Three month old tongue tie - snip or not?

[Twinkletoes77]

Had my DD assessed for tongue tie when she was three weeks and the midwife specialist said it was a posterior tongue tie but as it was not affecting feeding badly to leave it. She took fourteen days to regain her birth weight and has always spent AGES feeding and seemingly still does. But she is EBF, putting on weight fine on the 50th centile and sleeps eight hours in a row at night. She is very windy though - needs burping three or four times per feed. And as I say feeds a hell of a lot during the day. And she won't take a bottle which is driving me a bit loopy and I've tried lots!

However she is asleep on me now and looking at her mouth she really does have a pronounced tongue tie. Will it affect her speech? My DS spent ages on the boob like her and when he started to talk he spent a lot of time not be able to say certain consonants eg he said 'n' for 'l' for months. He is 3.9 now and speech is fine and it never struck me to worry about tongue tie with him.

If I got it snipped now would help her feed more quickly? Would it help her take a bottle? If I leave it will it affect her speech? Anyone any experience please if either leaving it or getting a posterior TT snipped?

DS1 had anterior and posterior tongue ties and a lip tie. It went undiagnosed until he was 5yo.

He had lots of problems which I have since learned are linked to tongue tie, such as gastric problems, ENT trouble, poor sleeping, allergies and intolerances and mouth breathing to name a few.

He also has a high palate which is thought to be caused by the tongue tie. The high palate has distorted his oro/facial structure (not that you'd notice) and without the orthodontic treatment he is receiving now (he's almost 8yo) he would be looking at multiple extractions when he's a teen as the space in his dental arch is restricted.

There is much more to tongue tie than speech and feeding. My suggestion would be that you learn as much as you can and make an informed decision about whether to have it revised.

Some reading here and here Dr Kotlow is a leading expert on this subject. Most HCPs are woefully underinformed about tongue ties, so unless they have taken a specialist interest in it, they will be spouting the same myths that the experts are trying to debunk. eg "ties will shrink or disappear", "only worry if it affects speech and feeding" etc etc

Ask to join the tongue tie babies support group on facebook. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience on there.

Thank you so much for this. Will check it out. Glad you got your DS sorted in the end.

I think it's probably impossible to know whether or how the tt will affect her in the future if you don't snip it. There is also no guarantee that if you do snip it it'll help the problems you currently have.

I've had DD's snipped 3 times - she's one of the few whose tt stubbornly re-attaches and after 3 attempts I've decided to leave it. It's not as bad as it was originally, but it's still v much there. Feeding is manageable,if not ideal. But it also just seems to be improving with time as DD learns to work with what she has.

There are certainly people who cope with tt without too many adverse affects, but obviously others who do have major probs, like the example above.

One option could be to try cranial osteopathy to see if that helps without the snip?

Hmm, I wouldn't say it's impossible to tell how the child will be affected. You can see for example if there is an issue with palate shape from birth. The palate is sculpted by the tongue movement, and after revision, if it's done young enough, the corrected tongue movement should help to reshape the palate. Manipulation can also help in the form of cranial osteopathy or cranialsacral therapy. Some therapists actually work inside the mouth to help shift the palate in the right direction.