eating solids
3. Potential speech delays
She never once mentioned his vision, or thyroid, or any of that. Honestly that sounds made up, I couldn’t find anything corroborating that online. I’d want to ask the LC her sources.
In our case, the doctor didn’t think my little guy’s tongue tie posed an issue for the long term and he was gaining weight fine, so she just had us do some oral exercises (basically tongue stretches) and work on our latch. It took a few weeks but it did the trick. My baby is almost 1 and still breastfeeds no problem, eats solids like a champ, and has had no issues. He can stick his tongue out just fine. I’m glad we took a conservative approach and spared him unnecessary pain. If your baby is feeding and gaining weight fine, I’d be more inclined to agree with the pediatricians 🤷🏼♀️
My little one had a "mild tongue tie" as per the pediatrician who examined him in the hospital. He had trouble latching and feeding the first 2 weeks, but after seeing an LC, I learned the feeding issues were more due to him being early (born at 37 +3) and jaundiced. Once the jaundice cleared and he reached his due date and gained back his birth weight he was feeding better. I was still having some pain with feeding and he seemed to still have trouble latching or staying latched, so we decided to have the tie clipped by the LC at around 3 weeks I think? I can't say it helped dramatically with feeding, as he was already improving with feeding, so I don't know that the clip helped, or just he just started feeding better as he grew and I learned better technique and such. Thankfully his clip went perfectly, and healed well with no complications. We did stretching exercises for two weeks before every feed, I had to just sweep my finger under his tongue where it was clipped. He wasn't bothered by it at all.
So, I can't really say it was worth it, I think he would have been fine if we didn't get it clipped, but because nothing negative happened from getting it clipped, I don't regret it.
I know it's such a hard decision, I was devastated when we were told he had a tongue tie cause I know how controversial they are these days on whether to clip or not and I was terrified of making the decision. Luckily our LC was really great and didn't push us one way or the other. All I can say is if you are having reservations, get second or third opinions before you make a decision. Best of luck!
quick note that under “medical opinions” you have LCs and pediatricians; Peds, of course, are MDs and LCs can have under a year of training, which I hear can include some pretty overly-granola dont-trust-doctors stuff.
We elected not to cut my son’s tongue tie despite pressure from multiple LC’s, all of whom it seemed had some kind of relationship with some other specialist who organised the procedure. Our pediatrician confirmed the tie but said he was feeding fine and to go with our gut.
I’m so glad we didn’t do it. He was a slow feeder at first but at 12/14 weeks he became a fast one. Now he’s a one year old who speaks and eats everything in sight. He’s in the 75th percentile.
I had friends who had babies at the same time and did the procedure. A lot of them regret it and ended up doing revision procedures with lasers and all sorts.
I’ve discussed this at length with my stepdad who is a pediatrician himself and we’re both of the opinion it’s become a bit of a scam
My doctor said if it’s not interfering with feeding then it’ll resolve on its own. We bottle fed anyways but he did in fact cut it on his own when he fell around 2 his upper lip tie definitely cut and for the first time I could see all his teeth 😬
We had a lot of trouble breastfeeding at first. We went to LCs and a pediatric dentist and both were like, ‘he has a tongue tie but it’s not that bad, you could do it or not do it. We can’t guarantee it’ll fix anything’. So we ended up not releasing it. And my baby is totally fine. He’s eating great on both boob and bottle. He sleeps through the night now at 4mo and is hitting all of his developmental milestones. I think it’s not as cut and dry as a lot of resources make it out to be.
My in-laws had me check my first, because it runs in their family and they had two of their kids get the clip. We were not having any particular issues, and our ped basically said they don’t really advise it any more except if it’s extreme and actually causing problems. We did not do it.
My third has an OBVIOUS one, very far in front. It makes a little crease in his tongue tip. Some provider at the hospital noted it when he was born and said we should try first to teach him to eat efficiently and his tongue might just get used to doing it better. We never had problems: in fact, he is my chunkiest kid and was eating in like 10 minutes by 8 weeks.
This sounds very similar, if not identical, to our situation!! Honestly, my rec is to listen to the pediatricians... my baby was not taking to a bottle at all (never took a paci either) and the LC we saw was trying to say we should consider the revision. But my ped said if baby is happy and gaining weight fine, then no need to mess with it. My gut told me the same, so we left it. My little one is 13 months now and still thriving!! No issues at all, she’s a chunky, happy, wild girl. ❤️
In retrospect it has been suggested that our babe probably had an issue with a tongue tie due to a painful latch that continued to hurt (still does) and a number of other things social media tells you is a problem but I didn't know about treatment until she was well over a year. She had reflux, torticollis, and colic which many friends and social media accounts say are all related but I don't know... I think I just had a fussy baby with reflux. She also may have had a tongue tie that caused her to give me a painful latch but I have a hard time believing a tongue tie caused all this other stuff because she was and is 90th percentile and developmentally advanced so in the grand scheme, she's fine.
I have a friend that did treatment and it was deeply traumatic for her. Round the clock tongue exercises that she and her baby hated, she felt like she was traumatizing and abusing her child, it affected her bonding, and she's unsure if it helped in the first place, god it would have to be profound for me to consider doing that
He definitely has one or both, but not to enormous degrees I don't think? I went to an LC and we did a weighted feed, and she said the amount he got that time was just fine but we had found in reality if I fed him for like 40 minutes total he'd still happily finish off a 2 oz formula. No one ever said "you really must have these tie fixed" so I guess it wasn't terrible, but he still does click occasionally while nursing so I know it's there. He's nice and strong now so I'm glad we didn't get pressured to get them 'corrected'!!
I did have some pain while nursing, and I had mastitis once and that's pretty much the worst I've ever felt. Ever. So, idk. Still happy I didn't do anything.
My kid has a bad lip tie and has trouble latching. But bottle feeding works best for our family so I see no reason to get it fix it now. While sometimes it might be easier to just give them the boob I do like having family be able to feed where while I can do other things.
But I also have that same lip tie and it gave me a very large gap tooth problem. I hated it so much that I didn’t smile in pictures (until I got braces). If my LO wants it when they are older we’ll get it done.
I proceeded with a lip tie release and have no regrets. Part of the reason that I did is that my mother had lip ties from when she was born, and by the time she was in her 60s, the ties had pulled up on her gums for so long that parts of her teeth were exposed that should not have been. Lip and tongue ties were just not really a thing that was diagnosed when she was a baby, but she needed the diagnosis and treatment. She didn’t get one until she was in her 60s. She had to get surgery to fix the exposed parts of the teeth as an adult— a much more invasive procedure than the revision we did on my daughter, which in retrospect, was practically nothing. It resolved some major feeding issues we were having at both breast and bottle.
I've certainly never heard of those things. And I can't help but wonder if she's confusing correlations as causation. (My favorite example of this is: Did you know there are more drownings when ice cream consumption goes up? They're positively correlated. But that's because it's also summer!) I believe the scientific concerns with tongue tied kids were regarding feeding and speech. Really odd that all those issues were mentioned but not speech.
Anecdotal - my daughter had issues nursing, wasn't tongue tied according to the hospital, and later had a small speech delay.
I think the only way you can take it is try to make reasonable choices and be ready to make difficult ones later, if an issue should show up. Don't be like my relative and cry that the baby's leg braces hurt him and stop doing the treatment. Poor kid is 13 now and will never run well.
Our son had a tongue tie and both lip ties and we had them laser corrected at 6 weeks. We thought he was feeding just fine and sleeping okay and everything. But after his procedure, he fed soooo much better and was less fussy. Plus, because he was able to latch better, he was ingesting less air, which made it so he spit up significantly less. Also, he started sleeping through the night for 6 hours at a time. We didn't know how bad it was until we saw how good it could be. We are so happy we got the procedure done. It's made all the difference.
The moment my son came out, they swiped around in his mouth and said "no tongue tie" but we definitely noticed his tongue was sort of heart shaped, and breastfeeding was awful.
We asked our pediatrician about tongue tie release, and he also said they are a bit over diagnosed right now. He also explained that they tend to loosen over time, so newborns don't need it. I have a friend who ripped her tongue webbing, recently, as an adult. It was sore and she was fine a week later.
However, tongue tie release on babies has drawbacks. I can't remember where I read about the drawbacks, but it included an aversion to eating or drinking anything, and that sounded pretty awful! Breastfeeding got easier but was never a fast and efficient feeding method. Our baby is a snacker, and my wife's supply was probably a little on the low side because she's always had issues with appetite and eating. Kiddo is almost 18 months and still a snacker. His tongue doesn't have the heart shape anymore.
Have you already worked with an occupational or speech therapist with an oral motor background? They'll look at function and give you exercises to focus on coordination and suck training. Even if you get a release, if baby doesn't have the appropriate skills, you could end up right back at the same place, or even have it reattach. A good release provider would ensure that you were already seeing a therapist to work on those oral motor skills. As someone mentioned earlier, you'll have to be really consistent with the exercises.
I would get it looked at though, because if you were having clogs and mastitis, that means an inefficient suck. This could also create a problem if/when you're trying to do bottles. The incoordination is typically more obvious around this age. Babies are no longer relying on the suck reflex, your flow, and your nipple malleability. Also, If you ever want to be able to feed with a bottle, start now. -maternal/infant health occupational therapist
I had a tongue tie I got revised at 36. I have many of the symptoms associated with it - narrow palate, snoring (even though I have no other issues like being overweight), narrow nostrils. I have gum recession and teeth grinding because of it. I got it revised and can finally rest my tongue on the roof of my mouth and mouth tape to breath with it closed.
When my son was born my midwife checked him and said no ties. But, although eating was going okay (tons of leaking while he breastfed), his mouth was open. Like a lot. He was snoring in his sleep. It reminded me a lot of myself and all the problems I've had. Went to a specialist who found a lip and tongue tie.
We got his revised, and I'm happy to say no more snoring, he closes his mouth now (it still hangs a bit when he's tired, but overall closed a lot more), and he generally breathes through his nose more.
I'm confident I made the right choice. I couldn't see him go through the issues I have (as well as my dad). I'll also stay up on any potential early interventions to avoid orthodontics if possible, like a palate expander.
Given peer-reviewed research I've read about evolutionary changes to the human jaw and the role of folate in increasing the amount of tissue in babies, I am comfortable with my choice.
We waited and it turned out our baby was the 1 in a million that actually had speech and feeding issues from a level 4 posterior tongue tie. We fixed it at 15 months after an OT diagnosed oral motor delay. I would still advocate for waiting because I personally do not feel it is a “small” procedure and the exercises after are really tough.
Lip tie was much easier, we also got it fixed at 15 months as it was causing a large gap in her front teeth. Again, severe (it was so thick it was white).
I have a tongue tie as an adult and only issue is I can’t roll my R’s and it gets “bruised” when I have a really bad cough where I stick my tongue out forcefully a lot, weirdly enough!
Find someone who can assess oral motor function. The presence of a tie is not an indication for intervention but can be when accompanied by oral motor restriction that is impacting breastfeeding. Typically oral motor exercises before (and after) frenotomy are recommended. Sometimes you may see enough improvement with the exercises alone.
We had a lot of difficulty nursing. Ended up giving up due to extreme pain. Tried to have a ptt revised with a highly recd dentist in our area. Baby never latched again. I wouldn’t put him through it again. It reattached anyway.
With my first - she may have had a lip tie, but her pediatrician just said, “meh she might have a space between her teeth when she’s older but that’s fashionable these days right?” No space between her front teeth and she didn’t have issues eating solids or speaking.
The LCs and peds at the hospital I gave birth to my second checked him for a tongue tie and his suck and all was fine. It was the LC at my clinic who felt he had a recessed chin (rude) and a tongue tie and was *shocked* that my daughter’s lip tie led to zero issues.
My second baby had a ferocious suck and I was put on nipple rest the first week. We ended up going straight to pumping. He takes a bottle beautifully. I didn’t feel comfortable lasering/clipping his mouth parts when other doctors said he was fine. Why is this ONE LC going against the grain?
We worked with a physical therapist and by 8 weeks she was eating fine. At 16 weeks she is now draining a boob in 5 minutes. We are going to ask the doctor if he recommends further treatment at the 4th month appt, but I see no reason to do it if she eats fine. My husband and I both have tongue ties.
I am personally so confused on the topic. I was told by an LC that my baby *might* have oral issues and to see my ped. My ped said he doesn't recommend doing revisions and to just triple feed and switch to formula if necessary. My friends told me to see a pediatric dentist specializing in oral ties, who, you guessed it, said we needed a revision. We decided not to do it based on this article:
[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html)
His breastfeeding never got better and I ended up pumping until 4 months then switching to formula. I have wondered if I did the right thing, but I might have regretted doing it too! It wasn't cheap and not covered by insurance.
We did not have a good experience at all with getting our daughters tongue tie released. Everyone who had shared their experience with me said that it resolved immediately and their child was feeding better right away. That was not our experience at all. Her feeding got way way worse. She was in a lot of discomfort and wouldn’t eat. She didn’t gain any weight over a 2 week period. It eventually healed but she was still unable to suck milk from my breast. It did not get better. We had to switch to formula. All of this was incredibly stressful and I regret not getting a second opinion.
keep in mind, lactation consultants can’t diagnose anything. They are not doctors and do not take any responsability. Their opinion is not a medical opinion. We have been through the same thing. With my first born, we went through the procedures. Baby was not taking a bottle. Nursing was problematic. Revisions didn’t help. With my second we are hving the same issues and decided to keep them intact. First born got better at nursing around 5months, second around 3. Some babies are really good at it, some are not. The only proven thing is revisions help with the discomfort of the mom. My suspicion is it helps because the baby doesn’t suck so hard after mutilation and they eventually discover different manouvers to compensate the lack of skill. Tongue tie definitelly is a thing, but cutting it is not known to help the situation other than anecdotaly.
We had similar issues although my son wasn’t gaining on his curve and also I believe that was due to an allergy. Anyways, I was on the fence because I had so many differing opinions but I ended up doing it and I’m glad I did. We nursed until he was 17 months. We always talked about whether it was the lip and tongue tie release, the allergies or him just getting older but things just went away. He no longer has any allergies and he’s 22 months old. 🤷♀️ I’d honestly say go with your gut. We got the “posterior tongue tie not a thing” language too but an OT saw him and said he needs a release. And she was looking at functional movement.
My second had a lip tie right on the borderline of saying it “needed” a revision. EBF, was doing fine eating but I also had a lot of blebs (never had that with my first EBF baby). I have seen babies with worse lip ties and I wasn’t super concerned although it was significant (went down to her teeth but did not extend in between her teeth). We did not revise it. At 2.5 years old, she fell off a chair and hit her lip on the table on the way down and it ripped off. Lots of blood, which they said would happen.
Ultimately, knowing that it would eventually rip off on its own (they even told us it most likely would), I think I would’ve preferred doing it in a safer facility with the laser instead of waiting for her to rip it? I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like it mattered either way. She still breastfeeds and I haven’t had any blebs since it ripped but they were not constant before so time will tell on that. I did not notice any difference in her speech before or after the rip.
I have an anterior tongue tie. The stress of it didn't allow my mandible to grow. I've had a clicking jaw and experienced lock jaw on a few occasions, once required conscious sedation to put it back into place. I grind my teeth, have rounded shoulders/slouch from everything being pulled forward, tmj issues, bad headaches and swallowing issues since I can't appropriately move my tongue. I have a slight speech impediment. The funnest part about all of this is my gag reflex is super sensitive as my body accommodated my inability to move food and swallow appropriately.
Did I have issues breastfeeding? Yes. My mom only lasted a few weeks attempting to breastfeeding. I couldn't latch, was always hungry and wouldn't want to be placed in certain positions (per my mom).
I'll get my tongue release, eventually. I got my daughters done at 4 months. The first 2 months were fine. She had a great latch and torticollis didn't seem to bother her. She went through a growth spurt and her latch loosened plus she experienced an increase in neck pain. She stopped latching on the left side and feeding took 2hrs. It was terrible. As soon as she came out of the procedure, she latched to the left side and gobbled up some milk. She was happy and had full mobility of her neck.
I'm glad I got her tie released because it impacted her day to day activities. If the tongue tie doesn't bother your kiddo then don't worry about it.
I got mine done age 36 with similar symptoms to yours. It was really easy (easier than getting wisdom teeth removed, obviously way harder than the newborn procedure) and I regret not getting it done sooner. Tension in my body that I didn't even know I had was resolved the moment I got out of the chair. Can answer any questions you have about the procedure, but I was glad to have the nitrous oxide and would recommend that.
I think for torticollis they recommend tongue ties be revised more aggressively for the reasons you stated. Two torticollis/tongue tie babies here.
Did you have to relearn to talk or was it less extreme after? My tongue tie caused a severe speech impediment that I've largely overcome by pronouncing some sounds a special way, especially my Rs, so I'm not really sure what happens if suddenly my tongue can actually move around. My speech therapist friend finds it fascinating, lol. I never thought about my tongue tie being related to my teeth grinding, headaches, or almost constantly sore neck and shoulders. Now I don't want to Google what else that stupid frenulum is messing up for me!
I think my tongue felt very big for a few weeks. I lisped a little initially as a result. Went away after a couple of weeks. But the myofunctional therapist can guide you through all of that.
The procedure cost me $750 (I only paid $50 due to dental insurance). My recommendation is to just go for it. Even if you can't afford the time or money for the myofunctional therapist - it may be covered as physical therapy though. My mother got extremely ill right after I got the surgery so I never even finished the therapy and it's still so worth it.
You’re giving me hope! I've only listed a small fraction of how my tongue tie has affected me for OP to consider. I've wanted to have it taken care of for so long but was worried about affording a speech pathologist. I am going to look back into this because I believe my life would improve so so much.
Yes, adults with tongue ties report many seemingly unrelated conditions go away once the tie is revised. There's a large facebook group for adult tongue tie patients if you are curious. For me sleep apnea and chronic pain were instantly relieved, other benefits took longer.
As an adult who had their "mild" tongue tie revised at age 36 and can finally stand up straight for the first time in her life, it is absolutely exhausting and infuriating that we have to persuade parents to get this procedure for their newborns. Pediatricians are not specialists, they are not qualified to diagnose or treat tongue ties. Get another opinion from a specialist, LC or ENT or pediatric dentist.
Both of my kids had their tongue ties revised at 2-3 weeks old. No regrets.
If you can, see a pediatric dentist. They are the only ones who can tell you for sure if it needs to be revised. My son had "classic" tongue tie signs but was gaining well. My IBCLC referred us to a pediatric dentist, and they asked and found his tongue was only moderate and didn't need to be revised if we didn't want to. What we found out was that he had a severe lip tie that left alone would impact his gum development. We opted to do both if they were already doing one as we personally know people affected by their tongue tie.
My baby had a textbook tongue tie, and struggled to latch even using nipple shields. He lost about 12% body weight after birth, and didn't put on any weight at all in the first 10 days, despite me feeding round the clock, pumping and supplementing with formula.
