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Upper lip tie

=Lee=B=Lee=B member
in Breastfeeding

I'm not sure where to ask about this.

My 11.5 month old has a upper lip tie.  When she was about 5 months a LC mentioned it, said that since she was nursing like a champ it wasn't a concern but she wrote us a referral to a specialist.  She mentioned it may lead to a gap between front teeth and some other possibilities.  She said it wasn't major and was not a real concern.

We opted to leave her as is since she was perfectly fine and it was minor and not noticeable.

At 11.5 months now she has a decent size gap between her upper front teeth.  Not unusual or concerning but when I flipped her upper lip up to see the tie (the 'f' thingy) is very prominent and goes down right in between the front teeth into the gap.

I'll point it out at her 12month check up in a few weeks but was wondering if anyone has experience with this.  My understanding is that it will result in a gap between her adult teeth and to fix this we need to have the tie clipped.  Technically it doesn't need to be done until she is much older and then she would have braces.

Anything else we need to take into consideration?  Best to leave as is...or fix now?

 

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Re: Upper lip tie

  • BootsOrHeartsBootsOrHearts member
    We had DS's done at 2 months. You want to find a dentist or ENT who does laser revision. Took less than 10 minutes and we just gave him Tylenol after for pain. I would do it sooner rather than later. As a baby they heal quickly and don't remember it but at 5 or 6 or as a teenager it could be traumatic.
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  • Kristie330Kristie330 member
    My DD has this too!  I have asked many experts, two pediatric plastic surgeons, our pedi, and an ENT, they all said if the kid is eating well and gaining weight that they wouldn't do anything.  I also see the gap in the front teeth and think expensive braces, but I have been told that these are just the baby teeth and the adult teeth *may* come in fine.  It seems like a gamble to me, but so far no one seems to be too concerned!  Good luck!
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  • SidraJediSidraJedi member
    My dentist assured me that we have plenty of time to clip her lip tie. She prefers to do it when they are older because she thinks that it's less traumatic and that it's unnecessary unless it effects nursing.
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  • =Lee=B=Lee=B member

    Thanks ladies.  My husband and I are in no hurry.  Since she eats and nurses like a champ we never really had concerns to hurry.  My husband says he expects every child to need braces for some reason or another regardless so that wouldn't be a driving reason for us.

    I totally get that babies heal faster which is a benefit for doing it early...but children and adults have knowledge and reasoning to help them understand so I'm not sure one is really 'better' they both have pros and cons.  I think we also long ago missed the 'easiest' infant stage.  No way they can hold this kid down to do it trauma free!  You should see us trying to get a finger nail clipped!

    Anyways...we will try to get in to the specialist and see what they say.  Get more info to consider.  I do feel it is usually a biased thought from one specialist though so would love to hear more here.

    Does anyone know if it can cause language issues?  Pronunciation etc?

     

     

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  • BootsOrHeartsBootsOrHearts member
    Yes it can impact language, but it might not. It can also have a detrimental impact on dental health as food can get lodged in the pockets created by the tie and cause decay. Could also cause orthodontic problems and/or interfere with orthodontic treatment but that's much later on.
    **Warning: Losses and living child mentioned**
    BFP#1 1/31/12, EDD 10/6/12 Harrison Gray born sleeping @ 18w6d. You changed our lives little guy.
    BFP#2 EDD 10/29/13, C/P 2/25/13, Bye little Ish, we barely got to know you.
    BFP#3 EDD 12/21/13, Baby Boots born 11/23/13 My rainbow baby!
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  • cheerbuddylovescheerbuddyloves member
    We had our little girl's clipped at 2 weeks because it was affecting her feeding.  AND I wish we knew about this with our son who has a gap in his front teeth.  Also was a bad nurser had to be supplemented throughout.  
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  • cheerbuddylovescheerbuddyloves member
    I forgot to mention we didn't do the laser, but it took less than 10 minutes, she used the silver nitrate and it was non traumatic for her.  She was more mad at the numbing gel than the clip.  
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