My 6 month old daughter is going to get her tongue clipped next week (the part underneath her tongue that connects the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is too long- it affects speech, it's also hereditary- my husband had it too). I was wondering what happens and if anyone else has had this done. The doctor seemed very nonchalant about the procedure, but I would like to hear from a MOM :)
Thanks for all the words of support. I was a little nervous but felt better after all the advice :) The whole thing took about 10 seconds she cried for about 2 seconds drank her bottle and then started laughing and playing.
Hi K.,
Two of my kids had this done, both around 2 1/2 years old. Neither one remembers it and both came out great. Both myself & hubby and my sister were all tongue tied and it was definitely affecting my dd's speech. My ds only had it done b/c he was going under anesthesia to retrieve 3 corn kernels from his ear (which is a whole other story) and the ENT said as long as he was in there, he could do it.
good luck
My first born was tongue tied (frenulectomy) and we had it done before he was a month old to avoid speech and breast feeding problems. I breast fed, so as soon as it was over he nursed. But, if you are not nursing...I would just have a bottle nearby. It's not a big deal at all. You'll be surprised, it's super quick and not too many tears.
My son had the same procedure done when he was about 2.5 years old. I wish we had done it when he was much younger - I regret that I listened to my pediatrician who said to "wait and see if he grows out of it" and then, when my son had a speech delay, the speech therapist undoubtedly recommended it. They couldn't say it was the cause of his delay, but it certainly wasn't helping.
We had it done at Children's Memorial downtown. It took 10 minutes and he was just fine the rest of the day and thereafter. The worst part - more so for me - was that they put him under general anesthesia due to his age - there was no way a 2.5 year old will sit still to have his tongue clipped! They are pros, however, and this is a VERY common procedure. It will bother you more than it bothers her and you are making a great decision to have it done when she is so young vs. waiting.
Today, my son doesn't even remember having it done and his speech - and his tongue - are great.
Don't worry - it's a very common procedure and you will likely be surprised at how little recovery and how little a deal it ends up being.
P.S. my son is a Halloween-er too (3 this yr), so Happy Birthday greetings! And my daughter is 6 mos on 11/3. Having, fun, aren't you?!
Hi K.,
I am a periodontist (gum surgeon). The procedure is a relatively simple one, however, also being a mom, I can see where you might have questions. They will numb the area either with topical anesthetic (like an Orajel type stuff) or a combination of that plus a little local anesthetic (the shot). The doctor will just need to release (clip, sever) the "tongue-tied" area with either the scalpel or a laser. The nice thing about the laser is that there is no bleeding as the laser cauterizes the wound as it cuts. Your baby will have minimal, if any discomfort, if you give her tylenol or motrin (ask your pediatrician for a recommendation or the doctor performing the procedure). Post-operative should be easy as your baby isn't eating hard or crunchy foods yet. She might be a little sore while eating for the first few days, but you will be surprised how quickly little ones recover from procedures like this. Surprisingly, they can be our easiest patients. See if the doctor will allow you to be in the room with your baby. They may even let you hold the baby throughout the procedure. Best of luck to you and your baby, she should be just fine.
I agree with all things that other's have posted. My son had his tongue clipped at 3 months old by an ENT. I was unable to nurse him because his tongue was so tight he couldn't latch on, so when he was 3 days old we took him to an oral surgeon who wanted to wait and see him at 1 year old to see if it did effect his speech. So I pumped and fed breast milk through bottle, then got a severe breast infection and had to quit. It was all soooo elaborate. Then we saw an ENT at 3 months for ear infections and he said "oh I can fix that right now" Literally 3 minutes later it was done. He clipped it it bled for like 1 minute, I gave him his bottle immediately at the office and we have never had another issue since. My biggest gripe of the whole thing was that if I'd have taken to an ENT in the first place I could have just nursed him from the start. The lactation nurse, my pediatrician, the oral surgeon everyone said to wait....the ENT was like this is the most simple procedure!!! So rest assured it will be totally fine!! Good Luck!!
hi our little one had this done at 6m also , now shes 15 months and it was so ok really there isnt much too it, afterwards she slept and by the time she got up lke an hour later she drank a bottle. and acted like nothing was done , ofcorse we did and feed her cold apple sauce thinking it was hurting but her nothing she was soo fine.. shes says about 30-40 words which is really good for a 15month old. so im glad we did it early. dont worry really :)
My little one had it around that time to. The worst is the few minutes it takes. They clamp the tongue to cut off the blood flow to that area and then they cut it. My little guy really fought it and it was hard to watch, but fairly quick. He was fine within minutes afterwards (I think I nursed him to sleep actually).
One thing I would recomend is to call the dr in advanced and tell them that you want them to use lanocain. It's a gel put in the mouth to numb the pain. My dr wasn't going to use anything! But I had a bottle of lanicain at home that I brought along. I told him I'd like to put it one and he said somthing like that's a good idea. You think so! Yikes, a dr's perspective is different then a moms! It is a perscription med, and I don't know if they just routinely have it on hand so that's why I would call. By the way I'm not sure I'm spelling it right, but they should know what I mean.
Be happy you're doing it now! I waited until my daughter was almost 17 months! She went through it fine, in fact we went to breakfast after we left the hospital and she ate 7 silver dollar panacakes! We never had to use any pain reliever for her either! Her speech changed almost overnight then, too. Good luck!
Hi K.,
Its called "tongue tied" and both my kids had it. I didn't have it clipped because we didn't realize it until later and their speech was not affected. One of my sons did have the top peice of skin cut because it was making a gap between his teeth. It really was very simple and very little discomfort. He had 2 stitches that needed to come out in about a week but I don't know if they do that for the lower one. I wouldn't worry about it :) Hope that helps you a little bit. Take care!
Sorry no advice on the tongue clipping thing however I see you have a Halloween baby too!! We are doing her 1st b-day next Sunday so if you have any fun ideas to share I would love to hear them!!
my son had his clipped when he was 2 weeks old because he was not latching on well (to nurse) and was not gaining weight. it was super quick, a few drops of blood and painless. I was more upset than my son! it went really well and helped a lot! he is now a year and a half and doing well! best of luck! I am sure it will go very well!
I can't let you know what to expect, but I'm a 45 year old who had it done as a baby. They told my mom that even with it done, I wouldn't be able to sing (I'm not the best, but I can); that I wouldn't be able to whistle (they're pretty much right about that one).
Dear K.,
We just had this done about a week ago to my 10week old son. It really wasn't a big deal. The procedure took less than 2 minutes from start to finish and yes there was some blood and crying but my son was nursing right afterwards. He was cranky for about 1 day so we just gave him some Tylenol. By the second day he was back to normal and seems to be more comfortable now after having the procedure.
Best of luck,
C.
My daughter is tongue tied. We did not have her clipped, she nursed beautifully, never had a problem with speech and is now 16 years old. I think it is unnecessary.
Dear K.,
I practice dentistry in Franklin Park,Il. I have been using dental lasers since 1990. I have done dozens of frenectomies on patients of all ages. Using a laser prevents the need for cutting and suturing. Also, I am on the staff of Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. If you have any questions, please call me this morning. I will be out of town the rest of the week. You can reach me at ###-###-####.
Sincerely,
Dr. D. R. Pietrini