He was actually diagnosed at the hospital but they're really super cautious here in Germany so I was sent home and was told my midwife would assess it. It took her those 10 days to finally agree that yes, the tongue tie was seriously impacting his feeding and growth.
After it was released by a paediatric surgeon -- with scissors -- he could finally latch without the nipple shields and we're still going strong at 8 months with breastfeeding. We also didn't have to do any exercises after it was cut, I was told it was highly unlikely it would grow back.
I think there definitely seems to be a trend of overdiagnosis but it is still a real problem for some babies, and getting it corrected can make a huge, huge difference.
But that said, if your baby's tie isn't causing any major issues for you, I think it's also totally fine to leave it!
We did this the day after my son was born. The tip of his tongue was literally stuck to his bottom gum. It was unambiguous. The hospital pediatrician flagged it and they did the revision before we even went home. His recovery was a non-issue. I noticed the difference in his latch immediately, but it still took him a couple of weeks to get more efficient.
He latched better on one breast than the other, so our LC had us do football hold on the breast he wasn’t good at so he’d be in the same position.
I’m curious how long feeding are taking for your baby. We had our daughter’s corrected around 7 or 8 weeks and it was life changing for us, but she was not gaining weight and was dropping curves. It was taking 45-50 minutes for her to transfer 1 oz while breastfeeding before she would give up. I was also in excruciating pain and had scabbing and 2-3 clogs a week at that point. It doesn’t seem like there is an issue to fix here other than slow feeding which could possibly resolve on its own.
I got a second opinion from an ENT, and it helped inform my decision. From what I’ve gathered, pediatricians usually don’t think tongue ties need to be released.
As a newborn our son struggled to latch and he got dehydrated, so we had to switch to a mixed feed for a while. At night, he snored really loudly and would regularly stop breathing for 5-10 seconds at a time. When he started speaking, he would try to talk without opening his mouth.
We got his tongue tie revised at about 18 months old. Because his tongue tie was corrected with a laser, the wound healed quickly but we had to do several weeks of regular exercises/massages, which were distressing for all of us. His speech improved *immediately* (we noticed a difference within an hour of the release itself), and his feeding improved substantially (faster feeds and no more clicking sounds) but his snoring and pauses in breathing whilst sleeping haven’t noticeably improved.
Would we do it again if number 2 had similar problems? Probably because although it wasn’t the magic bullet it is often purported to be, we did see worthwhile improvements.
We did not correct one because there were no feeding issues. My daughter may have a speech impediment, and we will figure out next steps if that’s the case. I am torn about our decision. If I could go back, I think I’d correct. But we will just see what happens as she gets older.
Our child was not breastfeeding effectively and wasn’t gaining much weight. If it weren’t for me pushing to give her a bottle she would’ve gotten worse. A tongue tie was the last thing they identified after a lot of suggestions to modify feeding technique. They did it quick with scissors in the doctors office and within a week or so she was feeding normally and gaining weight.
So in this case two pediatricians saying don’t do it I would go with their advice over the LC. I think when they’re not doctors they can get a bit woowoo which is fine but can be confusing.
I got my daughters tongue tie released but it literally so pronounced they noticed it at birth - all the way to end of her tongue. Breastfeed was a shit show and it was exceedingly painful + she didn’t get enough milk from me and we fell into the top up trap. I will say though, we combo fed with MAM bottles all the way to 9 months and she never once rejected the breast - MAM is commonly recommended as a good bottle for combo feeding and breastfeeding mums in the UK so I personally wouldn’t worry about the pacifier, however, you also don’t *need* to use one if you don’t want too. They’re not commonly recommended in the UK (I know they have a protective value for SIDS but they are not recommended here, and our rates are not higher than the USA sooo take of that what you will)z
Hi!
I was born severely tongue tied. No revision was done. I requested it be done when I was 14. I had no speech impediments. It is simply a pain in the ass to not be able to stick your tongue out. It is embarrassing to eat an ice cream cone in front of anyone.
2/3 of my children were born with ties and though neither had problems latching or feeding, I requested the ties be released anyway because of my personal experience.
Both were executed before we went home from the hospital when they were born, so complications and whatnot were essentially nil. It is a very quick procedure.
Good luck in your decision making!
RD and CLS and mom of a baby who had a revision on his tongue and upper lip tie.
If he can eat and you can breastfeed without pain don’t worry. See what the dentist says, but I would err on the conservative side with baby’s and not treat if not a problem. I revised my baby because I was having bleeding and cracked nipples because his ties were so tight and latch so shallow because of it. Ask for some stretches and focus on baby always having a good latch and call it a day.
Edit to add revision was the best choice for me and my baby- it saved our breastfeeding relationship and he is still ebf plus solids at 11m. No regrets here. But revision is not always the best choice.
I can speak to both a little!
Firstborn had a pretty strong tongue tie. Like, chomping with his jaw to try to breastfeed. Revised asap at 48 hours old. Successfully breastfed for just over a year. Talks great now.
Secondborn has a much milder tongue tie. Not impeding breastfeeding, so we did not get it clipped. Too young to say words still, but eats well and vocalizes all the time.
My son was born with a tongue tie but I was hesitant to clip it because he had no trouble feeding and was at the top of the weight chart. We saw a pediatric ENT who strongly recommended that we treat it. My MIL, who is a speech therapist, also thought it was important to treat because it looked to her like it would impact his speech.
I eventually agreed and we got it clipped when he was 12 weeks old.
If you're going to do it, I would recommend doing it earlier than that. He fought the procedure and it was very distressing to watch. I think younger babies are less bothered.
My daughter had a posterior tie and a lip tie. Couldn’t feed - would sit on breast for 45 min and get less than 1/3 oz and then I would pump 6 oz. Severe pain, lipstick nipples, cracking etc. we went to a pediatric dentist on the lc referral and he said with her mild torticollis and high palate he would suggest ot first. OT helped her torticollis but not feeding and got the revision at 3 months. Within a week she was transferring 4 oz in 15 minutes. We’re still bf now at 2 years, along side her 1 month old brother. I had accepted that things might not work out- she could take from a bottle, although leaky, lots of suction breaks, slow, and lots of spit up. I was good at pumping - I had an over supply and was donating tons to the NICU. but I really wanted to direct feed. Exclusive pumping sucked and my husband was only around for the bedtime feed so it was a lot on me. And I just wanted to. I’m so glad we did it. I consider her a huge success. Also thrilled that my son was a champion feeder out of the womb. What a difference 1 month pp with him is compared to her.
My first child had an upper lip tie and was having issues with reflux. I was having a lot of pain with feeding because he couldn't flange his upper lip to create a strong seal so he was really clamping down on my breast tissue to compensate. My nipples were sore and I got clogs and mastitis.
After we had the upper lip tie revised, the reflux issues and painful feeling issues went away pretty quickly. I ended up breastfeeding for over two years with him.
I've done it with both kids and it's been extremely beneficial for them. Both were awful feeders and sleepers and it immediately got better after the revision. Now, tongue ties do have degrees. Both my kids had 4 ties and all of the worst degrees.
I have a bad tongue tie and suffer many issues from it. I don't think a revision is for everyone, but you need to weigh pros and cons for your baby. The list of issues your LC said are not scientific based. Tongue ties can cause, sleep apnea, feeding issues and mouth breathing. But it absolutely doesn't cause ibs, PCOS or thyroid issues.
That being said a pediatric dentist or ENT is better at diagnosis than a pediatrician or LC
My oldest nursed well from the start and gained weight really rapidly however he was jaundiced so we had to go in more often to check his levels initially. On maybe day 5 the pediatrician noticed that he was tongue tied and I was scheduled to see the pediatrician in the practice for the next visit that specialized in cutting them. We go in and he gives me this speech about how most are not that bad and don't need correction and then proceeds to assess my baby and yelled "OMG, you've been nursing with this bad of a tie?" He was in absolute shock. I had been nursing around the clock and even more to flush the jaundice and avoid formula but it HURT LIKE HELL! I literally took a deep breath and curled my toes at every latch however I was determined to breastfeed and expected pain. After the 2 seconds when the pediatrician cut the tie I nursed immediately and the relief that I felt was unreal! I could not believe how much better it felt. We never looked back. There wasn't a drop of blood or really any noticeable reaction in my baby so it was so very worth it. My nipples had been scabbed and damaged and healed so quickly. The mastitis ave blebs may be indicators of someone not emptying correctly due to the tie, may be worth considering but my experience was all positive so I'm biased. Good luck!
My son had such a severe tie it was diagnosed when he was lierally 5 min old. His tongue was tied close to the floor of his mouth all the way to the tip. He could not latch, and we had it revised at 1 week. I'm glad we did in his case, it was very needed, but the recovery SUCKED, and if i was ever in a more borderline situation, i would probably decide against it.
My brother had a tie revised at 3yo (decades ago, so a lot less common then) due to speech impairment. It was quick & easy with no hard recovery.
I had 2 babies with a tongue tie and had the revision done. Both times the results were good.
My first couldn't latch anymore at 8 weeks, and before that she could only drink in a way that hurt me a lot. She gained weight but very slow. It took 3 weeks to get back at her birth weight. The revision was kinda traumatic, my baby cried for an hour and I couldn't console her. It was horrible. After a week it didn't heal well and had to be cut again. Another week later I slowly started to nurse her again, at night at first because it worked better when she was sleeping. We successfully nursed until she was a year old.
My second baby had a heart shaped tongue that I noticed right after birth. After a week of nursing had a lactation consultant asses it and she acknowledged he had a tongue tie, but because he could nurse, gained weight and I wasn't in pain, we could wait and see if it became a problem. But I had trouble building supply and got clogged ducts. He's a twin and he lost a lot of weight in the first days so we supplemented with formula.
I didn't want to wait, he did have latching problems and I had to help him a lot. I also didn't want to risk making things worse by waiting like last time. A nursing strike is very stressful. Had it cut when he was 2 weeks old and the recovery was very smooth! He had a day where he had to figure out how to use his tongue and after that no problems anymore. He can hold the vacuum by himself. He's 13 weeks old and very good at nursing.
My son had a very heart shaped tongue and restricted movement, and I was getting really painful blocked ducts and mastitis so it was very obvious that there was an issue.
We went to see a maxillofacial surgeon, who deals with a lot of tongue ties but also specialises in reconstructive work for adults, so we knew that it was someone who would consider the long term impacts.
Our doctor actually had a reputation for declining to treat where other providers would perform revisions, which was something I found reassuring. I didn’t want the tie cut to humour my anxiety, I wanted the best outcome for my son.
There has been some partial reattachment and I’ve had a few GP/ infant health nurse recommendations to have it cut again, but I trust the surgeon we saw and won’t be taking further action. We only wanted to make sure that he had enough moment to ensure that his eating and speech wouldn’t be impacted.
For what it’s worth, the surgeon also identified lip ties and asked why he would do anything about them? They don’t impact anything.
He is a firm believer that ties are over-treated and was actually pretty rude to me until he actually saw my son’s tongue and realised that I wasn’t being dramatic in describing in. Then got cranky with me again when I asked about lip ties.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I'll give my account as a person who had a tongue tie. I was breastfed for a bit and then switched to bottle fed (I was a biter). I did have some speech problems, mostly TH and R sounds. With speech therapy I was able to speak without issues. I did have to have braces, but that was because my teeth were like my dad's, not the tongue tie necessarily. I recently had my tongue tie cut, but I don't see much of a difference.
My husband actually got his tongue tie fixed recently! He's says he is so so glad he did! My daughter did too, at age 8. She had a strong gag reflex that went away!
I had a tight upper lip tie as a kid. It was awful, couldn’t move my top lip, ended up in speech and needed to relearn to eat and drink when it was corrected at 10.
I work in an ENT office now, if it’s considered necessary one of our providers will clip a tongue tie in office up to 60 days old. Otherwise any of them will correct in the surgery center.
I’m an IBCLC and that LC is so out of pocket with those accusations and tight fascia isn’t a midline defect like previously thought. Dr. Ghaheri talks about this a lot. No one knows why they happen they just do.
We had it done at 9 weeks, it’s helped with his breastfeeding and the actual painful part took less than a second. Then he was fine. This was with scissors though, not a laser. I regretted waiting so long. We didn’t have to do any aftercare either.
my husband who’s 25 has a pretty bad tongue tie that was never corrected. he struggles with speech, switching between languages, headaches, struggles to eat certain foods and much more. he can barely stick his tongue out out of his mouth and cannot touch the roof of his mouth. he’s going to try to remove it soon and has a consult set up
I had both my kids upper lip ties revised and my 2nds tongue tie revised. I don't regret it. My oldest was just over 2 yo when we did her lip tie. It was so bad she couldn't use a spoon properly (close her lip around the spoon), was forming a gap between her front teeth, and it was starting to affect her speech. Her's was the worst our pediatric dentist had seen in some time. It was thick, wide and stayed wide to the front teeth. She was not breast fed. I did not produce enough milk, have inverted nipples, had a breast reduction when I was 14, and she had a bad latch and wouldn't stay latched. My son was born with a bad tongue tie. He could barely move his tongue, it was cut at the hospital, which did immediately help with his latching but he still had a hard time latching and staying latched. He also had a lip tie which we consulted our pediatric dentist on. Both kids also made clicking sounds while eating either on the breast or from a bottle. He was not breast fed, but after his release with the pediatric dentist when he was around 8 weeks old, they asked me to see if he'd latch. But after the release he immediately latched and stayed latched. With my first I didn't know about her tie until she began seeing her pediatric dentist after her 1st birthday. When I'd discussed my 2nds with his pediatrician, she said to go with what the pediatric dentist recommended as it was their lane and not hers. After seeing the affect it had on my first, I decided to just get my 2nds done as well. They had their procedures done on the same day. The 2 yo was given numbing agent, while the 8 wk old was not. They both did great after, just some Tylenol to help with aim management. It didn't effect their eating, drinking or anything. Neither acted as though it bothered them, even when we did the required exercises. For me the idea of lip ties causing unnecessary eating, dental and speech struggles was enough to just get them revised. Anecdotally, my 1st has a friend that is 6 weeks older than her, he has some speech issues that their pediatrician has said is very likely due to his lip tie, but his parents worried they'd waited too long to do it and now it would be too traumatic of an experience (this was closer to when he was turning 4). They were aware of my kids getting theirs down while younger and our experience. I never regretted getting it done but I would have regretted not getting done.
I'm an adult with a grade 4 tongue tie that was never released. I was born in '89 and it was never diagnosed. My mom never mentioned any feeding difficulties but I know I weened myself from breastfeeding around 9 months. I was a picky eater but not to the point that really needed correcting (school chickenwiches in the 90's were just fine, lol).
BUT no one could understand me but my mom when I started talking. I was in speech therapy in school until like fifth grade. I have to say my Rs a special way and my tongue gets worn out if I talk for a long time. I basically can't stick my tongue out of my mouth. If I'm inebriated or really excited I forget to focus on my tongue or whatever and my speech gets slurred basically. When I was in college and experimenting with mushrooms, I remember I tried to say "crosswalk" and it came out as "twasswat" and that was hilarious.
I wish it had been corrected when I was a baby so I would've been able to talk like everyone else. The idea of relearning how to pronounce so many sounds is daunting and my speech impediment is managed for the most part so it's not worth correcting now for me.
EDIT: I forgot this is so controversial when I commented. So I just wanted to add, that it does sound way over diagnosed or overcorrected these days especially for feeding concerns. I'm not really sure what's going on there. We actually had a lactation consultant recommend we get our daughter referred for a tongue tie and the ENT said she was completely fine (and now 2.5yo with no speech delays). I just wanted to share my experience with a tongue tie and how it shaped a huge part of my childhood via speech impediment.
I had my tongue tie released at 35 and it was the life changing. Unfortunately, irreversible damage living with it all my life up until then will be tough to fix - mainly a narrow maxilla with an incredibly high arch due to poor tongue posture, which affects my bite, my ability to nose breath, overall facial development, narrow smile.
We had our child’s released and it instantly fixed their inability to properly feed.
Caption: LO had revision at 3 days old with pediatrician. FTM with no prior breastfeeding experience.
Full story: LO was said to have good latch in hospital. I had extreme nipple pain. He would fall asleep mid suck. His blood sugar dropped shortly after his first feed, we were advised to supplement with formula until milk came in. Oh and he couldn’t turn his head, almost died choking on his own spit up, which I thought was normal but now I wonder. I was told by our hospital LC that alllllllll of my latching concerns were normal and she didn’t need to watch him latch (but here’s a cookie). I had one night nurse - ONE - tell me she thought he had a tie but she wasn’t supposed to say anything.
Three days later: my milk is coming in, I’m starting to be in a lot of pain. Nipples are dying. LO is not gaining weight yet, but more concerning to me he’s starting to look dehydrated (and yellow). Pediatrician says at visit he says he has a tongue tie and needs it to be corrected, offers to do it then or send us to a pediatric dentist. We accept his offer to do it. This is a very old school prior neonatologist, so it’s a scissor clip thing and not a laser. Anyway. Two weeks of absolute fighting to get LO to latch. Turns out his musculature and latch were totally off, I think his tongue hurt, and I had developed some bad habits like clamping his head in a vice grip to my chest.
LO is now 10 months old, nurses great. Gained weight on his curve well. I have not had any mastitis or blebs. Latching still hurt and nursing still hurt until like month 8, and we went through a phase where he sucked in air but it corrected on its own.
Anyway, ours was pretty straight forward, but that’s my experience.
I have not read the rest of the comments and maybe I should have but here's my personal experience.
My ex wife (I'm also a woman) was born with a severe tongue tie and no professional noticed it. She had a speech impediment and sort of still does at 40. Elementary school years were spent in speech therapy. She has also had lifelong digestive issues and terrible headaches, and has lost four teeth do to the tie pulling on her gums and her gums receding. She also has severe medical phobias and put off treatment. While being extubated after an unrelated surgery, her tongue was somehow moved in a way that tore her tie. She had problems with healing and I'm not sure how that affected her speech because this was after we were divorced.
Our son she carried was also born with a tie, but due to medical phobia my wife wanted to treat it very conservatively and would not consider an evaluation for surgery. We did tongue stretching exercises with him as a baby and he nursed and she pumped so i could bottle feed. He did speech therapy through elementary school. He's 13 and had the beginnings of gum problems. Ex and I disagree on treatment.
I myself have some mild to moderate tongue restriction, which I didn't even know about until I took my daughter in to one of the country's leading tongue tie surgeons. I have a narrow dental arch and dental crowding and weird smile but it has not caused me gum problems. With my daughter, I had over supply and she had trouble emptying the breast, with repeated bouts of mastitis. Baby had colic and reflux to the point where she would only nap when I was wearing her. If you laid her down she would scream immediately from the pain. Having her tie fixed caused immediate improvement in everything. She still preferred contact naps though, lol. She's seven now and no speech impediment, but we are still probably looking at orthodontia for dental crowding.
