Repercussions of a lip tie?

[thing1andthing2]

Hi all,
This isn't really a breastfeeding question but I thought I would find knowledgable people on here.
DS was born with a tongue tie which was snipped at 3 weeks, and a significant lip tie, it is quite thick and blanches when I pull up his lip.
It never stopped us breastfeeding because he has a big squishy top lip with lots of movement in it.
He is now 10.5m and his top teeth have come through either side of the tie so have a 3mm gap between them. He also looks like he has quite an overbite but I don't know if this is related. Ds hates having his top teeth cleaned and I worry brushing the frenulum is hurting him.
I mentioned this lip tie to the GP and he just said "oh that's fine" which made me think he had no idea what I was talking about.
What are the possible risks associated with the tie and what will happen with ds's teeth in the future ? Will the dentist do anything?

[CouthyMow]

DS3 had a tongue tie. This was finally snipped at 10wo.

He also had an upper lip tie. Like your DC, he had a gap between his top teeth, around the same, 3mm.

When he was 17mo, he fell off a chair...and split his upper lip tie. It looked horrific, like a bloodbath.

However - when his molars grew, they pushed his front teeth together. They are now perfect!

I also had the same, my gap was far bigger though - I could stick a pound coin between mine!! I never fell on mine (something like 50% of DC with an upper lip tie split it in a fall before their adult teeth come in).

Just after both my upper teeth came out, when I was around 7yo, I fell off a swing whilst swinging standing up, which I had been told a million and one times not to do... and split my upper lip tie. My top teeth are now so close together that I have trouble getting floss between them!

I do know that if you have an upper lip tie then very careful tooth brushing is advised, in fact I was advised to brush DS3's at least 3 times a day rather than twice. Also, milk in bed, in a beaker or bottle, or BM is going to be detrimental to the top teeth as the milk kind of 'sits' there. I was told to brush teeth after any contact with milk if they were going up lie down afterwards!

You may find that once he starts to find his feet, he ends up splitting it.

If you really want it cut, you will probably have to go private. As I found out when looking just before DS3 split his.

[thing1andthing2]

Thanks for that info. It is interesting what you say about the milk and brushing the teeth. Do you know why children with a lip tie are more at risk of decay?
Ds basically breastfeeds all night so that has got me worried!

[CouthyMow]

It's because if they drink milk sitting down, some of it 'collects' in the pooches either side of the lip tie, and just sits on the teeth.

[CouthyMow]

It had me worried too, but DS3's teeth are fine, and he bf practically 24/7 until a year, and then was having 3 bottles a night, and even now at 2y3mo STILL has two beakers a night.

And his dairy replacement formula (he's allergic to dairy) has lots of sugar in.

However, brushing two or three times a day ever since he got his top teeth has been non-negotiable, as far as I'm concerned. And a proper brushing, not just a poke around...

[CouthyMow]

Sitting = lying, pooches = pouches. Goddamn Autocorrect!!

[thing1andthing2]

Thanks for that info, couthymow. I had noticed a bit of bleeding from ds's gums when I brush, and I am quite worried, so I will drop into baby clinic tomorrow and ask the health visitors who is the best port of call to check him out in this area. There is a tongue tie specialist, but she is a midwife and I don't know if she does anything with lip ties.
I will brush his teeth religiously from now on!