Tongue tie obsession

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:23 am

What’s with the tongue tie obsession? Any time an op mentions a baby posters will think that’s the problem. Even if a baby is tongue tied it’s not necessary to do anything about it unless it severely impacts feeding. The procedure is an overdone one.
Tongue tie and pandas is always the source of all problems ( and you need a “literate” provider as doctors don’t know anything about these two issues Banging head

mandr

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:37 am

Well because when OP says "provider" it can mean pediatrician and they are notorious for not recognizing more complex cases of tongue ties. So unless the OP specifically says "My baby was checked by an IBCLC" then I will mention going to one.

And yes, they are responsible for soooo many problems that people would chalk up to other reasons. Sleepier baby (your baby is just so young, give him time), feedings taking a long time (some babies just take so long to eat), baby refusing to nurse (he probably has reflux), very sore nipples (it always hurts in the beginning) etc etc. In many of such cases the root problem is really the tongue tie and resolving it would definitely help it get somewhat better.

It's a procedure that is reallllly not a big deal, especially when done on a very young baby. I've had three babies with tongue ties, each one treated by a different type of provider (oral surgeon, ENT, laser endodontist) and at a different age (4 months, 5 months, and 3 days old) and I BH saw major improvement with each one. I've never heard of anyone suffering from lifelong complications because they did an "unnecessary" tongue tie revision. So since the benefits outweigh the negatives, why not?

As a side note, it can impact way more than feeding. Speech issues, dental decay and more. You know how you use your tongue to clean food that gets lodged in between your teeth? Guess what, if you were tongue tied, you wouldn't be able to. And what happens to that food? It makes itself very comfortable in your mouth and causes decay. Speech can't develop normally without full range of tongue movement. Imagine your child never being able to stick his tongue out to lick an ice cream cone!

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:42 am

mandr wrote:

There can be complications from tongue tie procedures. It’s really an unnecessary procedure in most cases and is so overdone. There is a time and place for the procedure but it shouldn’t be the norm. I’m glad it worked for you .

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:45 am

flowerpower wrote:

I noticed my baby was tongue tied and brought it up at my visit with the pediatrician. He confirmed it and I had it snipped. Thanks to Imamother I went to someone that did a great job. My baby ate much better after. Why don’t the pediatricians do a routine check when they are newborns?

Because it isn’t usually a problem unless it’s really impacting the feeding. Just by looking at the tongue tie you can’t always understand the impact it is causing.

amother

Cadetblue

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:47 am

It can be hidden and hard to catch.

It can affect a lot more than feeding and latch.

Most pediatricians are not well versed. It’s just not in their training. It’s not a black and white issue to diagnose.

It’s very very common.

Parents who suggest it have worked hard to earn the knowledge, possibly after a lot of heartache, and are trying to prevent other people from having to go through what they did.

This is why crowdsourcing is helpful. Mothers in the trenches have knowledge that individual drs might not.

amother

Cadetblue

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:51 am

amother OP wrote:

Because it isn’t usually a problem unless it’s really impacting the feeding. Just by looking at the tongue tie you can’t always understand the impact it is causing.

It impacts a lot more than feeding but because function is so important that’s exactly why it’s important to go to someone who has extensive training in this area.

We are having my 11yo’s posterior tongue tie lasered in a few weeks. She never had any obvious breastfeeding issues as a baby, though in hindsight there were subtle feeding issues, but more importantly, it caused so many other issues down the road and I so wish I had known about this and addressed it when she was a baby.

mandr

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:52 am

amother Cadetblue wrote:

So true.

It took me four months of agonizing breastfeeding pain and everyone telling me I either have thrush (I didn't) or I have to just give it to time, until I said that's it and brought down an IBCLC who diagnosed it immediately. My pediatrician was like I don't see anything but you can go get it checked if you want. After that my nipple pain went away immediately. I literally had cracked, bleeding nipples and lots of plugged ducts and mastitis because of this tongue tie.

mandr

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:53 am

amother OP wrote:

It worked for many more babies than just my own. Did you know that in the olden days the midwives carried a sharp stone in their medical bag for this exact reason? To snip them as soon as they were born? It's not just a fad from today. There is literally no harm. Complications? Please explain.

amother

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:53 am

amother Cadetblue wrote:

It is in their training and the AAP has been concerned about how the procedure is being overdone with complications at times. Because of this the pediatricians are usually not quick to remedy a tongue tie unless it’s truly a severe tie.

amother

Cadetblue

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:55 am

amother OP wrote:

The AAP is always focusing on the wrong things. No surprises there. Worried about complications lol. What a joke. There are sooo many other procedures that drs are so quick to recommend that are a lot more risky. Maybe they should start focusing on those.

amother

Beige

Mon, May 29 2023, 8:56 am

amother OP wrote:

They only care if it will interfere with speech. Diagnosing tongue tie for feeding is a lost art among doctors.

honey36

Mon, May 29 2023, 9:11 am

I think it is very common, and that's why people are skeptical about it. Like, how can it be that soooo many babies need the release.

People don't realize this is not a new thing or a "fad". I've heard stories that in the "old days" the midwives all had one very long thumbnail so they could cut the babies tongues at birth. (sounds like the kohanim right Smile

)

In addition, I think more issues are cropping up because of other related lifestyle changes, not because of the tie itself. For example, some changes in more recent years:
babies are not nursed as much or for as long
More pacifier/bottle use
The invention of sippy cups- teaches kids the wrong way to swallow
Processed foods- much softer and don't need as much chewing (think crackers vs raw veggies like celery carrot)
More mouth breathing due to more pollution/asthma/food allergies/seasonal allergies

All these factors are related to tongue-ties. So for example- if you have a baby with a tongue tie, but they breastfeed until 2 years, eat lots of chewy food, only drink from open cups, never have a pacifier, and are good nasal breathes, the tongue tie issue will likely resolve itself because all these activities help promote good swallowing and tongue position. This also helps "stretch out" the tongue tie so it doesn't need to be cut. This is not true ALL the time, but somewhat explains why the ties are causing more issues than they did years ago.

amother

Lightcoral

Mon, May 29 2023, 9:14 am

amother Cadetblue wrote:

This. My 11yo has so many dental and orthodontic issues that may have been preventable had we had his tongue tie taken care of when he was a baby. He breathes through his mouth which affects his sleep and his eating, even at this age. Could lead to sleep apnea as an adult. The speech therapist even says that his learning difficulties could be due to not getting good quality sleep due to his mouth breathing. So, so many issues we’re dealing with that could have been prevented had we known. But he nursed ok as a baby so I didn’t think to look into it then.