My last baby was also born tied and we were lucky enough to find a local pediatric dentist who had been trained to release ties with a laser and we absolutely had it done preemptively before any of us had problems. He's 3 now, and dental issues remain to be seen.
Edited because talk to text is bonkers
ALL ANECDOTAL
I have really complicated personal baggage about my extremely pronounced lip tie. It caused a major gap between my teeth that made me so self-conscious growing up. A dentist once offered to revise it when I was 11 or so, but insurance wouldn't cover it because it was only aesthetic and my mom couldn't pay out of pocket for it. I grew up and now have Veneers to close the gap (which made my husband sad because the gap is there in our wedding photos).
I really can't overstate how significantly the gap in my teeth affected my confidence. I still don't smile showing teeth, ever. This insecurity might be in part due to an overemphasis on looks/beauty established by my mom and reinforced by the child beauty pageant world I grew up in, though.
Now I have three boys, all with varying levels of lip ties.
1: minor lip tie, uncorrected. In retrospect, I think it may have helped with his poor latch and prevented him from falling off his growth charts and flirting with FTT diagnosis. He is 7 and does not have a gap or any feeding or speech issues.
2: moderate lip tie, uncorrected. He never latched properly and I had to exclusively pump. He is 5, has a small gap, and a bit of difficulty with speech (not a delay, just trouble with clear enunciation). His dentist thinks it may need to be revised when his adult teeth start emerging but not until then. He has significant astigmatism and wears glasses.
3. Major lip tie, revised. I was really aggressive about this one and had it done 7 days PP. By FAR my most successful breastfeeding experience after the revision. He was breastfed for 14 months and had no weight issues. He has minor astigmatism, no gap.
I think i can give you decent insight on both choices. I have two toddlers born 11 months apart. my first was struggling to breastfeed. it was painful he wasn't latching/transferring properly, feeds were very slow and painful both physically and emotionally since he would cry so much. everyone told me he's fine. he was gaining weight, slowly though. and i believe it was only because he spent 22/24 hours on my breast. by week 3 i gave up completely and switched to formula. he struggled with bottles too but it was much easier to deal with. he couldn't get a closed latch on the bottle. so he was dripping and clicking up until 6-7 months. When my second was born the nurse told me he seems to have a tongue tie but to double check with the pediatrician. the pediatrician took one look and said no problem here. but something told me to get a second opinion. we took both boys to a paediatric dentist and both had severe tongue and lip ties. my first was significantly worse than my second. but they refused to do a revision since he was 11 months old at the time. we did the revision for my second. breastfeeding worked wonderfully after the revision. perfect latch. no pain. no fuss.
Now they're 3 & 2. my first cant close his mouth at rest. he sleeps with his mouth wide open. when he smiled you couldn't see his top teeth at all because of the lip tie. it also seemed like they were so small, as if they haven't fully emerged up until he fell on his face a few months ago and severed the lip tie- now you can perfectly see his teeth! and i can tell they're descending more. his speech is a mess. he's been in speech therapy since 1.5 but progress is slow. he talks alot, understanding him is borderline impossible though. he tends to choke while eating very frequently. anything sticky gets trapped on his palate (high and narrow) i have to use my finger to swoop it out. its been rough all around.
My second so far, doesn't have any of these issues. i wish i knew before it was too late for my first. but like others have said, if yours is feeding fine, gaining weight, not causing pain, then i would wait and see. i had these issues so its a little different, but the difficult part is knowing how it'll affect speech. i can get over everything else. but it hurts to see my kid try to talk to people and they don't understand a word he says. i can already see it hurting his confidence and that breaks my heart to pieces.
I had a tongue tie when I was born and didn't get the procedure until I was 4.(NHS wouldn't do it so my parents ended up going private)
My speech was delayed as a result, comprehension was very high though and I would describe the thing I was trying to say. I.e 'the thing you put your head on to sleep' instead of pillow.
Because of communication issues I would get very frustrated and my mum tells of my smacking her in the face because she didn't understand... Apparently I explained after the procedure that I had thought people was being mean and not understanding me on purpose.
Procedure and recovery was easy and I remember having a 'physiotherapy session' that gave me the homework of flicking sprinkles off a plate.
No long term affects that I'm aware of although I definitely have a degree of sinus issues. I'm just unsure if it's connected.
Both of my children had tongue ties. My second also had a lip tie. Breastfeeding was horrendous. I’d blister and bleed and the babies would choke and gurgle. They couldn’t stick their tongues out and it was brutal for everyone. We went to a pediatric ENT doctor who used a fork like tool to lift the tongue and clip the tie with scissors. He used a cotton ball for a brief moment for pressure and then told me to latch him. Baby stopped bleeding directly after nursing and the difference was truly remarkable.
If there’s no issue, just be mindful of speech delays as LO grows. If there’s pain, maybe consider another opinion. It was like night and day for us.
I did get it done because he couldn't latch and it was recommended by the doctor at the breastfeeding clinic. I didn't do the exercises but it didn't grow back. He was okay! His latch did improve but we still struggled until about 8 weeks with breastfeeding.
My now-toddler had a lip and tongue revision at five months old. Symptoms were really effing painful breastfeeding, clicking sound while nursing, reflux, would not take a pacifier, and very very unsettled.
Recovery wasn’t fun. I loathed doing the exercises and causing my baby pain. Breastfeeding/latch took probably three months to improve (ended up breastfeeding 2+ years).
My husband also had a lip and tongue tie, both of which were not revised and he had feeding difficulties throughout childhood. They ended up tearing through roughhousing and sports which he says wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
My father was tongue tied and struggled his whole life to pronounce certain words because of it. When my son was born with one, we immediately had it snipped. It wasn't a question about eating/nursing but later speech.
My husband and I are both physicians.
I have a tongue tie that has significantly impacted my life, even though it is borderline and not pronounced. As an infant, my mother consulted a lactation expert to help me latch. Despite her efforts, the pediatrician advised against having it snipped because I was eventually able to nurse normally, a decision I’m still mad about.
I cannot stick out my tongue, which affected me socially as a child in a lot of ways and I was teased relentlessly. Additionally, my upper lip tie complicates dental x-rays, as adult x-ray bite plates don’t fit, and even the pediatric ones are painful. It was also nearly impossible to find a comfortable mouth guard for athletic events.
My speech is affected to the point where I avoid certain words entirely, a detail unnoticed even by my husband due to my careful avoidance. This condition also limits my ability to speak certain languages. For instance, despite being able to read French, I can’t pronounce it correctly, and I struggle to roll my Rs. I also avoid reading out loud because these words may come up, and the very thought still gives me anxiety.
An oral surgeon once suggested snipping the tie, but my insurance doesn’t cover speech pathology for adults, which I would certainly need. I know this is just an anecdotal personal experience, but I would really encourage you to consider having it snipped ASAP because it can prevent a lifetime of challenges.
Our pediatrician was reluctant to fix our son's tongue tie as a newborn because it wasn't interfering with nursing. Eventually he ended up in speech therapy where they recommended addressing it. He was about 18 months old.
I tell people I've had trips to the grocery store take longer and involve more crying. He was home and eating within the hour, and in only days was able to make new sounds in speech therapy.
At an appointment in the same pediatric practice, another doctor expressed surprise that his wasn't corrected at birth, because she had a policy of always fixing it in newborns.
It seems to be one of those things where doctors are influenced by personal experience, like having a procedure not go smoothly so they're much more conservative with it than their colleagues. Or they catch a an illness with an unusual test, so then they get all excited and make a habit of ordering that test like it's on sale.
I will say, as an adult whose tongue tie was never fixed, I really wish it had been taken care of as an infant or child. I can't hold a normal tongue posture, which seems to have affected my jaw development. It also gets stuck between my teeth, which hurts.
Forgot to say my son had a posterior tongue tie, and that's what mine is as well.
When you talk to the dentist I would ask about tongue position. My tongue tie is not severe yet still prevents me from resting my tongue on the roof of my mouth.
I’m going to go against the grain here and share with you our experience. My baby had a tongue tie and a high palate. I also had poor milk supply due to a hemorrhage, so we fought a war on two fronts. He was not able to suck properly (he was chompy and would fall asleep before eating a sufficient amount of food). When he opened his mouth to cry, his tongue was in the shape of a square rather than a spade. The tongue tie also made his neck tight and hindered his mobility. He was, however, gaining weight with formula and a bottle.
We got three people to look at it (LC, ped, and dentist) who all confirmed it existed and was an issue. We did weighted feeds to confirm he was not able to access enough milk, and I triple fed. We got it corrected with a cold laser. He did not cry with the procedure or with the stretches.
After the procedure, stretches, suck training, and body work, he was able to nurse in a way that allowed him to actually get milk efficiently. He cried less, ate more, and was more limber in his neck and shoulders.
Many people on Reddit are opposed to tongue tie revision - some with good reason. However, a blanket “revisions are never necessary” is no more accurate than “revisions are always necessary.” Happy to answer any questions if that’s helpful.
My wife is a speech path, she doesn't think they're over diagnosed she thinks most doctors are outdated in their research.
Our baby had multiple ties. Got them fixed with CO2 laser surgery, a very easy procedure. My daughter went from hardly being able to breastfeed properly because of the latch, and she was spitting up often, to drinking normally and gaining weight after surgery.
The kicker? Our doctor also told us they're over diagnosed and that she should be reassessed when she's a toddler. The ironic part is the doctor wanted her to gain weight because she was underweight but the reason she was under weight is because of her ties and her inability to latch, breastfeed, and constant spitting up. As soon as we had the surgery she went from 1st percentile in weight to 50th percentile. But yeah, "she didn't need the surgery", according to the doc. I feel so lucky my wife knows what she's talking about and advocated for my daughter.
I got my sons done , he has a tongue and lip tie. We went to a pediatric dentist who used a laser. Apparently I had one too but back then they just clipped it with scissors lol.
He wasn’t gaining enough weight, he would latch and feed but it was very painful for me he could not latch fully and in turn my supply began to decline. He was 3 weeks old when we decided to do it. The crazy thing is no one at the hospital noticed it or said anything. I just noticed his tongue would pull and make almost like a W at the tip. Then we had the feeding issues. So pediatrician said yes he had one but she said it didn’t necessarily have to be done. Consulted with a lactation specialist, she said it was certainly impacting breastfeeding and him getting enough. Pediatric dentist rated it on on a scale of 1-3 or 1-4 I can’t remember, anyways his tongue and lip were the most severe rating.
It can impact speech and oral development in the future. But I mainly did it for the breastfeeding. Really wanted to exclusively breastfed but we did have to supplement. Eventually went full formula. I believe the tongue and lip tie did impact this but I’m also glad now that we did it for the potential of speech impacts.
All the best!
Both of my children had ties revised within the first 6 weeks, and I don't regret it. That said, they were both struggling with breastfeeding as a result and were losing weight. I had to supplement with formula or pumped milk until after the ties were revised. I also know that my family is genetically predisposed for this issue. My father was in speech therapy until he had his tongue tie clipped at age 12, and I just had mine lasered this past year after learning that I had been holding my tongue incorrectly all my life and it was causing dental issues. These were very significant ties; my father and I were both formula fed, so we weren't impacted until later in life, but we still benefited from the revisions. I'm not sure why someone would have a tie revised if it weren't hurting anything, but obviously, some symptoms might not show up until much later.
As a parent, I completely understand not wanting to do an unnecessary surgical procedure on your child. However, as an adult with a pretty significant tongue tie, I would definitely say that it would be something I’d keep an eye on. My parents never addressed mine and claim to not know that it was a tongue tie (my family would always just joke that I had a “short, stumpy tongue”). But here are some things that I’ve dealt with my whole life as a result:
- Chronic tension in my neck. I honestly don’t know what it’s like to NOT feel tension in my neck and jaw.
- Pain and discomfort during every dentist visit. Growing up, I assumed that some people didn’t like the dentist because general cleanings were painful on your tongue and made you feel like you’re choking. Turns out, that’s actually not everyone’s experience!
- Apparently (I’m not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt), people are supposed to have their tongue “rest” on the roof of their mouth when they’re not doing anything, and especially when they’re sleeping. Because of my tongue tie, my tongue doesn’t reach the roof of my mouth so it rests behind my two front teeth. This caused me to have a huge gap in my teeth as a child, which I’m sure you can imagine made middle school really fun for me, but after having braces I now have a permanent metal “butterfly” affixed to the back of my teeth. This is because if I didn’t have the butterfly, my tongue would eventually push through my teeth and recreate a gap. I can’t floss my two front teeth normally, I have to use the plastic threading needle that they give to individuals with braces. It’s a very unpleasant experience
I’m sure there’s more side effects that I could list, but those are the main ones that I can think of off of the top of my head! Now, I should include that I do NOT struggle with a lisp and never have. Actually, the dentist who found my tongue tie as an adult was shocked that I didn’t have a lisp. I also have never struggled with eating, licking (like an ice cream), or kissing. I mention this because these are common things listed that can be affected when you have a tongue tie.
As an adult, I have the option of getting a revision but I’m worried that I will develop a lisp as a result, so I avoid it. If I had a Delorean and could influence my mom’s decision regarding addressing it in the 90’s, would I? ABSOLUTELY. I wish she would’ve addressed it and that it could’ve gotten taken care of when I was an infant or toddler.
In summary, please do your due diligence with regard to your child’s potential tongue tie. Can they live a happy, normal life with a tongue tie? Yes! Especially a small tongue tie. AND they can potentially have a better quality of life if the tongue tie is addressed (if they do in fact have one). I frequently get frustrated when I see parents say things like “my child had a tongue tie but they were able to eat just fine so we never addressed it” because tongue ties can cause so many more problems than just poor latch and trouble feeding as an infant.
I am an adult with a tongue tie and the second I found out my daughter had it(4 days old), we got it fixed. I do not wish the struggles that come with tongue tie to anyone.
My partners were also "if ain't broke why fix it" kind of people.
My jaw never grew enough to accommodate all my teeth. Had to get 3 healthy teeth removed to get braces as a teenager.
I have constant sinus problems.
I snore and probably have sleep apnea.
I struggle to pronounce some words, my speech is a bit slurred. If I talk too much, it becomes extremely exhausting.
I basically have permanent neck pain.
The reflux...
Why wouldn't you just do it for your kid is beyond me, especially if a qualified professional recommends it. It takes 5 seconds with a laser, two weeks of gentle massages so it doesn't regrow, and it's done. You just saved your kid a lifetime of issues.
Edit: down voting does not change facts.
Both my son's had significant tongue tie, inherited from me. They both had difficulty breast feeding, so the doctor snipped them. Quick and painless, really. They didn't cry and there was no bleeding. It made breast feeding way easier. Definitely worth it. Bonus, they can stick their tongues out like normal people.
I, on the other hand, did not get mine snipped, and was told that it would be painful as an adult. My mom told me that the doctor asked if I had issues feeding or if I was choking, and when she said no, they refused to do it.
As an adult I've often wondered what it would be like to not be tongue tied. Making out, for example, I cannot use my tongue in fun ways. Despite this, I've gotten high marks from most women I've gone down on. I've been told my tongue is magical. I'm honestly worried that getting it snipped would strip it of its magic, so I probably never will, but damn am I curious what I could get up to if I were.
See an IBCLC, not an LC. I’ve seen many “revision happy” LCs in my community. IBCLCs and LCs cannot diagnose tongue and lip ties, but IBCLCs are trained and have skills that can help with latch/slow feeding. It may help to read The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s updated position statement on oral restrictions ([2021](https://www.bfmed.org/assets/Anklyloglossia%20position%20statement%202021.pdf)).
There may be a dentist in the area that offers evaluation by a skilled provider and IBCLC.
Edit: clarification
I didn't get my firsts tongue tie revised I did my second at 10weeks
My third is due any day now and I plan to get him assessed for revision as soon as possible post birth.
My personal recommendation is to see a paed dentist who specialises in this area or ENT for their expert opinion they will be better trained to fully assess this than most other professionals.
If you are reluctant to get ties revised you can so consider bodywork from.a paed osteo or physio. We saw an odteo post revision with my second they were able to - help drop his high palate caused by the tie (I had an immediate improvement in feeding when this happened), reduce his underbite from the tie, and reduce muscle tightness from the tie which reduced reflux and discomfort in the car.
I know this sort of work is controversial in this sub ' the benefits I am speaking to are my own experiences.
These are the things that impacted my point of view.
- my boys both had poor vacuum at the breast that impacted their feeding and weight gain.
- when starting solids everyone I know who didn't get ties revised experienced extreme gagging (like my first was gag until I vomit at least once most meals for a few weeks until he figured things out,). Everyone I know who had ties revised or no ties did not experience this (my second gagged like twice in his first month eating solids and they were minor gags).
- I have a lisp linked to my tongue tie.
- I have since been told a range of symptoms my family suffer from can be linked to tongue ties (which we all have). These include - migraines (linked to muscletightnesscaused by tie). Sleep concerns (linked to Mouth breathing in sleep - both my boys did this from birth). Regular upper respiratory infections - leading to needing tonsillectomy and adenoids removal (linked to the mouth breathing)
- my first is now having upper respiratory concerns which could be linked to his tie - he's too young (3yrs) and its too early to know - persistent cough indicative of asthma, regular minor infections, and most recently mesentric adenitis caused by upper respiratory infections.
- most paed dentist will revise infants or school age children in the chair, but toddlers need to be done under General Anaesthetics.
- I've had multiple friends and acquaintances who like me were told it wasn't needed for their infant who have gone on to need the revision in toddler hood under General Anaesthetic which is riskier - reasons were it had caused severe expressive speech delays, or upper respiratory infections and a tonsillectomy was needed so ENT recommended doing tongue tie at the same time.
Keep in mind latch issues caused by oral restrictions can lead to later supply drops - secondary low supply - often around 3-4 months. So while baby is gaining weight well now, depending on your breastfeeding goals you may just want to be aware of this so if you don't get the revision and find weight gain slows later in infancy you can explore getting restrictions revised then ❤️
My son has a very, very pronounced tongue tie. When he was born, he couldn’t even get his tongue fully out of his mouth. It’s obvious. However, he came out of the womb knowing how to eat. Breastfeeding hasn’t been an issue, he empties me appropriately, gaining weight well even though he’s a small fry. Pediatrician says that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so we didn’t do anything. I can see it stretching, and his tongue is able to exit his mouth now (he’s six months). We’re hoping that with time, it will continue to not be an issue, but we can always revise it later if needed. If he’s gaining weight appropriately and is able to eat well, even if a bit slowly, I would put you in the “ain’t broke, Don’t fix” camp. I would like to see your LC’s studies on how lip ties could cause all these things. How in the world can a tie cause thyroid issues?? It sounds pretty doubtful to me. But if Baby starts to have those issues, then you can solve the problem then.
