Lip Tie

MrsN092714

I EBF my boy and he is thriving!  At his 3 month appointment he weighed 17.6 pounds, however the more I had read the more I thought he had a lip tie and our Dr confirmed it.  (Just lip, no tongue tie)  His top lip folds inwards instead of flaring out which I think is causing a shallow latch as he often slips off.  I am not in pain while feeding but do think it would be more comfortable with a deeper latch, but am overall happy with how it is going. Obviously he is getting enough to eat so I am just wondering if anyone has either opted out of getting it corrected and continued a successful breastfeeding relationship OR had it done around this age or later.  I am thinking of making an appointment with a lactation consultant soon to discuss this but thought I'd throw it out for your opionions/ experience first.  My boy has been through a lot in his short little life and I just feel so bad putting him through any more than I have to, however if it is something that needs to be dealt with I'd much rather do it sooner than later...

marijaa333

My son had a tongue tie and lip tie, and we had them both fixed around five weeks. We went to a dental surgeon who used a laser and it couldn't have been quicker and simpler. My son hardly made a sound and immediately latched on to feed afterwards. The whole thing took 30-60 seconds. Life has been so much better ever since. Now he's nearly nine months and has been breastfeeding like a champ.

doodleoodle

If things are going well then I'd probably opt out. My LO had a tip and tongue tie. We had the laser revision at a month old. She was getting plenty to eat but I was in excruciating pain and couldn't take it anymore. The procedure itself wasn't a big deal, but immediately afterwards she refused to nurse. Shortly after that she went on a nursing strike and my supply plummeted (pedi wasn't happy with her weight gain) and we are now almost strictly formula as she still won't latch apart from occasionally at night. The nursing strike could be unrelated to the procedure but just something to think about. On the other hand, lip ties can cause dental problems in the future and to get it revised when you're older requires general anesthesia.

laceymarie3

My son is 8 months old and has an upper lip tie, no tongue tie. My dentist confirmed it when he was a couple months old. She is a family friend and I completely trust her opinion, she said she wouldn't have anything done if it was her kid (she has 3). She said most kids that have a lip tie fall at some point and it gets cut, if not then it can be taken care of later. 

As far as breastfeeding, we have been exclusively BF since birth. The hard part has been trying to feed in public. I am just now to the point where I don't have to hold my breast so that his latch doesn't get shallow. Being a stay at home mom has made it easy to plan around his feedings. When he was smaller and we went out somewhere for longer I would usually just feed him in the car. But there are more and more places that have space for BFing moms. When we went to the zoo and baseball game I looked online beforehand and found where their BFing stations were. 

Good luck to you!

SmrBrd2012

I probably wouldn't, if it's not really affecting nursing. It can cost a lot out of pocket, especially if you go the laser route. We were able to add LO onto my dental insurance since we discovered his lip/tongue ties at a week old. Most pediatric dentists will let you come in for a free consult though, just to get some peace of mind. If it were a tongue tie, which could affect speech later on, I'd be more concerned.

mamaklemond

Not entirely true that revisions at older ages require GA. My husband had his frenulum clipped at an older age and wasn't under. Our youngest has an ULT and likely a posterior tongue tie although ped says no. He's having issues with solids now that we've started, he will be 7 months on the 23rd. We see a speech therapist in the next couple weeks for an evaluation so we shall see. 

CJS2011

Our DS1 was a horrible breast feeder. I ended up cut and in excruciating pain. I asked his NP to check for lip and tongue tie at his 1 week check up, and she dismissed it saying it is rare (never checked his mouth). We ended up having to stop breastfeeding, because it was so painful and he wasn't gaining like he should. Fast forward to when he started eating solids and getting teeth. His 2 front top teeth came in with a huge gap, which was our first clue. Also, he was choking on anything beyond very thin puréed foods. We brought it up to his NP, again, and she finally checked his mouth. Lo and behold, lip and tongue tie. She referred us to an ENT Dr. who recommended we get it taken care of, mostly because of the choking, which was likely more from the tongue (not your case) than the lip. The other good point she made was that lip and/or tongue tie can lead to speech impediments, so that was another reason we had it taken care of. I have a close friend who had a lip tie that caused a gap in her front teeth. She ended up with braces to correct it, but they didn't correct her lip tie. When she got her braces removed, the gap opened back up! They then snipped it, put on new braces, and she no longer has the gap. Unfortunately, since DS1 was 9 months when they caught it, it required general anesthesia. It was an incredibly quick recovery, though! I personally would recommend having it done. Good luck!