Do all tongue ties need cutting?

[nello]

I suspect DS has a tongue tie as he has a heart shaped tongue when he sticks it out and latch/suction is not good although weight gain is great. He is very gassy, perhaps due to taking in air as he feeds. I live abroad and I was wondering what doctors in the UK say about snipping tongue ties. Is it necessarynd what are the criteria and is it worth it?

Thanks

[Hurr1cane]

DS didn't have his cut, it eventually stretched itself out they said.

[nello]

How long to stretch and was feeding ok in the mean time?

[Hurr1cane]

Well it was only found after I have up with breast feeding because he couldn't do it but the midwives didn't believe me :( the HV wasn't happy.

But he could take a bottle fine.

I'm not sure how long, they didn't regularly check it, by his 2 1/2 year check it was ok.

The HV told me to use different drink tops, straws etc, so he'd have to make lots of different sucking motions when he was about 1.

[NickyEds]

DS had his Tt snipped but my OH has one which was never cut and, although he's absolutely fine he did need some speech therapy as a child which was put down to the Tt. On the whole I think it's definitely worth doing. With DS feeding was a nightmare before the snip but, even if it been fine I'm still glad it was done. When I asked about the risks there really weren't any (very, very minor infection risk) and the procedure is so straight forward that I really don't know why it isn't done in more cases.

[CelticPromise]

I think it's done usually if it's interfering with feeding.

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

I would get it cut if possible. I had trouble feeding ds in the hospital and was shouted at for starving my baby and I would give him jaundice. (Not like I'm bitter) I managed to mix feed, with bf, ebm and ff for 6 weeks, then had to stop due to medical issues from my side and he was ff. I finally got his tt seen at 9 months and he has a tie in between his top teeth as well. The dentist had no idea why it wasn't picked up and how I managed to feed at all. So well done to you for keeping it up.
The dentist has said it shouldn't effect his speech and he can't really have anything done now till all his adult teeth are in, but if we get dc2 I have to call this dentist as soon as it's born to be checked regardless if it's not picked up as he was really annoyed that I hadn't been referred sooner. And the top lip bit is hereditary as dh had it.

[Philippalc]

Not all tongue ties need dividing. It depends on the tongue function and whether the tongue is being restricted rather than what you can see. An IBCLC lactation consultant or tongue tie practitioner can assess function (how the tongue can move, bob out etc) and assess a breastfeed to see what is happening and look at the big picture. In UK opinion varies, some areas don't recognise tongue tie and in others areas they don't recognise or treat posterior tongue tie but will divide an anterior one, and in still others areas it is over diagnosed and it seems every other baby has a tongue tie! I suggest seeing an IBCLC to get your baby's tongue function assessed and this link may be helpful Is My Baby Tongue Tied?

[minipie]

It may be possible to carry on BFing with the tongue tie still in place but it may well become harder for both of you especially as he gets older and hungrier.

As philippa says it depends on how restricting it is (which depends on lots of things, nipple size, mouth size, technique not just how tight the tie is)

And as others have said there can be other long term effects including on speech and teeth/jaw development (look up mawbroon's posts for her DS's story - lots of jaw and dental issues caused by uncut TT)

I think the criteria in the UK are: tongue tie diagnosed; causing feeding issues. Some clinics look for weight loss but not all.

Tongue ties don't "stretch" exactly but as the mouth and tongue gets bigger the baby can get better at compensating for it. But this doesn't happen for all babies, as I say, some find feeding harder as they get bigger rather than easier.

[minipie]

I meant to say - there are no downsides of having it cut that I am aware of, whereas there are lots of possible downsides to leaving it in place. IMO it's a no brainer - get it cut if you can.

[KleineDracheKokosnuss]

Mine has never been cut, and I didn't get DD's cut either. It depends a lot on how 'tied' it is. Bad tongue-tie can affect eating/speech/etc.

[hollie84]

Both of mine had tongue ties, DS1 didn't really effect feeding but I had it cut anyway as I knew of a couple of children who had had to have it cut later (one at 12 months and one at 3 years) due to problems with solid food or speech. At that point it involved sedative/anaesthetic whereas in a newborn it's just a quick snip so I didn't want to risk leaving it.

DS2's was more severe and did affect feeding (although he gained weight well) so also had his snipped, though it hasn't released his tongue entirely and he still dribbles milk and swallows air.

I met someone recently whose older child hadn't had it cut and had a lisp and couldn't lick ice creams etc. However DP also has a tongue tie that wasn't cut and can stick his tongue out and speaks fine, so obviously it varies quite a lot.