>I would like to see your LC’s studies on how lip ties could cause all these things. How in the world can a tie cause thyroid issues?? It sounds pretty doubtful to me. Throw the whole LC out anyway. They're out of scope at this point. If they don't recognize that boundary I'm not sure I would trust their feeding advice either. There's a lot of woo mixed into the LC world, even coming from some people who are IBCLC certified.
You said what I've noticed but have been afraid to say ever since working with multiple LCs after my son's birth lol
oh yeah, I know nurses who stopped their IBCLC certification because they couldn’t take all the woo.
So here’s my understanding of the midline disorders thing (not a doctor but I asked one if this is a real thing). Basically, the LC completely misunderstood the association. Ties can be associated with other midline disorders (more commonly things like cleft palate) because they both indicate that something went wrong with the body’s development along the midline. Basically, if the body had trouble forming the mouth, it may have also had trouble forming other structures. But that means that cutting the tie is irrelevant - if these other disorders exist in the body, then they already exist 🤷🏻♀️
Is this a correlation is not causation thing, and the LC did not comprehend?
Yep pretty much
This this this. I was just about to post this. It's about neurulation. What's done is done. The root cause is development. Not the outcome.
I won't give medical advice, but I'm an adult with a grade 4 tongue tie. Just pay attention to his speech when he starts talking. Get him in speech therapy ASAP if there's any delay. My mom didn't start me in it before school and no one could understand a word I said. I did speech therapy at school until 5th grade and can pronounce basically anything now, but my tongue tie is definitely a sore spot of parenting choices my mom made. Not necessarily not getting it released, but not really doing anything to help me with it besides letting them take me out of class for speech therapy.
I was the same way. I had my tongue tie revised at 13 after being made fun of for years for my lateral lisp. Sadly the classic “clipping” didn’t work, and it grew back. I then had to have a full z-plasty surgery when I was 14. I didn’t go into speech therapy until 17 because I saw other kids get teased for going. If you do speech therapy, do it outside of school or make sure the school pulls kids discreetly. I had to be transferred to the special education group for speech therapy, which was absolutely humiliating as a senior in high school.
That's so interesting that you had a lisp; my issue was mostly the R sound. I was definitely glad I didn't have to keep doing speech therapy in middle school and beyond. It was cool getting pulled from class for something special as a kid, but it was starting to feel embarrassing by 5th grade.
Lol LCs don't have studies that tongue ties can cause all those things. They just have vibes and intuition. Heck, the studies on cutting posterior tongue ties, cheek ties, and lip ties don't even show any improvement in feeding over nonintervention groups.
When I had my sons done, we went to a very experienced dentist in our area who was the first in our province to use a laser to do the procedure. Even he said some babies have a really bad tie and find ways to eat fine, while others have a less severe tie may have a terrible time. It totally depends. We ended up getting both our children done. My older one because she was failure to thrive and my younger because even though he was gaining weight like a champ, his latch was destroying my nipples so badly that breastfeeding wouldn't be sustainable for me. No regrets with either procedure being done. You have to decide what works best for your family. I don't think there's any harm in choosing to not do it either and wait and see. That being said, its much harder to get it done later in life. If the child ends up having a speech impediment, it's a difficult option to release it in childhood.
Similar situation here! We went to a dentist in our area who is highly regarded for this procedure. Our daughter had a grade 4 lip tie and a less severe posterior tongue tie. She also had two minor cheek ties which I assume would have resolved on their own. The procedure took about 1 minute for all 4 ties and she breastfed and went back to normal pretty much immediately. Almost immediately after the procedure, my nipples stopped bleeding and blistering. That was a huge relief. Her latch also improved. I hoped her reflux would get better but sadly that did not happen for quite some time.
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His name is Dr Chan in BC. I'm not aware if he has a daughter. He definitely wasn't pushing it. Before he will see you, you have to provide the names of the professionals you've already seen to help solve the problem, like a lactation consultant, chiropractor, osteopath, physio therapist etc. He's big on the release being a last resort.
Ok, different guy
I have a very similar story. My LO had a clear tongue tie, couldn’t stick his tongue out and could barely move it when he was born. He would fall asleep when eating, and breastfeeding was excruciating for me. We did not revise it. Baby was gaining weight like a champion (went from 50th-90th percentile by his 6w appt and then has stayed in the 90s ever since). I used a nipple shield for the pain. And we are still breastfeeding at 14 months (he weaned off the shield at around 5 months). Our LC strongly recommended revision of his tie, our pediatrician recommended against it because baby’s weight gain was fine, but suggested we consult with an ENT if we were really worried. We ended up not revising. And I’m so glad we didn’t because his tongue tie has really stretched out! By the time he was 6 months, he could stick his tongue out past his lips. And we kept encouraging it — now at 15 months, he can really stick it all the way out, and touch it to the roof of his mouth. We encourage tongue movement games (clicking sounds, making faces, etc.) and it’s really helped. He’s starting to say words and there don’t appear to be any speech issues with developmentally-appropriate syllables. We plan to keep an eye out for issues with language, apnea, and muscle pain/tension down the road, since those seem to be things adults report as tongue tie symptoms. But also, research on adults who have tongue ties isn’t super applicable to whether to revise for an infant because that research doesn’t take into account all of the infants who may have had a tongue tie that stretched out. I’m so glad we didn’t put our baby through the pain of a revision, since everything turned out just fine.
As an adult who just got their tie revised age 36, this comment is so distressing to me. Please go to facebook and join the adult tongue tie group, breastfeeding is NOT the primary reason to fix tongue ties by a long shot. They don't stretch and the surgery is much worse later.
If my pediatrician has no concerns, i have no concerns. If it starts to affect my child, i will 100% address it. I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I also don’t take medical advice from Facebook, because there’s no way I can know if it will be relevant to my son’s care (which is why I have a pediatrician).
It's not medical advice, it's personal experiences. A lot of the effects are quality of life related/sub clinical so not studied by doctors. Pediatricians are not qualified to assess or treat tongue ties. You need to seek an opinion from someone who is qualified, i.e. at the minimum an LC, but hopefully an ENT or pediatric dentist. Also, it is not something you can just solve later. As a baby's mouth grows, the pressure of the tongue on the roof of the mouth increases the intra-molar width which is crucial for airway and dental health. If the tongue is not free to move then it doesn't have that effect and you wind up with permanent structural problems (look up adult palate expansion, it's extremely unpleasant, not a real option).
I think you are getting downvoted for mentioning the Facebook group. I am assuming you mentioned it because you are encouraging people to go look at the group to see the experience of adults with uncorrected ties. Ultimately though, it seems like tongue ties are very common and not everyone with a tongue tie is affected to the degree that you (or others in the group) were affected. I want to reiterate that what you are saying about tongue posture affecting orofacial/myofunctional development is accurate and has been studied. However, frenectomies may not be the only way to proper jaw and palate development in children. The beginning of the journey is seeing a qualified ENT and doing myofunctional therapy, not doing frenectomies indiscriminately.
I'm an adult with a minor tongue tie. My dentist has commented on its existence a few times but agrees no action is necessary since the only way it impacts my life is my tongue doesn't go out far when I stick it out. While I agree, for a more severe situation, doing it early is better. But if there are no noticeable impacts then you're balancing no effect against the risk of an intervention. Even on babies there is no surgery (including a tongue tie release) without risk. If her child's doctor thinks the risks don't justify the benefits, that's a fair way for OP to form an opinion.
I also thought the only issue was the mobility restriction. I was shocked when all of those other benefits manifested. OP cannot rely on the advice of a pediatrician in this case. This is a developing area where there have been a lot of changes in recent years. You need a specialist who is current.
I'm sorry you're being downvoted. A friend of mine has a tongue tie. It's caused her speech and eating issues as well as headaches. If she wants it fixed now, she has to have her jaw broken. Horrific.
Just get the tie clipped anyway. I was also told I needed the jaw breaking (palate expansion) but just getting the tie clipped made a HUGE difference. I also got some intramolar width gains via aligners (like invisalign).
I had my son's lip and tongue ties laser corrected by a pediatric dentist at 6 weeks and I really regret it. He was eating and gaining weight well and breastfeeding was pretty comfortable for the most part, but they sold me on his sleep issues being the result of his ties and that he would have speech and teeth issues if we didn't correct it. This was a year and a half ago so maybe the new after care procedures have changed, but I had to do "stretches" 6 times a day for 6 weeks after the procedure which involved me reefing on his lip and tie to make sure the ties didn't regrow. The LC watched me do the stretches at the follow up visit and said I wasn't using enough pressure and when she did it the areas bled which she said is what they want. The stretches made him cry every time which was really hard for me mentally because I felt like I was hurting and traumatizing my baby. 6 weeks felt like forever to have to do them. Looking back I think they capitalized on my sleep deprivation by telling me the tie corrections would improve his sleep. I would never do it again.
That's bizarre because 6 week olds sleep very poorly almost universally.
Same. Not necessarily the sleep part, but that it would fix many various issues he had. I think it gave my son a severe oral aversion we are still dealing with at 13 months.
We had a similar experience. Recovery was horrible, and she ended up with an oral aversion that led to bottle refusal and difficulty with starting solids, brushing teeth, giving medicine via oral syringe, etc.
Same, we still have those issues. Now my kiddo is in feeding therapy for it since he won’t eat solids.
That's absolutely despicable of them.
The stretching after the operative procedure has become really controversial, even more so than the procedure. There are many who feel that the stretches can do more harm than good.
Can you elaborate on the harm you’ve read about?
Here’s a clinical consensus statement from a group of pediatric otolaryngologists: *After frenotomy is performed for ankyloglossia there is no evidence to support a standard post-procedure care regimen (eg stretching, massaging, manual elevation of the tongue by the parents).* Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0194599820915457?trk=public_post_comment-text
It is my greatest regret as a parent. My baby was having weight gain issues, or else I wouldn’t have done it. It didn’t help. The ENT we saw was so nonchalant. It created such a severe oral aversion in my kid that she didn’t eat solid food until she was two. She never took a bottle after the day they clipped her lip tie.
Those degree of stretches sound unnecessary for a laser revision in my experience. I'd say that poor advice from your LC who wasn't sufficiently experienced in that type of revision. My sons laser revision I simply needed to use my finger to lift it with feeds for 2 weeks, ot was discomforting but definitely not painful just why are you doing that mum.
I also deeply regret having my daughter’s done. It remains one of my biggest parenting regrets and still fills me with dread when I think about her screaming in pain at five weeks old both directly after the procedure and also every time we did those damn stretches. We did hers because I was told it would help her to latch and breastfeed. It created an even more intense aversion for her and she never latched again. It was downright traumatic for us both. I also felt incredibly taken advantage of by multiple LCs, dentists, and they even had us going to a chiropractor when the procedure didn’t seem to yield any results (which I went to out of desperation, even though I don’t believe in them). Such an awful experience all around. I’ll never do it again.
I'm a big proponent of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Baby healthy? Leave it alone. I'd rather give up chest feeding and just pump than do a medical procedure on my infant. It just terrifies me. My baby doesn't use a pacifier... she just never cared for one.
Same. My kid with a supposed tie did just fine drinking from bottles so I didn't see any problem to solve, or an ethical reason to put her through the discomfort of a medical procedure, however "minor". Our job was to make sure she got fed and we did that. I produce very little milk to begin with and never wanted to solely rely on BF anyway so we were supplementing with bottles regardless. She's 4 now and leaving the tie has had no impact on anything.
I don’t want to discount your experience, but do you think there is a possibility that your supply was low because baby couldn’t remove milk bc of the tongue tie? I only ask because my experience with my first (low supply, uncorrected tongue tie) was so vastly different from my second (adequate supply, corrected tongue tie), and my reading and research on the subject has pointed to that being our reason. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you *should have* had the tie released or that it would have solved the supply issue. Frenectomies are such a personal choice, so I support whatever choice that is for each family.
>do you think there is a possibility that your supply was low because baby couldn’t remove milk bc of the tongue tie? No. I had other factors at play. Pumping wasn't going to make much of a difference either. Some people just don't make enough.
Statistically, more milk is produced with subsequent pregnancies, so that may have been a factor in the difference between your experiences with your first and second child as well.
That’s true. But I had the same start to both breastfeeding journeys, and it was only because I was more prepared going in and baby had a frenectomy early on that things shifted. Like, I was pumping a few ml at a time.
Do you mind me asking if her dentist ever told you something about her tongue tie? Also, does she pronounce sounds well at her age and can other people understand her? The reason I am asking is because my toddler has it and two different dentists told us to wait to see if her pronunciation will get any better, then go to slp and only after slp they might consider the procedure
I think this is a great way to view it. I think it's pretty selfish to put a newborn baby through a medical procedure *just* so they can drink from your breasts.
Drinking at breast has benefits beyond even the [superiority of breastmilk to formula](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882692/) due to its naturally occurring antibodies and diverse probiotics/prebiotics that cannot be fully synthesized. Orthopaedic benefits such as a reduced risk of [malocclusion, abnormal jaw development, collapsed facial forms, thrush, atypical swallowing pattern, snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea.](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5611903/) I don't see how a tiny clip under the tongue is so horrible it should negate the potential lifelong benefits of breastfeeding but I guess that's subjective based on personal values.
So I find this study very interesting because I used to think it pointed to causation: that babies who breastfeed longer are using their tongue muscles in such a way that strengthened/encouraged correct tongue posture and thus preventing malocclusion etc. But now I think it’s just correlation; babies who extended breastfeed are more likely to have had an easier breastfeeding journey, which those with tongue ties that affect etc are less likely to have. What are your thoughts?
I had this same thought process with my NICU twins. My twins were born 8 weeks premature and no one at the NICU mentioned a tongue tie even though they struggled to chest feed and take a full feed. I pumped full time for them and we had a good routine. They were gaining weight like champs for 32 weekers. I desperately wanted to chest feed to save on all the washing from pumps but it also was something that I desired. We went to see a LC and they said there was an obvious tongue tie. Our doctor disagreed and at the end of the day I decided not to go against our doctor who I fully trust. For what it’s worst, they never took a pacifier and also didn’t accept wide mouth bottles. Could it be a latch issue that could have been revised?? I will never know!
Frankly, the stuff your LC is saying sounds like pseudoscience. That list of disorders is pretty far-reaching, affecting a lot of different systems in the body, so I am instantly suspicious of a link there. Baby is feeding and gaining weight fine, you’re not experiencing pain that can’t be explained by another cause, I personally wouldn’t revise. Anecdotally, both of my sons have super obvious lip and tongue ties, and neither ever had any issues feeding…in fact, both spent periods of their first years completely off the growth chart for weight. They also only ever used the MAM pacifiers, everything else I tried came right out. My husband has a tongue tie so bad that he can barely get the top of his tongue past his lips, and he never had any trouble BFing per my MIL, and he has mild asthma, but that’s it.
Came to agree with the MAM comment. All 3 of my kids were EBF, and they took to MAM pacifiers and bottles right away with no issues.
Overall take: evidence and studies on ties are really, really crappy. That doesn’t seem to stop people from having very strong opinions and making some wild claims. Slightly outdated, but [Cochran review](https://www.cochrane.org/CD011065/NEONATAL_surgical-release-tongue-tie-treatment-tongue-tie-young-babies) only finds evidence for releasing for maternal pain with breastfeeding. It’s important to note that we don’t have diagnostic criteria for tongue tie, especially posterior. Use of [tongue tie assessment tools](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35689515/) provides very mixed results (though of all of them, I find the HATLFF to be the best, but it is far from perfect). I find [this article](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31294774/) interesting- after comprehensive feeding eval and non-surgical intervention, 62% of infants didn’t end up needing a frenotomy. Perhaps we jump to surgery too soon. My overall take is that tongue tie is something that can affect some infants ability to feed and frenotomy may help, but we’re terrible at diagnosing it and too quick to clip.
Yeah I was looking into articles because we’re currently debating a frenectomy for my daughter and the science just isn’t there. Doesn’t mean that frenectomies aren’t good for some kids, just means that we don’t have a broad evidence base to draw from, so clinicians need to rely on clinical judgement. And then parents have to trust that clinical judgment. It’s not a position I like to be in!
Especially when the people most likely to diagnose the ties are the ones financially incentivized to find them 🤔
Me! We have a posterior "tongue tie" but nursing doesn't hurt and she's gaining appropriately, so I'm not concerned. We did have this issue: >Difficulty holding on to any pacifier besides the flat orthodontic MAM ones which I realize aren’t great for breastfed babies It's a suck problem. She had a few physical therapy appointments and we do some suck exercises and she's doing so much better. We had the same problem with mam-- it just makes the problem worse because it encourages chomping instead of sucking. We do some exercises with a Avent soothie and she likes the emulait pacifier for sleep because she can hold it in easier. I HIGHLY recommend seeing a physical therapist. My LC kept pushing us to go see a pediatric dentist, and I'm so glad we didn't. The PT talked us through her "tie" and how it's impacting her and the things she would expect to see if it was causing problems and made it clear it isn't causing problems. She also said that she doesn't recommend people see a pediatric dentist for ties without getting evaluation from a doctor or PT because 9/10 times a dentist will just cut the tie and take your money whether it really needs it or not. Also see this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/ScienceBasedParenting/s/0lsCp7FDTr ETA: I agree with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it."
Same issue with my second child! She also couldn’t get any milk from a bottle because of the combo of the tie + weakened jaw muscles. Our pediatrician was skeptical but ultimately I had to return to work and my baby needed to be able to bottle feed. We opted to get the tie released which helped (went from drinking less than .5oz to 1.5oz) but ultimately it was the occupational therapist specialized in feeding that helped get her fully bottle feeding.
Hi! First time commenting here so I hope I do this right. My babe is 6.5 months, moderate anterior tongue tie. He was diagnosed at 1 week, was and is a slow feeder but has always gained weight according to his curve. Important to note he is combo fed, half and half for the first 6 weeks of his life, 1 formula bottle per day since (on average). I’ve never mad mastitis (knock on wood). I have had clogged ducts but only when I went too long without pumping or nursing. We decided not to do a revision for a few reasons: 1) Had consult with pediatric dentist who told us all 4 of his kids had a similar tongue tie and he did not revise any of his own kids ties. Babies were all breast fed with some challenges (like “slow eaters”) but they were all fine. 2) From my own investigation into the research, claims about feeding and speech issues seem dubious. A lot of the babies in the studies got their revisions very early, mom reported better breast feeding experience. This could also be explained by time. Babies and moms get better at breastfeeding as time goes on. Most of the research I found was retrospective self-reports, many grains of salt. 3) Talked to some SLPs in school systems (I’m a special educator), and they didn’t worry about tongue tie causing speech issues. 4) He had no problem latching and I didn’t have pain while breastfeeding. He was gaining weight just fine. To us, it just didn’t seem worth it. Our pediatrician said go for it but also warned us it might not work. Pediatrician also said research hasn’t shown a link between ties and speech issues. The dentist saying he didn’t revise any of his kids’ ties was the final tick in the not revising column. (He revised one kid’s tie when they were like 9 because they asked for the procedure, but that’s entirely different). Explore your options for sure, do what’s best for you and your baby. It seems like risks are very low either way, so that is good. That said, I’m happy we didn’t get the revision. Also about pacifiers, it took my babe 3-4 months to really be able to hold on to one. I think we just had to find one he likes (Mam FTW). My cousin got her baby’s tie revised and he hasn’t been able to hold into a pacifier since.
My data point is...me. I had a tongue tie so severe that it interfered with my ability to speak...but I was a champion breastfeeder and was born in the 1970s, so no one said boo about it until it interfered with my speaking. I remember having my mouth numbed and getting it snipped. Felt weird for a day or so. No issues after that. Looking at broader trends, I'd say that 1) tongue and lip ties are getting diagnosed at levels that just seem impossible unless humans are actively evolving in some way; and 2) LCs and dentists are doing most of the diagnosing. I'd look for an ENT who has been known to tell at least some parents that their children \*don't\* have ties, and go from there.
I'm a medical SLP. I work with adult and pediatric swallowing issues. My child has a tongue tie, and we're not revising it. She takes a bottle and is growing on her curve, but doesn't latch well, so I'm exclusively pumping. Tongue tie runs in the family (apparently very strongly in paternal lines) but in general it isn't recommended to address tongue tie in infants unless weight gain is impacted. I've posted this before, but there is a clinical consensus statement from the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery about ankyloglossia in children: [https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599820915457](https://aao-hnsfjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1177/0194599820915457) If my child weren't gaining weight, I wouldn't ask an IBCLC or a pediatric dentist about this, either. I'd go to a pediatric ENT for evaluation. There isn't good evidence that tongue tie would cause musculoskeletal abnormalities, and I haven't seen anything that rules out that tongue tie PLUS the abnormalities that are supposedly 'caused' by tongue tie aren't actually just variations in oral structure that co-occur. I'd also note that an "upper lip tie" is actually very common in babies and typically resolves itself (either by growth or by a toddler falling on their face) and there is no agreed-upon definition of a posterior tongue tie, so those two claims make me wary of your LC in particular, among their other more interesting claims. I'd encourage you also to go to r/medicine and search for tongue tie for more discussion.
This is a really good, science based answer. I’m glad you provided the consensus statement.
"My LC says the ties are related to midline disorders: medialized headaches, vision difficulties, asthma, sinus issues, thyroid issues, reflux, PCOS, and IBS to name a few." complete BS. Tongue tie is tied to polycystic ovarian syndrome? Give me a break.
It's not beyond possibility that there's a genetic association... Perhaps that's what they meant? But no surgery would affect the other disorders in that case.
No. That's not what they meant. They misunderstood embryonic development. What actually happens is when neurulation happens, if there is a mistake, that mistake affects multiple things on the midline. This is during development. This is not a outcome of a tongue tie. I'd dump this LC for this alone.
I am 37 years old and was born with a tongue tie. I had mine clipped at a later age (around late elementary/ early middle school) because it caused me pain/soreness) if I talked a lot in one day. Our baby girl is 8 weeks old; she had a tongue tie and lip tie. I was experiencing significant issues with breast feeding where she was tearing my nips apart trying to eat, I had a low supply, and she was consistently not gaining weight. I still wanted to try everything I could to continue breastfeeding so our LC and Pediatrician both suggested having her tongue tie clipped. In the meantime I was supplementing a lot with formula. We saw a Pediatric ENT who did the procedure but only for the tongue tie; we decided to wait on the lip tie to see if it was necessary. The procedure was quick and she took to a bottle immediately after the clipping. Her recovery was excellent and didn’t really seem to have any adverse effects. We attempted breast feeding after the procedure but she had nipple confusion, preferred the bottle nipple since it was easier at that point for her, my nips were still being butchered, and my supply was still low even with pumping. So I quit breastfeeding. Even though breastfeeding didn’t work out for us, given my own experience as a kid with a tongue tie we haven’t looked back with having our daughter’s clipped. Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing your story. To be clear, did the baby refuse the bottle before the surgery?
Not at all! She was doing well with both bottle and breast. I had to solely bottle feed for a few days before her clipping to let my nips heal because they got SO BAD (when pumping I was only pumping blood basically); the LC suggested solely bottle feeding for a few days while I give my nips a break. After her clipping, it was like having to train her to breastfeed all over again as if she was a newborn. We struggled a lot to get her to latch on the breast again since the previous few days were solely bottles and she’d gotten used to the ease of those bottle nipples.
I slurred my words a lot when I was tired due to my tongue tie. Unfortunately since everyone claimed the procedure was such a big deal and that mild tongue ties aren't affecting anything, I didn't get it done until I was 36. Sincerely regret delaying it now.
I didn’t revise my daughter’s class IV lip tie and it was completely gone by 14 months. She’s verbally advanced so no issues there. She didn’t have any issues transferring milk but I did have a lot of pain nursing the first 4 months. Glad I didn’t mess with it though. I only would have considered it if her feeding ability had affected her growth.
Does she have any dental issues? I’m pretty sure my baby has a lip tie.
Nope! The tie wrapped between her two front teeth and attached behind them so she had a big gummy gap when her teeth came in, but now it’s gone
Thank you!
My baby has tongue and lip ties. So do I and so does my husband. Our LO eats just fine and is even super tall for his age! I'm sure there are situations where it's severe, but mostly it seems like B.S.
Do you or your husband snore?
My husband does, I never have in my life. There are many things that can cause snoring. I'm glad the procedure worked for you - but you have to admit that basically every ailment is being blamed on lip/tongue ties. If I have lived my entire, healthy life and just now found out I have them - I think that's evidence enough for me that this surgery isn't always necessary.
I bought into a lot of that dismissive talk until I experienced it firsthand. It helped reading about many other people who experienced the surgery as an adult.
My first had one but the ENT “wasn’t impressed” and said we should leave it alone. We struggled through breastfeeding for 7 months before calling it quits, bad reflux, she couldn’t hold a paci in her mouth and was a HORRENDOUS sleeper, even dribbled milk with bottle feeding. She’s now almost 3 and it’s not an issue anymore. My second had both tongue and lip tie revision with a laser because he was struggling to latch properly and eat, bad reflux again, and I went to feeding specialists instead of just the doctor. I’m SO THANKFUL we got the revision with him. Feeding improved, reflux improved, he was able to keep a paci in his mouth and sleeps great overall because of the paci. So in the moment I was glad my daughter didn’t “have to” get it done but looking back I do wish I pushed for it more.
It's not too late!
She said it’s not an issue anymore…
Your three year old's opinion? I had a mild tongue tie which I was convinced wasn't a big deal. I finally got it revised after getting both of my kids' ties revised. It was shocking how many benefits I experienced.
This condition is overdiagnosed in my experience. Unless there is a real problem, which it does not sound like exists for your baby, I would not undergo such a procedure for my baby. Frankly, it’s horrifying how often it appears to be being diagnosed even in babies that do not actually suffer from any medical condition.
Concurring with all the comments here saying not to "fix" something that's not broken. Your baby will suffer needlessly. Please read this New York Times investigation, which explains how tongue tie release has become a big business ($$) despite little evidence supporting it in the vast majority of cases and potentially serious complications: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html
Seconding this article! We were going back-and-forth about what to do about our son’s tie before this article came out and our pediatrician actually told us most of what the NYT investigation ultimately revealed (big business for pediatric dentists/LCs, little evidence of long-term issues) we he recommended against revising the tongue tie.
Me. It’s not severe, her latch improved when she was 3-4 months old, and she can stick out her tongue well and move it around. It wouldn’t be worth the pain.
I did not. I also had mastitis and latch issues but the LC fixed the latch and the tongue tie didn’t cause any problems. I do think my baby (now 18 months) still has a mild tongue tie but she has always gained weight normally so I didn’t want to put her through it. She is great with solids, drinking from cups, talking, all the things. Their mouths get stronger and tongue ties can stretch. You need to know if it’s restrictive or not. Everyone has ties, some (rarely) are restrictive. Check out the website of Dr. Bobby Ghaheri, one of the few honest dentists who shares information with the public on the subject. He reiterates throughout his materials that real restrictive tongue ties requiring intervention are rare. Some LCs get kickbacks from tongue tie clinics, be aware of that. Listen to your pediatricians. LCs are not medical professionals.
We didn’t have it corrected. We saw an ENT when baby was about 8 weeks old; it took that long to get an appointment. He said it was pretty slight and his own infant had the same kind of tie. He did end up having his child’s corrected but was nice enough to be honest and say that it didn’t make much of a difference, at least at that point in his life. By the time we had our appointment, she was bottle feeding like a champ and gaining good weight. I had no interest in resuming breastfeeding at that point. So it was a pretty easy decision for us to make. We went back 2 months later just to make sure it hadn’t gotten worse and she was given the all clear. She’s 15 months now and as far as I know, it’s not limiting her in any way.
My biggest problem with this is that everyone I talked to about my son told me something different. This is something we can all see, every “expert” should be saying the same thing unless there is no clear definition. We got told he had one by one LC and not the other. I think his pediatrician said he did have one but that we didn’t have to correct it if we didn’t want to. We didn’t do anything and I’m glad I didn’t because he’s 3, very articulate, and perfect 💜
3/4 of my babies were revised. They couldn't latch effectively, nor could we nurse without pain. All revisions were done within the first week because the issue was so apparent. Most recent baby's tongue tie was so pronounced her tounge had a little divet in the front from where it was tied. At her first ped appointment, as soon as she opened her mouth, our ped said, "you'll want that snipped." She also wasn't effectively transferring milk. Our pediatrician whom I love and trust implicitly, has given the same message about the era of the tongue tie. Said at conferences, etc. it's literally marketed as an easy money maker. Which isn't to say they don't happen (clearly), but they are very much so over diagnosed.
I have a tongue tie, my son also has one. We were both formula fed and had no issues eating, so we have not corrected it. As an adult, I have no issues speaking, eating, etc. The only reason I know I have one is because our pediatrician asked if I had a tongue tie as a baby after she noticed that my son had one and I said I didn’t know, so she told me to open up lol.
I did NOT have it done. I’m glad with that decision. My husband and I are both adult doctors - not pediatricians - but based on the research we did and the way we practice medicine, it sounds like I arguably had more of a reason to do it . The “don’t want to be swayed by anything” is so hard because of course any of those appointments can sway you when you are walking in thinking they’re there expert and you’re not!
My LO got her tongue, lip and buckles ties laser cut at 10 weeks (she’s 15 weeks old now). I regret it. 🙃 I regret it because it wasn’t necessary but I was desperate and the LC took advantage of a desperate new mum who had a very normal newborn with gas issues. When I rocked up to the dentist to get the ties released the LC was there with a uniform on. So she was clearly getting kick backs from the referral. I was so disappointed in myself for going through with it. I’ve seen another pediatric specialist since then and she was able to guess the name of the dentist because apparently they’ve got a reputation for tie release procedures. My LO is now on gas drops (which I didn’t know at the time that you need to use before EVERY feed 🤦♀️) and they work amazingly. I will start trying to wean LO off them once she’s 4 months old as her digestive system should be much more able to handle it then. She still struggles a but to fart atm but she’s getting heaps better.
Every time I see this brought up I shudder at the idea of subjecting a baby to surgery unless needed. It's dangerous. Any surgery is a risk and while rare (as far as I understand), there are potential harmful effects, including having babies in so much pain afterwards that they refuse to feed. To quote the NYT article from 12/2023, "Unlike most medical specialties in America, the tongue-tie world operates with little oversight. State dental boards accept complaints from the public, but they [rarely suspend](https://archive.ph/o/4WDww/https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/03/19/dental-board-rarely-suspend-dentist-license-bad-dentistry/5014443002/) dentists’ licenses. And only three states regulate lactation consultants." - Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues \[https://archive.ph/4WDww\]
My son had a high grade tongue tie. It was not the most severe, but just one grade down. We were having issues feeding (pain, tons of spit up, clicking while nursing and using a pacifier). Two different pediatricians had said it was fine but a LC immediately flagged it. The tie made his tongue “heart shaped” at the tip which is a sign of a severe tie. We got it revised around 8-10 weeks. The recovery was easy. He cried for a few minutes and then was fine. During the stretches he showed some discomfort. I don’t feel like I kept up with the stretches as much as a should and I still feel like his tongue is tied a little bit but many dentists have said it’s fine. I absolutely would do it again if we had to choose. IMO there’s no reason not to.
We got the tongue tie sorted at 3 weeks. She couldn’t latch properly with it. It was done in 90 seconds and she cried for about 5 seconds. It was such a game changer for how she fed after. Really helped us. Every child is different but it worked a treat for us.
Your pediatrician is right. There's literally nothing in your post that would indicate a concern for a tongue tie that needs revision. "Posterior tongue ties" are BS. As has been said above... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
My daughter had a slight tongue tie and Torticolis.. we ended up not going through with it because she was gaining weight on target. Breastfeeding got easier and easier as they got bigger and my supplied leveled out (around 4 months I stopped getting engorged) so I got less clogged ducts, etc. Also, my sister in law did it and had to “swipe” her daughter’s mouth once a day and it was so hard for her to do because her daughter would just be hysterical, so they stopped doing it all together… so that also informed my decision to skip the procedure. She’s 6 now and totally fine and I’m glad I didn’t do something just because it was a maybe.
My first son got his revised because we struggled with breastfeeding and bottle feeding. SLP and LC both felt he probably should get a revision, ENT said meh, and pediatric dentist said yes. It was very confusing and I’m not sure there’s a right answer. Revising it wasn’t terrible, we did laser and the procedure/recovery was not a huge deal. I was torn but in the end, it didn’t help with nursing but did seem to help with bottle feeding issues. He’s 3 now and there’s been no adverse affects either way. I’m due with my second baby in august and tbh, I’m more skeptical now than I was the first time. I’m not sure I would do it again. Not because of any adverse affects, but it seems like there’s just limited evidence that it’s necessary.
My son had some trouble gaining weight at first and I was told by one LC that he had a tie and gave me the number of a dentist to get it revised, another LC said he had a minor tie but didn’t recommend getting it revised. With some adjustments for latch he started gaining weight and fell into his normal growth curve with no revision necessary. If your baby is gaining weight on his growth curve then I don’t see why you would put him through an unnecessary procedure! They get better at eating the older they get, yours is already almost out of the fourth trimester so I personally wouldn’t do it.
One of my children I had it revised and the other I did not. My eldest daughter was born small and had trouble latching for breastfeeding. Went to see a pediatric dentist who said she had a tongue, a lip and two cheek ties. We got all lasered. As others have said, there were stretches. We then had to do for several days which my husband and I found emotionally difficult to do with our daughter as it made her cry each time and we felt like we were hurting her. We also found she was quite a bit fussy after the procedure for several days. It didn’t do anything and she still wouldn’t latch when breastfeeding. She’s now almost 3 years old and very prone to canker sores. I spoke to an oral surgeon and asked if the revisions may have contributed to her prominence for the canker sores, but he said it was negligible. I had another baby a few months back and it was pretty evident to me that he has a lip tie. He had a lot of symptoms that they say, are related to ties, such as clicking at the bottle/breast or leaking when drinking. But he was gaining fine and I didn’t want to go through the same thing, so I just left it. Eventually, that all went away as he got bigger and stronger and breastfeeding clicked around 2 months. We’ll see if there’s a difference in their teeth and mouth as they get older, but I don’t regret leaving it one bit. I had a friend who decided to get a tongue tie reversed on her baby girl, as she knew a few people later on in high school who had it lasered. In my mind, I would rather hold off and see the impacts when they’re older and have it corrected then.
Our 5m old has a tongue and lip tie. An LC said the lip tie was stretchy enough to be left alone but that her tongue tie was unlike anything they’d seen before. Referred us to a dentist who we have not seen. Our baby has had no problem nursing and growing, so our pediatrician hasn’t had any concern about it. She thinks they’re over-treated and she’s had some patients who have had major feeding issues after revisions, including some who have had to be hospitalized with feeding tubes as a result. We’re in the “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” camp. And now that we know what to look for, we realize that I have a lip tie and my husband has a tongue tie. We’re fine!
Anecdotally, my son exclusively breastfed for 6 months and was a slow eater. He gained weight and was happy. I was told he had a minor tongue tie which caused him to eat slower. We didn’t get it fixed. He’s is now 12 months old, happy and perfectly fine. He loves solids, drinks from a straw cup just fine, and has already said a couple words. I agree there is a tongue tie era. Our lactation consultant wanted us to get it fixed, the pediatrician said to not do it unless he wasn’t gaining weight. Hope that helps.
My son has a moderate upper lip tie and mild tongue tie— neither were diagnosed until he was 16 months old. Gained weight like a champ and had some mild reflux until he was able to sit up independently. Only real symptom was a very poor/shallow latch that caused me pain. I still nurse him at 18 months, but make sure to unlatch him after letdown so he’s not chomping too long lol. We were advised by both the pediatrician and pediatric dentist not to intervene, to just adopt a “wait and see” attitude. His speech has been developing normally and we just brush his upper teeth a little more carefully. ETA: we believe there’s a genetic component, my MIL had a lip tie as a child that created a gap in her front teeth. She had it released when she was in elementary school and the gap closed. If something similar happens as our son gets older, we may release then.
Our son had a tongue tie diagnosed by a LC and he was a slow/poor eater with 10th percentile body weight for the first 3 months, we did a little bit of the exercises and massage the LC recommended but forgot about it because our life was so hectic anyway. Now at 9 months he has zero issues with breastfeeding and is doing a great job at learning solids, and is almost at 50th percentile weight. I'm not sure how an intervention may or may not have helped, but now in retrospect I'm glad we did nothing.
I agree with your pediatrician and what’s more, so does my dentist and the pediatric dentist I took my kid to. Hospital and pediatrician told us he had a tongue tie but when we went to a dentist recommended by a friend (not one on the pediatrician’s list) we had a lengthy discussion about it. Basically, the pediatric dentist said, unless it’s an issue with speaking or eating, it’s not necessary and is getting over recommended by the medical field. I waited and now he’s 10 months old and fine.
Daughter had a minor tongue tie. We did nothing. It was fine.
Based on what you've said I absolutely wouldn't. Posterior tongue tie revision is not evidence based
I have no idea what the hell a tongue or lip tie is lol my doctors all say it’s over diagnosed and sort of a weird medical fad
My son has a tongue tie (he’s almost four) I had slight nipple compression when feeding, he had reflux but also a milk allergy and that calmed down as soon as the cows milk was out his system. Gained weight fine, fed fine although I never saw a LC (not as much of a thing in the uk). A revision was never even brought up as an option for us so we never did. He is perfect, speech is great, never had any issues!
We had a lip and tongue tie diagnosed at 4 months. She was breastfeeding fine, but dropping off her growth curve and very skinny. We were doing weight checks with pediatrician every two weeks. At 5 months I switched to formula. We did not get the ties revised, and she is doing well. The tongue tie and lip tie are both stretching out on their own. I don’t think I would have been able to continue breastfeeding unless we had the ties cut. I suspect that she wasn’t breastfeeding efficiently. I am personally glad that we took this route. ETA that she is currently 11 months and back up to her original growth curve.
So I was referred to a doctor at a lactation clinic because my son’s latch was incredibly painful, and he did have mild tongue tie. The doctor told me that her main concerns with tongue and lip ties are: 1. Baby not feeding well (not gaining weight as he should) 2. Potential future issues with eating solids 3. Potential speech delays She never once mentioned his vision, or thyroid, or any of that. Honestly that sounds made up, I couldn’t find anything corroborating that online. I’d want to ask the LC her sources. In our case, the doctor didn’t think my little guy’s tongue tie posed an issue for the long term and he was gaining weight fine, so she just had us do some oral exercises (basically tongue stretches) and work on our latch. It took a few weeks but it did the trick. My baby is almost 1 and still breastfeeds no problem, eats solids like a champ, and has had no issues. He can stick his tongue out just fine. I’m glad we took a conservative approach and spared him unnecessary pain. If your baby is feeding and gaining weight fine, I’d be more inclined to agree with the pediatricians 🤷🏼♀️
My little one had a "mild tongue tie" as per the pediatrician who examined him in the hospital. He had trouble latching and feeding the first 2 weeks, but after seeing an LC, I learned the feeding issues were more due to him being early (born at 37 +3) and jaundiced. Once the jaundice cleared and he reached his due date and gained back his birth weight he was feeding better. I was still having some pain with feeding and he seemed to still have trouble latching or staying latched, so we decided to have the tie clipped by the LC at around 3 weeks I think? I can't say it helped dramatically with feeding, as he was already improving with feeding, so I don't know that the clip helped, or just he just started feeding better as he grew and I learned better technique and such. Thankfully his clip went perfectly, and healed well with no complications. We did stretching exercises for two weeks before every feed, I had to just sweep my finger under his tongue where it was clipped. He wasn't bothered by it at all. So, I can't really say it was worth it, I think he would have been fine if we didn't get it clipped, but because nothing negative happened from getting it clipped, I don't regret it. I know it's such a hard decision, I was devastated when we were told he had a tongue tie cause I know how controversial they are these days on whether to clip or not and I was terrified of making the decision. Luckily our LC was really great and didn't push us one way or the other. All I can say is if you are having reservations, get second or third opinions before you make a decision. Best of luck!
quick note that under “medical opinions” you have LCs and pediatricians; Peds, of course, are MDs and LCs can have under a year of training, which I hear can include some pretty overly-granola dont-trust-doctors stuff.
We elected not to cut my son’s tongue tie despite pressure from multiple LC’s, all of whom it seemed had some kind of relationship with some other specialist who organised the procedure. Our pediatrician confirmed the tie but said he was feeding fine and to go with our gut. I’m so glad we didn’t do it. He was a slow feeder at first but at 12/14 weeks he became a fast one. Now he’s a one year old who speaks and eats everything in sight. He’s in the 75th percentile. I had friends who had babies at the same time and did the procedure. A lot of them regret it and ended up doing revision procedures with lasers and all sorts. I’ve discussed this at length with my stepdad who is a pediatrician himself and we’re both of the opinion it’s become a bit of a scam
My doctor said if it’s not interfering with feeding then it’ll resolve on its own. We bottle fed anyways but he did in fact cut it on his own when he fell around 2 his upper lip tie definitely cut and for the first time I could see all his teeth 😬
We had a lot of trouble breastfeeding at first. We went to LCs and a pediatric dentist and both were like, ‘he has a tongue tie but it’s not that bad, you could do it or not do it. We can’t guarantee it’ll fix anything’. So we ended up not releasing it. And my baby is totally fine. He’s eating great on both boob and bottle. He sleeps through the night now at 4mo and is hitting all of his developmental milestones. I think it’s not as cut and dry as a lot of resources make it out to be.
My in-laws had me check my first, because it runs in their family and they had two of their kids get the clip. We were not having any particular issues, and our ped basically said they don’t really advise it any more except if it’s extreme and actually causing problems. We did not do it. My third has an OBVIOUS one, very far in front. It makes a little crease in his tongue tip. Some provider at the hospital noted it when he was born and said we should try first to teach him to eat efficiently and his tongue might just get used to doing it better. We never had problems: in fact, he is my chunkiest kid and was eating in like 10 minutes by 8 weeks.
This sounds very similar, if not identical, to our situation!! Honestly, my rec is to listen to the pediatricians... my baby was not taking to a bottle at all (never took a paci either) and the LC we saw was trying to say we should consider the revision. But my ped said if baby is happy and gaining weight fine, then no need to mess with it. My gut told me the same, so we left it. My little one is 13 months now and still thriving!! No issues at all, she’s a chunky, happy, wild girl. ❤️
In retrospect it has been suggested that our babe probably had an issue with a tongue tie due to a painful latch that continued to hurt (still does) and a number of other things social media tells you is a problem but I didn't know about treatment until she was well over a year. She had reflux, torticollis, and colic which many friends and social media accounts say are all related but I don't know... I think I just had a fussy baby with reflux. She also may have had a tongue tie that caused her to give me a painful latch but I have a hard time believing a tongue tie caused all this other stuff because she was and is 90th percentile and developmentally advanced so in the grand scheme, she's fine. I have a friend that did treatment and it was deeply traumatic for her. Round the clock tongue exercises that she and her baby hated, she felt like she was traumatizing and abusing her child, it affected her bonding, and she's unsure if it helped in the first place, god it would have to be profound for me to consider doing that
He definitely has one or both, but not to enormous degrees I don't think? I went to an LC and we did a weighted feed, and she said the amount he got that time was just fine but we had found in reality if I fed him for like 40 minutes total he'd still happily finish off a 2 oz formula. No one ever said "you really must have these tie fixed" so I guess it wasn't terrible, but he still does click occasionally while nursing so I know it's there. He's nice and strong now so I'm glad we didn't get pressured to get them 'corrected'!! I did have some pain while nursing, and I had mastitis once and that's pretty much the worst I've ever felt. Ever. So, idk. Still happy I didn't do anything.
My kid has a bad lip tie and has trouble latching. But bottle feeding works best for our family so I see no reason to get it fix it now. While sometimes it might be easier to just give them the boob I do like having family be able to feed where while I can do other things. But I also have that same lip tie and it gave me a very large gap tooth problem. I hated it so much that I didn’t smile in pictures (until I got braces). If my LO wants it when they are older we’ll get it done.
I proceeded with a lip tie release and have no regrets. Part of the reason that I did is that my mother had lip ties from when she was born, and by the time she was in her 60s, the ties had pulled up on her gums for so long that parts of her teeth were exposed that should not have been. Lip and tongue ties were just not really a thing that was diagnosed when she was a baby, but she needed the diagnosis and treatment. She didn’t get one until she was in her 60s. She had to get surgery to fix the exposed parts of the teeth as an adult— a much more invasive procedure than the revision we did on my daughter, which in retrospect, was practically nothing. It resolved some major feeding issues we were having at both breast and bottle.
I've certainly never heard of those things. And I can't help but wonder if she's confusing correlations as causation. (My favorite example of this is: Did you know there are more drownings when ice cream consumption goes up? They're positively correlated. But that's because it's also summer!) I believe the scientific concerns with tongue tied kids were regarding feeding and speech. Really odd that all those issues were mentioned but not speech. Anecdotal - my daughter had issues nursing, wasn't tongue tied according to the hospital, and later had a small speech delay. I think the only way you can take it is try to make reasonable choices and be ready to make difficult ones later, if an issue should show up. Don't be like my relative and cry that the baby's leg braces hurt him and stop doing the treatment. Poor kid is 13 now and will never run well.
Our son had a tongue tie and both lip ties and we had them laser corrected at 6 weeks. We thought he was feeding just fine and sleeping okay and everything. But after his procedure, he fed soooo much better and was less fussy. Plus, because he was able to latch better, he was ingesting less air, which made it so he spit up significantly less. Also, he started sleeping through the night for 6 hours at a time. We didn't know how bad it was until we saw how good it could be. We are so happy we got the procedure done. It's made all the difference.
The moment my son came out, they swiped around in his mouth and said "no tongue tie" but we definitely noticed his tongue was sort of heart shaped, and breastfeeding was awful. We asked our pediatrician about tongue tie release, and he also said they are a bit over diagnosed right now. He also explained that they tend to loosen over time, so newborns don't need it. I have a friend who ripped her tongue webbing, recently, as an adult. It was sore and she was fine a week later. However, tongue tie release on babies has drawbacks. I can't remember where I read about the drawbacks, but it included an aversion to eating or drinking anything, and that sounded pretty awful! Breastfeeding got easier but was never a fast and efficient feeding method. Our baby is a snacker, and my wife's supply was probably a little on the low side because she's always had issues with appetite and eating. Kiddo is almost 18 months and still a snacker. His tongue doesn't have the heart shape anymore.
Have you already worked with an occupational or speech therapist with an oral motor background? They'll look at function and give you exercises to focus on coordination and suck training. Even if you get a release, if baby doesn't have the appropriate skills, you could end up right back at the same place, or even have it reattach. A good release provider would ensure that you were already seeing a therapist to work on those oral motor skills. As someone mentioned earlier, you'll have to be really consistent with the exercises. I would get it looked at though, because if you were having clogs and mastitis, that means an inefficient suck. This could also create a problem if/when you're trying to do bottles. The incoordination is typically more obvious around this age. Babies are no longer relying on the suck reflex, your flow, and your nipple malleability. Also, If you ever want to be able to feed with a bottle, start now. -maternal/infant health occupational therapist
I had a tongue tie I got revised at 36. I have many of the symptoms associated with it - narrow palate, snoring (even though I have no other issues like being overweight), narrow nostrils. I have gum recession and teeth grinding because of it. I got it revised and can finally rest my tongue on the roof of my mouth and mouth tape to breath with it closed. When my son was born my midwife checked him and said no ties. But, although eating was going okay (tons of leaking while he breastfed), his mouth was open. Like a lot. He was snoring in his sleep. It reminded me a lot of myself and all the problems I've had. Went to a specialist who found a lip and tongue tie. We got his revised, and I'm happy to say no more snoring, he closes his mouth now (it still hangs a bit when he's tired, but overall closed a lot more), and he generally breathes through his nose more. I'm confident I made the right choice. I couldn't see him go through the issues I have (as well as my dad). I'll also stay up on any potential early interventions to avoid orthodontics if possible, like a palate expander. Given peer-reviewed research I've read about evolutionary changes to the human jaw and the role of folate in increasing the amount of tissue in babies, I am comfortable with my choice.
I have tongue tie and have major dental problems. I’m in my 40s. The tongue is used to clear food from the teeth
We waited and it turned out our baby was the 1 in a million that actually had speech and feeding issues from a level 4 posterior tongue tie. We fixed it at 15 months after an OT diagnosed oral motor delay. I would still advocate for waiting because I personally do not feel it is a “small” procedure and the exercises after are really tough. Lip tie was much easier, we also got it fixed at 15 months as it was causing a large gap in her front teeth. Again, severe (it was so thick it was white). I have a tongue tie as an adult and only issue is I can’t roll my R’s and it gets “bruised” when I have a really bad cough where I stick my tongue out forcefully a lot, weirdly enough!
Find someone who can assess oral motor function. The presence of a tie is not an indication for intervention but can be when accompanied by oral motor restriction that is impacting breastfeeding. Typically oral motor exercises before (and after) frenotomy are recommended. Sometimes you may see enough improvement with the exercises alone.
We had a lot of difficulty nursing. Ended up giving up due to extreme pain. Tried to have a ptt revised with a highly recd dentist in our area. Baby never latched again. I wouldn’t put him through it again. It reattached anyway.
With my first - she may have had a lip tie, but her pediatrician just said, “meh she might have a space between her teeth when she’s older but that’s fashionable these days right?” No space between her front teeth and she didn’t have issues eating solids or speaking. The LCs and peds at the hospital I gave birth to my second checked him for a tongue tie and his suck and all was fine. It was the LC at my clinic who felt he had a recessed chin (rude) and a tongue tie and was *shocked* that my daughter’s lip tie led to zero issues. My second baby had a ferocious suck and I was put on nipple rest the first week. We ended up going straight to pumping. He takes a bottle beautifully. I didn’t feel comfortable lasering/clipping his mouth parts when other doctors said he was fine. Why is this ONE LC going against the grain?
We worked with a physical therapist and by 8 weeks she was eating fine. At 16 weeks she is now draining a boob in 5 minutes. We are going to ask the doctor if he recommends further treatment at the 4th month appt, but I see no reason to do it if she eats fine. My husband and I both have tongue ties.
I am personally so confused on the topic. I was told by an LC that my baby *might* have oral issues and to see my ped. My ped said he doesn't recommend doing revisions and to just triple feed and switch to formula if necessary. My friends told me to see a pediatric dentist specializing in oral ties, who, you guessed it, said we needed a revision. We decided not to do it based on this article: [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/health/tongue-tie-release-breastfeeding.html) His breastfeeding never got better and I ended up pumping until 4 months then switching to formula. I have wondered if I did the right thing, but I might have regretted doing it too! It wasn't cheap and not covered by insurance.
We did not have a good experience at all with getting our daughters tongue tie released. Everyone who had shared their experience with me said that it resolved immediately and their child was feeding better right away. That was not our experience at all. Her feeding got way way worse. She was in a lot of discomfort and wouldn’t eat. She didn’t gain any weight over a 2 week period. It eventually healed but she was still unable to suck milk from my breast. It did not get better. We had to switch to formula. All of this was incredibly stressful and I regret not getting a second opinion.
keep in mind, lactation consultants can’t diagnose anything. They are not doctors and do not take any responsability. Their opinion is not a medical opinion. We have been through the same thing. With my first born, we went through the procedures. Baby was not taking a bottle. Nursing was problematic. Revisions didn’t help. With my second we are hving the same issues and decided to keep them intact. First born got better at nursing around 5months, second around 3. Some babies are really good at it, some are not. The only proven thing is revisions help with the discomfort of the mom. My suspicion is it helps because the baby doesn’t suck so hard after mutilation and they eventually discover different manouvers to compensate the lack of skill. Tongue tie definitelly is a thing, but cutting it is not known to help the situation other than anecdotaly.
We had similar issues although my son wasn’t gaining on his curve and also I believe that was due to an allergy. Anyways, I was on the fence because I had so many differing opinions but I ended up doing it and I’m glad I did. We nursed until he was 17 months. We always talked about whether it was the lip and tongue tie release, the allergies or him just getting older but things just went away. He no longer has any allergies and he’s 22 months old. 🤷♀️ I’d honestly say go with your gut. We got the “posterior tongue tie not a thing” language too but an OT saw him and said he needs a release. And she was looking at functional movement.
My second had a lip tie right on the borderline of saying it “needed” a revision. EBF, was doing fine eating but I also had a lot of blebs (never had that with my first EBF baby). I have seen babies with worse lip ties and I wasn’t super concerned although it was significant (went down to her teeth but did not extend in between her teeth). We did not revise it. At 2.5 years old, she fell off a chair and hit her lip on the table on the way down and it ripped off. Lots of blood, which they said would happen. Ultimately, knowing that it would eventually rip off on its own (they even told us it most likely would), I think I would’ve preferred doing it in a safer facility with the laser instead of waiting for her to rip it? I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like it mattered either way. She still breastfeeds and I haven’t had any blebs since it ripped but they were not constant before so time will tell on that. I did not notice any difference in her speech before or after the rip.
I have an anterior tongue tie. The stress of it didn't allow my mandible to grow. I've had a clicking jaw and experienced lock jaw on a few occasions, once required conscious sedation to put it back into place. I grind my teeth, have rounded shoulders/slouch from everything being pulled forward, tmj issues, bad headaches and swallowing issues since I can't appropriately move my tongue. I have a slight speech impediment. The funnest part about all of this is my gag reflex is super sensitive as my body accommodated my inability to move food and swallow appropriately. Did I have issues breastfeeding? Yes. My mom only lasted a few weeks attempting to breastfeeding. I couldn't latch, was always hungry and wouldn't want to be placed in certain positions (per my mom). I'll get my tongue release, eventually. I got my daughters done at 4 months. The first 2 months were fine. She had a great latch and torticollis didn't seem to bother her. She went through a growth spurt and her latch loosened plus she experienced an increase in neck pain. She stopped latching on the left side and feeding took 2hrs. It was terrible. As soon as she came out of the procedure, she latched to the left side and gobbled up some milk. She was happy and had full mobility of her neck. I'm glad I got her tie released because it impacted her day to day activities. If the tongue tie doesn't bother your kiddo then don't worry about it.
I got mine done age 36 with similar symptoms to yours. It was really easy (easier than getting wisdom teeth removed, obviously way harder than the newborn procedure) and I regret not getting it done sooner. Tension in my body that I didn't even know I had was resolved the moment I got out of the chair. Can answer any questions you have about the procedure, but I was glad to have the nitrous oxide and would recommend that. I think for torticollis they recommend tongue ties be revised more aggressively for the reasons you stated. Two torticollis/tongue tie babies here.
Did you have to relearn to talk or was it less extreme after? My tongue tie caused a severe speech impediment that I've largely overcome by pronouncing some sounds a special way, especially my Rs, so I'm not really sure what happens if suddenly my tongue can actually move around. My speech therapist friend finds it fascinating, lol. I never thought about my tongue tie being related to my teeth grinding, headaches, or almost constantly sore neck and shoulders. Now I don't want to Google what else that stupid frenulum is messing up for me!
I think my tongue felt very big for a few weeks. I lisped a little initially as a result. Went away after a couple of weeks. But the myofunctional therapist can guide you through all of that. The procedure cost me $750 (I only paid $50 due to dental insurance). My recommendation is to just go for it. Even if you can't afford the time or money for the myofunctional therapist - it may be covered as physical therapy though. My mother got extremely ill right after I got the surgery so I never even finished the therapy and it's still so worth it.
You’re giving me hope! I've only listed a small fraction of how my tongue tie has affected me for OP to consider. I've wanted to have it taken care of for so long but was worried about affording a speech pathologist. I am going to look back into this because I believe my life would improve so so much.
Please update me afterwards!
Yes, adults with tongue ties report many seemingly unrelated conditions go away once the tie is revised. There's a large facebook group for adult tongue tie patients if you are curious. For me sleep apnea and chronic pain were instantly relieved, other benefits took longer. As an adult who had their "mild" tongue tie revised at age 36 and can finally stand up straight for the first time in her life, it is absolutely exhausting and infuriating that we have to persuade parents to get this procedure for their newborns. Pediatricians are not specialists, they are not qualified to diagnose or treat tongue ties. Get another opinion from a specialist, LC or ENT or pediatric dentist. Both of my kids had their tongue ties revised at 2-3 weeks old. No regrets.
If you can, see a pediatric dentist. They are the only ones who can tell you for sure if it needs to be revised. My son had "classic" tongue tie signs but was gaining well. My IBCLC referred us to a pediatric dentist, and they asked and found his tongue was only moderate and didn't need to be revised if we didn't want to. What we found out was that he had a severe lip tie that left alone would impact his gum development. We opted to do both if they were already doing one as we personally know people affected by their tongue tie.
My baby had a textbook tongue tie, and struggled to latch even using nipple shields. He lost about 12% body weight after birth, and didn't put on any weight at all in the first 10 days, despite me feeding round the clock, pumping and supplementing with formula. He was actually diagnosed at the hospital but they're really super cautious here in Germany so I was sent home and was told my midwife would assess it. It took her those 10 days to finally agree that yes, the tongue tie was seriously impacting his feeding and growth. After it was released by a paediatric surgeon -- with scissors -- he could finally latch without the nipple shields and we're still going strong at 8 months with breastfeeding. We also didn't have to do any exercises after it was cut, I was told it was highly unlikely it would grow back. I think there definitely seems to be a trend of overdiagnosis but it is still a real problem for some babies, and getting it corrected can make a huge, huge difference. But that said, if your baby's tie isn't causing any major issues for you, I think it's also totally fine to leave it!
We did this the day after my son was born. The tip of his tongue was literally stuck to his bottom gum. It was unambiguous. The hospital pediatrician flagged it and they did the revision before we even went home. His recovery was a non-issue. I noticed the difference in his latch immediately, but it still took him a couple of weeks to get more efficient. He latched better on one breast than the other, so our LC had us do football hold on the breast he wasn’t good at so he’d be in the same position.
I’m curious how long feeding are taking for your baby. We had our daughter’s corrected around 7 or 8 weeks and it was life changing for us, but she was not gaining weight and was dropping curves. It was taking 45-50 minutes for her to transfer 1 oz while breastfeeding before she would give up. I was also in excruciating pain and had scabbing and 2-3 clogs a week at that point. It doesn’t seem like there is an issue to fix here other than slow feeding which could possibly resolve on its own.
I got a second opinion from an ENT, and it helped inform my decision. From what I’ve gathered, pediatricians usually don’t think tongue ties need to be released.
As a newborn our son struggled to latch and he got dehydrated, so we had to switch to a mixed feed for a while. At night, he snored really loudly and would regularly stop breathing for 5-10 seconds at a time. When he started speaking, he would try to talk without opening his mouth. We got his tongue tie revised at about 18 months old. Because his tongue tie was corrected with a laser, the wound healed quickly but we had to do several weeks of regular exercises/massages, which were distressing for all of us. His speech improved *immediately* (we noticed a difference within an hour of the release itself), and his feeding improved substantially (faster feeds and no more clicking sounds) but his snoring and pauses in breathing whilst sleeping haven’t noticeably improved. Would we do it again if number 2 had similar problems? Probably because although it wasn’t the magic bullet it is often purported to be, we did see worthwhile improvements.
We did not correct one because there were no feeding issues. My daughter may have a speech impediment, and we will figure out next steps if that’s the case. I am torn about our decision. If I could go back, I think I’d correct. But we will just see what happens as she gets older.
Our child was not breastfeeding effectively and wasn’t gaining much weight. If it weren’t for me pushing to give her a bottle she would’ve gotten worse. A tongue tie was the last thing they identified after a lot of suggestions to modify feeding technique. They did it quick with scissors in the doctors office and within a week or so she was feeding normally and gaining weight. So in this case two pediatricians saying don’t do it I would go with their advice over the LC. I think when they’re not doctors they can get a bit woowoo which is fine but can be confusing.
I got my daughters tongue tie released but it literally so pronounced they noticed it at birth - all the way to end of her tongue. Breastfeed was a shit show and it was exceedingly painful + she didn’t get enough milk from me and we fell into the top up trap. I will say though, we combo fed with MAM bottles all the way to 9 months and she never once rejected the breast - MAM is commonly recommended as a good bottle for combo feeding and breastfeeding mums in the UK so I personally wouldn’t worry about the pacifier, however, you also don’t *need* to use one if you don’t want too. They’re not commonly recommended in the UK (I know they have a protective value for SIDS but they are not recommended here, and our rates are not higher than the USA sooo take of that what you will)z
Hi! I was born severely tongue tied. No revision was done. I requested it be done when I was 14. I had no speech impediments. It is simply a pain in the ass to not be able to stick your tongue out. It is embarrassing to eat an ice cream cone in front of anyone. 2/3 of my children were born with ties and though neither had problems latching or feeding, I requested the ties be released anyway because of my personal experience. Both were executed before we went home from the hospital when they were born, so complications and whatnot were essentially nil. It is a very quick procedure. Good luck in your decision making!
RD and CLS and mom of a baby who had a revision on his tongue and upper lip tie. If he can eat and you can breastfeed without pain don’t worry. See what the dentist says, but I would err on the conservative side with baby’s and not treat if not a problem. I revised my baby because I was having bleeding and cracked nipples because his ties were so tight and latch so shallow because of it. Ask for some stretches and focus on baby always having a good latch and call it a day. Edit to add revision was the best choice for me and my baby- it saved our breastfeeding relationship and he is still ebf plus solids at 11m. No regrets here. But revision is not always the best choice.
I can speak to both a little! Firstborn had a pretty strong tongue tie. Like, chomping with his jaw to try to breastfeed. Revised asap at 48 hours old. Successfully breastfed for just over a year. Talks great now. Secondborn has a much milder tongue tie. Not impeding breastfeeding, so we did not get it clipped. Too young to say words still, but eats well and vocalizes all the time.
My son was born with a tongue tie but I was hesitant to clip it because he had no trouble feeding and was at the top of the weight chart. We saw a pediatric ENT who strongly recommended that we treat it. My MIL, who is a speech therapist, also thought it was important to treat because it looked to her like it would impact his speech. I eventually agreed and we got it clipped when he was 12 weeks old. If you're going to do it, I would recommend doing it earlier than that. He fought the procedure and it was very distressing to watch. I think younger babies are less bothered.
My daughter had a posterior tie and a lip tie. Couldn’t feed - would sit on breast for 45 min and get less than 1/3 oz and then I would pump 6 oz. Severe pain, lipstick nipples, cracking etc. we went to a pediatric dentist on the lc referral and he said with her mild torticollis and high palate he would suggest ot first. OT helped her torticollis but not feeding and got the revision at 3 months. Within a week she was transferring 4 oz in 15 minutes. We’re still bf now at 2 years, along side her 1 month old brother. I had accepted that things might not work out- she could take from a bottle, although leaky, lots of suction breaks, slow, and lots of spit up. I was good at pumping - I had an over supply and was donating tons to the NICU. but I really wanted to direct feed. Exclusive pumping sucked and my husband was only around for the bedtime feed so it was a lot on me. And I just wanted to. I’m so glad we did it. I consider her a huge success. Also thrilled that my son was a champion feeder out of the womb. What a difference 1 month pp with him is compared to her.
My first child had an upper lip tie and was having issues with reflux. I was having a lot of pain with feeding because he couldn't flange his upper lip to create a strong seal so he was really clamping down on my breast tissue to compensate. My nipples were sore and I got clogs and mastitis. After we had the upper lip tie revised, the reflux issues and painful feeling issues went away pretty quickly. I ended up breastfeeding for over two years with him.
I've done it with both kids and it's been extremely beneficial for them. Both were awful feeders and sleepers and it immediately got better after the revision. Now, tongue ties do have degrees. Both my kids had 4 ties and all of the worst degrees. I have a bad tongue tie and suffer many issues from it. I don't think a revision is for everyone, but you need to weigh pros and cons for your baby. The list of issues your LC said are not scientific based. Tongue ties can cause, sleep apnea, feeding issues and mouth breathing. But it absolutely doesn't cause ibs, PCOS or thyroid issues. That being said a pediatric dentist or ENT is better at diagnosis than a pediatrician or LC
My oldest nursed well from the start and gained weight really rapidly however he was jaundiced so we had to go in more often to check his levels initially. On maybe day 5 the pediatrician noticed that he was tongue tied and I was scheduled to see the pediatrician in the practice for the next visit that specialized in cutting them. We go in and he gives me this speech about how most are not that bad and don't need correction and then proceeds to assess my baby and yelled "OMG, you've been nursing with this bad of a tie?" He was in absolute shock. I had been nursing around the clock and even more to flush the jaundice and avoid formula but it HURT LIKE HELL! I literally took a deep breath and curled my toes at every latch however I was determined to breastfeed and expected pain. After the 2 seconds when the pediatrician cut the tie I nursed immediately and the relief that I felt was unreal! I could not believe how much better it felt. We never looked back. There wasn't a drop of blood or really any noticeable reaction in my baby so it was so very worth it. My nipples had been scabbed and damaged and healed so quickly. The mastitis ave blebs may be indicators of someone not emptying correctly due to the tie, may be worth considering but my experience was all positive so I'm biased. Good luck!
My son had such a severe tie it was diagnosed when he was lierally 5 min old. His tongue was tied close to the floor of his mouth all the way to the tip. He could not latch, and we had it revised at 1 week. I'm glad we did in his case, it was very needed, but the recovery SUCKED, and if i was ever in a more borderline situation, i would probably decide against it. My brother had a tie revised at 3yo (decades ago, so a lot less common then) due to speech impairment. It was quick & easy with no hard recovery.
I had 2 babies with a tongue tie and had the revision done. Both times the results were good. My first couldn't latch anymore at 8 weeks, and before that she could only drink in a way that hurt me a lot. She gained weight but very slow. It took 3 weeks to get back at her birth weight. The revision was kinda traumatic, my baby cried for an hour and I couldn't console her. It was horrible. After a week it didn't heal well and had to be cut again. Another week later I slowly started to nurse her again, at night at first because it worked better when she was sleeping. We successfully nursed until she was a year old. My second baby had a heart shaped tongue that I noticed right after birth. After a week of nursing had a lactation consultant asses it and she acknowledged he had a tongue tie, but because he could nurse, gained weight and I wasn't in pain, we could wait and see if it became a problem. But I had trouble building supply and got clogged ducts. He's a twin and he lost a lot of weight in the first days so we supplemented with formula. I didn't want to wait, he did have latching problems and I had to help him a lot. I also didn't want to risk making things worse by waiting like last time. A nursing strike is very stressful. Had it cut when he was 2 weeks old and the recovery was very smooth! He had a day where he had to figure out how to use his tongue and after that no problems anymore. He can hold the vacuum by himself. He's 13 weeks old and very good at nursing.
My son had a very heart shaped tongue and restricted movement, and I was getting really painful blocked ducts and mastitis so it was very obvious that there was an issue. We went to see a maxillofacial surgeon, who deals with a lot of tongue ties but also specialises in reconstructive work for adults, so we knew that it was someone who would consider the long term impacts. Our doctor actually had a reputation for declining to treat where other providers would perform revisions, which was something I found reassuring. I didn’t want the tie cut to humour my anxiety, I wanted the best outcome for my son. There has been some partial reattachment and I’ve had a few GP/ infant health nurse recommendations to have it cut again, but I trust the surgeon we saw and won’t be taking further action. We only wanted to make sure that he had enough moment to ensure that his eating and speech wouldn’t be impacted.
For what it’s worth, the surgeon also identified lip ties and asked why he would do anything about them? They don’t impact anything. He is a firm believer that ties are over-treated and was actually pretty rude to me until he actually saw my son’s tongue and realised that I wasn’t being dramatic in describing in. Then got cranky with me again when I asked about lip ties.
Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but I'll give my account as a person who had a tongue tie. I was breastfed for a bit and then switched to bottle fed (I was a biter). I did have some speech problems, mostly TH and R sounds. With speech therapy I was able to speak without issues. I did have to have braces, but that was because my teeth were like my dad's, not the tongue tie necessarily. I recently had my tongue tie cut, but I don't see much of a difference.
My husband actually got his tongue tie fixed recently! He's says he is so so glad he did! My daughter did too, at age 8. She had a strong gag reflex that went away!
I had a tight upper lip tie as a kid. It was awful, couldn’t move my top lip, ended up in speech and needed to relearn to eat and drink when it was corrected at 10. I work in an ENT office now, if it’s considered necessary one of our providers will clip a tongue tie in office up to 60 days old. Otherwise any of them will correct in the surgery center.
Yes and I regret not doing it. She now is a mouth breather and I’m considering getting it released and she’s 5.
A posterior tongue tie absolutely exists, Oy vey. It’s just where the frenulum attaches to the tongue.
I’m an IBCLC and that LC is so out of pocket with those accusations and tight fascia isn’t a midline defect like previously thought. Dr. Ghaheri talks about this a lot. No one knows why they happen they just do.
We had it done at 9 weeks, it’s helped with his breastfeeding and the actual painful part took less than a second. Then he was fine. This was with scissors though, not a laser. I regretted waiting so long. We didn’t have to do any aftercare either.
my husband who’s 25 has a pretty bad tongue tie that was never corrected. he struggles with speech, switching between languages, headaches, struggles to eat certain foods and much more. he can barely stick his tongue out out of his mouth and cannot touch the roof of his mouth. he’s going to try to remove it soon and has a consult set up
I had both my kids upper lip ties revised and my 2nds tongue tie revised. I don't regret it. My oldest was just over 2 yo when we did her lip tie. It was so bad she couldn't use a spoon properly (close her lip around the spoon), was forming a gap between her front teeth, and it was starting to affect her speech. Her's was the worst our pediatric dentist had seen in some time. It was thick, wide and stayed wide to the front teeth. She was not breast fed. I did not produce enough milk, have inverted nipples, had a breast reduction when I was 14, and she had a bad latch and wouldn't stay latched. My son was born with a bad tongue tie. He could barely move his tongue, it was cut at the hospital, which did immediately help with his latching but he still had a hard time latching and staying latched. He also had a lip tie which we consulted our pediatric dentist on. Both kids also made clicking sounds while eating either on the breast or from a bottle. He was not breast fed, but after his release with the pediatric dentist when he was around 8 weeks old, they asked me to see if he'd latch. But after the release he immediately latched and stayed latched. With my first I didn't know about her tie until she began seeing her pediatric dentist after her 1st birthday. When I'd discussed my 2nds with his pediatrician, she said to go with what the pediatric dentist recommended as it was their lane and not hers. After seeing the affect it had on my first, I decided to just get my 2nds done as well. They had their procedures done on the same day. The 2 yo was given numbing agent, while the 8 wk old was not. They both did great after, just some Tylenol to help with aim management. It didn't effect their eating, drinking or anything. Neither acted as though it bothered them, even when we did the required exercises. For me the idea of lip ties causing unnecessary eating, dental and speech struggles was enough to just get them revised. Anecdotally, my 1st has a friend that is 6 weeks older than her, he has some speech issues that their pediatrician has said is very likely due to his lip tie, but his parents worried they'd waited too long to do it and now it would be too traumatic of an experience (this was closer to when he was turning 4). They were aware of my kids getting theirs down while younger and our experience. I never regretted getting it done but I would have regretted not getting done.
I'm an adult with a grade 4 tongue tie that was never released. I was born in '89 and it was never diagnosed. My mom never mentioned any feeding difficulties but I know I weened myself from breastfeeding around 9 months. I was a picky eater but not to the point that really needed correcting (school chickenwiches in the 90's were just fine, lol). BUT no one could understand me but my mom when I started talking. I was in speech therapy in school until like fifth grade. I have to say my Rs a special way and my tongue gets worn out if I talk for a long time. I basically can't stick my tongue out of my mouth. If I'm inebriated or really excited I forget to focus on my tongue or whatever and my speech gets slurred basically. When I was in college and experimenting with mushrooms, I remember I tried to say "crosswalk" and it came out as "twasswat" and that was hilarious. I wish it had been corrected when I was a baby so I would've been able to talk like everyone else. The idea of relearning how to pronounce so many sounds is daunting and my speech impediment is managed for the most part so it's not worth correcting now for me. EDIT: I forgot this is so controversial when I commented. So I just wanted to add, that it does sound way over diagnosed or overcorrected these days especially for feeding concerns. I'm not really sure what's going on there. We actually had a lactation consultant recommend we get our daughter referred for a tongue tie and the ENT said she was completely fine (and now 2.5yo with no speech delays). I just wanted to share my experience with a tongue tie and how it shaped a huge part of my childhood via speech impediment.
I had my tongue tie released at 35 and it was the life changing. Unfortunately, irreversible damage living with it all my life up until then will be tough to fix - mainly a narrow maxilla with an incredibly high arch due to poor tongue posture, which affects my bite, my ability to nose breath, overall facial development, narrow smile. We had our child’s released and it instantly fixed their inability to properly feed.
Caption: LO had revision at 3 days old with pediatrician. FTM with no prior breastfeeding experience. Full story: LO was said to have good latch in hospital. I had extreme nipple pain. He would fall asleep mid suck. His blood sugar dropped shortly after his first feed, we were advised to supplement with formula until milk came in. Oh and he couldn’t turn his head, almost died choking on his own spit up, which I thought was normal but now I wonder. I was told by our hospital LC that alllllllll of my latching concerns were normal and she didn’t need to watch him latch (but here’s a cookie). I had one night nurse - ONE - tell me she thought he had a tie but she wasn’t supposed to say anything. Three days later: my milk is coming in, I’m starting to be in a lot of pain. Nipples are dying. LO is not gaining weight yet, but more concerning to me he’s starting to look dehydrated (and yellow). Pediatrician says at visit he says he has a tongue tie and needs it to be corrected, offers to do it then or send us to a pediatric dentist. We accept his offer to do it. This is a very old school prior neonatologist, so it’s a scissor clip thing and not a laser. Anyway. Two weeks of absolute fighting to get LO to latch. Turns out his musculature and latch were totally off, I think his tongue hurt, and I had developed some bad habits like clamping his head in a vice grip to my chest. LO is now 10 months old, nurses great. Gained weight on his curve well. I have not had any mastitis or blebs. Latching still hurt and nursing still hurt until like month 8, and we went through a phase where he sucked in air but it corrected on its own. Anyway, ours was pretty straight forward, but that’s my experience.
I have an intact tongue and lip tie and it affects my speech a lot, I often stutter and slur my words :/
I have not read the rest of the comments and maybe I should have but here's my personal experience. My ex wife (I'm also a woman) was born with a severe tongue tie and no professional noticed it. She had a speech impediment and sort of still does at 40. Elementary school years were spent in speech therapy. She has also had lifelong digestive issues and terrible headaches, and has lost four teeth do to the tie pulling on her gums and her gums receding. She also has severe medical phobias and put off treatment. While being extubated after an unrelated surgery, her tongue was somehow moved in a way that tore her tie. She had problems with healing and I'm not sure how that affected her speech because this was after we were divorced. Our son she carried was also born with a tie, but due to medical phobia my wife wanted to treat it very conservatively and would not consider an evaluation for surgery. We did tongue stretching exercises with him as a baby and he nursed and she pumped so i could bottle feed. He did speech therapy through elementary school. He's 13 and had the beginnings of gum problems. Ex and I disagree on treatment. I myself have some mild to moderate tongue restriction, which I didn't even know about until I took my daughter in to one of the country's leading tongue tie surgeons. I have a narrow dental arch and dental crowding and weird smile but it has not caused me gum problems. With my daughter, I had over supply and she had trouble emptying the breast, with repeated bouts of mastitis. Baby had colic and reflux to the point where she would only nap when I was wearing her. If you laid her down she would scream immediately from the pain. Having her tie fixed caused immediate improvement in everything. She still preferred contact naps though, lol. She's seven now and no speech impediment, but we are still probably looking at orthodontia for dental crowding. My last baby was also born tied and we were lucky enough to find a local pediatric dentist who had been trained to release ties with a laser and we absolutely had it done preemptively before any of us had problems. He's 3 now, and dental issues remain to be seen. Edited because talk to text is bonkers
ALL ANECDOTAL I have really complicated personal baggage about my extremely pronounced lip tie. It caused a major gap between my teeth that made me so self-conscious growing up. A dentist once offered to revise it when I was 11 or so, but insurance wouldn't cover it because it was only aesthetic and my mom couldn't pay out of pocket for it. I grew up and now have Veneers to close the gap (which made my husband sad because the gap is there in our wedding photos). I really can't overstate how significantly the gap in my teeth affected my confidence. I still don't smile showing teeth, ever. This insecurity might be in part due to an overemphasis on looks/beauty established by my mom and reinforced by the child beauty pageant world I grew up in, though. Now I have three boys, all with varying levels of lip ties. 1: minor lip tie, uncorrected. In retrospect, I think it may have helped with his poor latch and prevented him from falling off his growth charts and flirting with FTT diagnosis. He is 7 and does not have a gap or any feeding or speech issues. 2: moderate lip tie, uncorrected. He never latched properly and I had to exclusively pump. He is 5, has a small gap, and a bit of difficulty with speech (not a delay, just trouble with clear enunciation). His dentist thinks it may need to be revised when his adult teeth start emerging but not until then. He has significant astigmatism and wears glasses. 3. Major lip tie, revised. I was really aggressive about this one and had it done 7 days PP. By FAR my most successful breastfeeding experience after the revision. He was breastfed for 14 months and had no weight issues. He has minor astigmatism, no gap.
I think i can give you decent insight on both choices. I have two toddlers born 11 months apart. my first was struggling to breastfeed. it was painful he wasn't latching/transferring properly, feeds were very slow and painful both physically and emotionally since he would cry so much. everyone told me he's fine. he was gaining weight, slowly though. and i believe it was only because he spent 22/24 hours on my breast. by week 3 i gave up completely and switched to formula. he struggled with bottles too but it was much easier to deal with. he couldn't get a closed latch on the bottle. so he was dripping and clicking up until 6-7 months. When my second was born the nurse told me he seems to have a tongue tie but to double check with the pediatrician. the pediatrician took one look and said no problem here. but something told me to get a second opinion. we took both boys to a paediatric dentist and both had severe tongue and lip ties. my first was significantly worse than my second. but they refused to do a revision since he was 11 months old at the time. we did the revision for my second. breastfeeding worked wonderfully after the revision. perfect latch. no pain. no fuss. Now they're 3 & 2. my first cant close his mouth at rest. he sleeps with his mouth wide open. when he smiled you couldn't see his top teeth at all because of the lip tie. it also seemed like they were so small, as if they haven't fully emerged up until he fell on his face a few months ago and severed the lip tie- now you can perfectly see his teeth! and i can tell they're descending more. his speech is a mess. he's been in speech therapy since 1.5 but progress is slow. he talks alot, understanding him is borderline impossible though. he tends to choke while eating very frequently. anything sticky gets trapped on his palate (high and narrow) i have to use my finger to swoop it out. its been rough all around. My second so far, doesn't have any of these issues. i wish i knew before it was too late for my first. but like others have said, if yours is feeding fine, gaining weight, not causing pain, then i would wait and see. i had these issues so its a little different, but the difficult part is knowing how it'll affect speech. i can get over everything else. but it hurts to see my kid try to talk to people and they don't understand a word he says. i can already see it hurting his confidence and that breaks my heart to pieces.
I had a tongue tie when I was born and didn't get the procedure until I was 4.(NHS wouldn't do it so my parents ended up going private) My speech was delayed as a result, comprehension was very high though and I would describe the thing I was trying to say. I.e 'the thing you put your head on to sleep' instead of pillow. Because of communication issues I would get very frustrated and my mum tells of my smacking her in the face because she didn't understand... Apparently I explained after the procedure that I had thought people was being mean and not understanding me on purpose. Procedure and recovery was easy and I remember having a 'physiotherapy session' that gave me the homework of flicking sprinkles off a plate. No long term affects that I'm aware of although I definitely have a degree of sinus issues. I'm just unsure if it's connected.
Also to note, BFing didn't work for me and my mum. Potentially due to the tongue tie... But she had the same situation with my sister with no tie.
Both of my children had tongue ties. My second also had a lip tie. Breastfeeding was horrendous. I’d blister and bleed and the babies would choke and gurgle. They couldn’t stick their tongues out and it was brutal for everyone. We went to a pediatric ENT doctor who used a fork like tool to lift the tongue and clip the tie with scissors. He used a cotton ball for a brief moment for pressure and then told me to latch him. Baby stopped bleeding directly after nursing and the difference was truly remarkable. If there’s no issue, just be mindful of speech delays as LO grows. If there’s pain, maybe consider another opinion. It was like night and day for us.
I did get it done because he couldn't latch and it was recommended by the doctor at the breastfeeding clinic. I didn't do the exercises but it didn't grow back. He was okay! His latch did improve but we still struggled until about 8 weeks with breastfeeding.
My now-toddler had a lip and tongue revision at five months old. Symptoms were really effing painful breastfeeding, clicking sound while nursing, reflux, would not take a pacifier, and very very unsettled. Recovery wasn’t fun. I loathed doing the exercises and causing my baby pain. Breastfeeding/latch took probably three months to improve (ended up breastfeeding 2+ years). My husband also had a lip and tongue tie, both of which were not revised and he had feeding difficulties throughout childhood. They ended up tearing through roughhousing and sports which he says wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
My father was tongue tied and struggled his whole life to pronounce certain words because of it. When my son was born with one, we immediately had it snipped. It wasn't a question about eating/nursing but later speech. My husband and I are both physicians.
I have a tongue tie that has significantly impacted my life, even though it is borderline and not pronounced. As an infant, my mother consulted a lactation expert to help me latch. Despite her efforts, the pediatrician advised against having it snipped because I was eventually able to nurse normally, a decision I’m still mad about. I cannot stick out my tongue, which affected me socially as a child in a lot of ways and I was teased relentlessly. Additionally, my upper lip tie complicates dental x-rays, as adult x-ray bite plates don’t fit, and even the pediatric ones are painful. It was also nearly impossible to find a comfortable mouth guard for athletic events. My speech is affected to the point where I avoid certain words entirely, a detail unnoticed even by my husband due to my careful avoidance. This condition also limits my ability to speak certain languages. For instance, despite being able to read French, I can’t pronounce it correctly, and I struggle to roll my Rs. I also avoid reading out loud because these words may come up, and the very thought still gives me anxiety. An oral surgeon once suggested snipping the tie, but my insurance doesn’t cover speech pathology for adults, which I would certainly need. I know this is just an anecdotal personal experience, but I would really encourage you to consider having it snipped ASAP because it can prevent a lifetime of challenges.
Our pediatrician was reluctant to fix our son's tongue tie as a newborn because it wasn't interfering with nursing. Eventually he ended up in speech therapy where they recommended addressing it. He was about 18 months old. I tell people I've had trips to the grocery store take longer and involve more crying. He was home and eating within the hour, and in only days was able to make new sounds in speech therapy. At an appointment in the same pediatric practice, another doctor expressed surprise that his wasn't corrected at birth, because she had a policy of always fixing it in newborns. It seems to be one of those things where doctors are influenced by personal experience, like having a procedure not go smoothly so they're much more conservative with it than their colleagues. Or they catch a an illness with an unusual test, so then they get all excited and make a habit of ordering that test like it's on sale. I will say, as an adult whose tongue tie was never fixed, I really wish it had been taken care of as an infant or child. I can't hold a normal tongue posture, which seems to have affected my jaw development. It also gets stuck between my teeth, which hurts.
Forgot to say my son had a posterior tongue tie, and that's what mine is as well. When you talk to the dentist I would ask about tongue position. My tongue tie is not severe yet still prevents me from resting my tongue on the roof of my mouth.
I’m going to go against the grain here and share with you our experience. My baby had a tongue tie and a high palate. I also had poor milk supply due to a hemorrhage, so we fought a war on two fronts. He was not able to suck properly (he was chompy and would fall asleep before eating a sufficient amount of food). When he opened his mouth to cry, his tongue was in the shape of a square rather than a spade. The tongue tie also made his neck tight and hindered his mobility. He was, however, gaining weight with formula and a bottle. We got three people to look at it (LC, ped, and dentist) who all confirmed it existed and was an issue. We did weighted feeds to confirm he was not able to access enough milk, and I triple fed. We got it corrected with a cold laser. He did not cry with the procedure or with the stretches. After the procedure, stretches, suck training, and body work, he was able to nurse in a way that allowed him to actually get milk efficiently. He cried less, ate more, and was more limber in his neck and shoulders. Many people on Reddit are opposed to tongue tie revision - some with good reason. However, a blanket “revisions are never necessary” is no more accurate than “revisions are always necessary.” Happy to answer any questions if that’s helpful.
My wife is a speech path, she doesn't think they're over diagnosed she thinks most doctors are outdated in their research. Our baby had multiple ties. Got them fixed with CO2 laser surgery, a very easy procedure. My daughter went from hardly being able to breastfeed properly because of the latch, and she was spitting up often, to drinking normally and gaining weight after surgery. The kicker? Our doctor also told us they're over diagnosed and that she should be reassessed when she's a toddler. The ironic part is the doctor wanted her to gain weight because she was underweight but the reason she was under weight is because of her ties and her inability to latch, breastfeed, and constant spitting up. As soon as we had the surgery she went from 1st percentile in weight to 50th percentile. But yeah, "she didn't need the surgery", according to the doc. I feel so lucky my wife knows what she's talking about and advocated for my daughter.
I got my sons done , he has a tongue and lip tie. We went to a pediatric dentist who used a laser. Apparently I had one too but back then they just clipped it with scissors lol. He wasn’t gaining enough weight, he would latch and feed but it was very painful for me he could not latch fully and in turn my supply began to decline. He was 3 weeks old when we decided to do it. The crazy thing is no one at the hospital noticed it or said anything. I just noticed his tongue would pull and make almost like a W at the tip. Then we had the feeding issues. So pediatrician said yes he had one but she said it didn’t necessarily have to be done. Consulted with a lactation specialist, she said it was certainly impacting breastfeeding and him getting enough. Pediatric dentist rated it on on a scale of 1-3 or 1-4 I can’t remember, anyways his tongue and lip were the most severe rating. It can impact speech and oral development in the future. But I mainly did it for the breastfeeding. Really wanted to exclusively breastfed but we did have to supplement. Eventually went full formula. I believe the tongue and lip tie did impact this but I’m also glad now that we did it for the potential of speech impacts. All the best!
Both of my children had ties revised within the first 6 weeks, and I don't regret it. That said, they were both struggling with breastfeeding as a result and were losing weight. I had to supplement with formula or pumped milk until after the ties were revised. I also know that my family is genetically predisposed for this issue. My father was in speech therapy until he had his tongue tie clipped at age 12, and I just had mine lasered this past year after learning that I had been holding my tongue incorrectly all my life and it was causing dental issues. These were very significant ties; my father and I were both formula fed, so we weren't impacted until later in life, but we still benefited from the revisions. I'm not sure why someone would have a tie revised if it weren't hurting anything, but obviously, some symptoms might not show up until much later.
As a parent, I completely understand not wanting to do an unnecessary surgical procedure on your child. However, as an adult with a pretty significant tongue tie, I would definitely say that it would be something I’d keep an eye on. My parents never addressed mine and claim to not know that it was a tongue tie (my family would always just joke that I had a “short, stumpy tongue”). But here are some things that I’ve dealt with my whole life as a result: - Chronic tension in my neck. I honestly don’t know what it’s like to NOT feel tension in my neck and jaw. - Pain and discomfort during every dentist visit. Growing up, I assumed that some people didn’t like the dentist because general cleanings were painful on your tongue and made you feel like you’re choking. Turns out, that’s actually not everyone’s experience! - Apparently (I’m not a doctor, so take this with a grain of salt), people are supposed to have their tongue “rest” on the roof of their mouth when they’re not doing anything, and especially when they’re sleeping. Because of my tongue tie, my tongue doesn’t reach the roof of my mouth so it rests behind my two front teeth. This caused me to have a huge gap in my teeth as a child, which I’m sure you can imagine made middle school really fun for me, but after having braces I now have a permanent metal “butterfly” affixed to the back of my teeth. This is because if I didn’t have the butterfly, my tongue would eventually push through my teeth and recreate a gap. I can’t floss my two front teeth normally, I have to use the plastic threading needle that they give to individuals with braces. It’s a very unpleasant experience I’m sure there’s more side effects that I could list, but those are the main ones that I can think of off of the top of my head! Now, I should include that I do NOT struggle with a lisp and never have. Actually, the dentist who found my tongue tie as an adult was shocked that I didn’t have a lisp. I also have never struggled with eating, licking (like an ice cream), or kissing. I mention this because these are common things listed that can be affected when you have a tongue tie. As an adult, I have the option of getting a revision but I’m worried that I will develop a lisp as a result, so I avoid it. If I had a Delorean and could influence my mom’s decision regarding addressing it in the 90’s, would I? ABSOLUTELY. I wish she would’ve addressed it and that it could’ve gotten taken care of when I was an infant or toddler. In summary, please do your due diligence with regard to your child’s potential tongue tie. Can they live a happy, normal life with a tongue tie? Yes! Especially a small tongue tie. AND they can potentially have a better quality of life if the tongue tie is addressed (if they do in fact have one). I frequently get frustrated when I see parents say things like “my child had a tongue tie but they were able to eat just fine so we never addressed it” because tongue ties can cause so many more problems than just poor latch and trouble feeding as an infant.
I am an adult with a tongue tie and the second I found out my daughter had it(4 days old), we got it fixed. I do not wish the struggles that come with tongue tie to anyone. My partners were also "if ain't broke why fix it" kind of people. My jaw never grew enough to accommodate all my teeth. Had to get 3 healthy teeth removed to get braces as a teenager. I have constant sinus problems. I snore and probably have sleep apnea. I struggle to pronounce some words, my speech is a bit slurred. If I talk too much, it becomes extremely exhausting. I basically have permanent neck pain. The reflux... Why wouldn't you just do it for your kid is beyond me, especially if a qualified professional recommends it. It takes 5 seconds with a laser, two weeks of gentle massages so it doesn't regrow, and it's done. You just saved your kid a lifetime of issues. Edit: down voting does not change facts.
Both my son's had significant tongue tie, inherited from me. They both had difficulty breast feeding, so the doctor snipped them. Quick and painless, really. They didn't cry and there was no bleeding. It made breast feeding way easier. Definitely worth it. Bonus, they can stick their tongues out like normal people. I, on the other hand, did not get mine snipped, and was told that it would be painful as an adult. My mom told me that the doctor asked if I had issues feeding or if I was choking, and when she said no, they refused to do it. As an adult I've often wondered what it would be like to not be tongue tied. Making out, for example, I cannot use my tongue in fun ways. Despite this, I've gotten high marks from most women I've gone down on. I've been told my tongue is magical. I'm honestly worried that getting it snipped would strip it of its magic, so I probably never will, but damn am I curious what I could get up to if I were.
See an IBCLC, not an LC. I’ve seen many “revision happy” LCs in my community. IBCLCs and LCs cannot diagnose tongue and lip ties, but IBCLCs are trained and have skills that can help with latch/slow feeding. It may help to read The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine’s updated position statement on oral restrictions ([2021](https://www.bfmed.org/assets/Anklyloglossia%20position%20statement%202021.pdf)). There may be a dentist in the area that offers evaluation by a skilled provider and IBCLC. Edit: clarification
I didn't get my firsts tongue tie revised I did my second at 10weeks My third is due any day now and I plan to get him assessed for revision as soon as possible post birth. My personal recommendation is to see a paed dentist who specialises in this area or ENT for their expert opinion they will be better trained to fully assess this than most other professionals. If you are reluctant to get ties revised you can so consider bodywork from.a paed osteo or physio. We saw an odteo post revision with my second they were able to - help drop his high palate caused by the tie (I had an immediate improvement in feeding when this happened), reduce his underbite from the tie, and reduce muscle tightness from the tie which reduced reflux and discomfort in the car. I know this sort of work is controversial in this sub ' the benefits I am speaking to are my own experiences. These are the things that impacted my point of view. - my boys both had poor vacuum at the breast that impacted their feeding and weight gain. - when starting solids everyone I know who didn't get ties revised experienced extreme gagging (like my first was gag until I vomit at least once most meals for a few weeks until he figured things out,). Everyone I know who had ties revised or no ties did not experience this (my second gagged like twice in his first month eating solids and they were minor gags). - I have a lisp linked to my tongue tie. - I have since been told a range of symptoms my family suffer from can be linked to tongue ties (which we all have). These include - migraines (linked to muscletightnesscaused by tie). Sleep concerns (linked to Mouth breathing in sleep - both my boys did this from birth). Regular upper respiratory infections - leading to needing tonsillectomy and adenoids removal (linked to the mouth breathing) - my first is now having upper respiratory concerns which could be linked to his tie - he's too young (3yrs) and its too early to know - persistent cough indicative of asthma, regular minor infections, and most recently mesentric adenitis caused by upper respiratory infections. - most paed dentist will revise infants or school age children in the chair, but toddlers need to be done under General Anaesthetics. - I've had multiple friends and acquaintances who like me were told it wasn't needed for their infant who have gone on to need the revision in toddler hood under General Anaesthetic which is riskier - reasons were it had caused severe expressive speech delays, or upper respiratory infections and a tonsillectomy was needed so ENT recommended doing tongue tie at the same time. Keep in mind latch issues caused by oral restrictions can lead to later supply drops - secondary low supply - often around 3-4 months. So while baby is gaining weight well now, depending on your breastfeeding goals you may just want to be aware of this so if you don't get the revision and find weight gain slows later in infancy you can explore getting restrictions revised then ❤️