After checking my loyal friend Google, I found this post and this post about lip ties.
I have been wondering about my baby's upper gums for awhile as he has a little white bump that will be between his front teeth once they come in. My friend and I were just discussing last week that he may have a gap between his teeth because of it.
After reading a few articles that included pictures, I lifted my sons upper lip and sure enough the frenulum is connected right to the little bump (papilla) between his front teeth. His front teeth are just cutting through now.
There are a few problems that can arise from an upper lip tie. Such as:
- breastfeeding latch problems
- gap teeth
- speech delays
- tooth decay
My son has not had any problems breastfeeding. He has latched on well since birth and is still breastfeeding at 7 month old. So I am concerned with the other three possible issues.
My dilemma now, is what to do next.
Many parents have the lip tie surgically cut or lasered to divide the frenulum.
Who do I make an appointment with? My family doctor, a dentist, a pediatrician?
I live in Canada so it is often a long wait to get an appointment. My son does not have his own family doctor or pediatrician. I have a family doctor that is retiring so only works 3 days a week and is not taking new patients. It takes 3 months to get an appointment unless you are really sick. Dentists are easy to get an appointment with since you pay them directly but I'm not sure if that is the right choice...
It does not seem to be affecting his smile or movement of his mouth so I do not know if I should be really concerned or not.
Have any of your children had a lip tie? What did you do?
Who did you have check it out?
Beautiful child!! My cousin had this, and his doc said that unless it is affecting his eating, speech etc then there is no concern. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this before! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI had heard of lip ties before but I had never actually seen one. I wonder why it happens (and so often!)
ReplyDeleteyup, one of my boys had this, I can't even remember which one, the oldest I think. We just had it snipped by a pediatrician.
ReplyDeleteI would wait to see if there is a problem, a gap in the teeth shouldn't be a mitigating factor. if he isnt having any problems breastfeeding then I would watch his development to see if there are any delays. My son had to go to physical therapy and there was a child that went to the speech therapy for this to make sure no impediments were developing she was two or three
ReplyDeleteMy daughter was tongue tied (major, major nursing issues from that) and has a possible upper lip tie. We got the tongue tie cut but decided not to worry about the possible upper lip tie. She was never able to "flare" her lip out like babies are supposed to when nursing (her upper lip generally curled under instead) but it didn't cause any problems for nursing. She's now 4 years old and it's fine. She speaks normally for her age, her teeth alignment looks fine, and we haven't had any other dental problems. If she does have an upper lip tie, then it's not a big deal for her. I know it can be for some kids.
ReplyDeleteWhen do you normally take your children to see the dentist for the first time? If it's not causing feeding problems, then you could probably wait until then. I would at least wait until the teeth have come in to see how their spacing is (though baby teeth are often more widely spaced than adult teeth).
Aw, he's a cutie! I'd say if it's not bothering him now, then the 3-month delay to see your doc shouldn't be a problem. Book the appt. and see what happens then. That whole doctor problem really is a problem, though... we don't have a regular doctor here - we just go to the drop-in clinic when we get sick, which has its own downfalls as it seems like we see a different doctor every time. :(
ReplyDeleteSo glad to hear that he didn't have any breastfeeding problems because of the lip tie!
ReplyDeleteYes, as long as he isn't really being bothered by it then I'd say don't worry about it. See that his speech develops fine and that his teeth come in okay. He sure looks happy. I think maybe to be safe I might try to get an appointment with a specialist booked just to double check, especially since it takes a long time to get into see one.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this before but didn't know much about it (until now). Is it common? My guess is that the surgical procedure would probably be pretty minor? Though I assume best bet is to have an assessment on likelihood of the other three concerns prior to looking at surgery? Most important thing - you have a beautiful, happy, healthy baby so obviously he's thriving whether or not he has this condition!
ReplyDeleteMaybe try making an appointment with your local Health Unit to discuss options, maybe they can be of help in the referral department...Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteCan you call 811 and ask them where you can go?
ReplyDeleteMy friend's son had the same thing. She went to her family doctor, who sent her to pediatrics, and was told that she had nothing to worry about unless it was affecting baby's eating, etc. His wasn't very severe or anything. A phone call to local health unit might be a good idea if you want to chat with someone about this.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet little munchkin! Totally adorable!!! Keep us posted, please :) xo
Oh my goodness! He is so cute, I just want to squish his cheeks! LOL. I have no experience with this sort of thing, although both my husband and I, as well as both our children have gaps between our front teeth.
ReplyDeleteMy LC mentioned to me that she thought my 2nd daughter may be both lip and tongue tied; my doctor confirmed it, but asked that I leave it unless I found it was causing real problems. It can be a familial thing, and my husband is extremely tongue tied - he can't stick his tongue out at all. His parents were told that he'd have issues eating and have a severe speech impediment, but neither is the case.
ReplyDeleteDD#2 is now 14 months and chattering away happily. She also eats like a champ. It does appear as if she's going to have more of a gap between her front teeth than her sister did, but that may also be due to her soother.
In the end, we did nothing and she's fine. In your shoes, I would probably make the doctor's appointment and just monitor him in the meanwhile.
I think unless the doctor is worried about it, there should be no issue :).
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweetheart! I had a friend who said her son was tongue tied at birth. She noticed it, they clipped it, no big deal. I don't know if this is a more complicated procedure. I wouldn't worry about it, especially since there are no issues, but I would make an appointment.
ReplyDeleteour baby had a posterior tongue tie and an upper lip tie. We had then both lasered and I highly recommend it. The older you wait, the more traumatic and sever the revision maybe to your baby.
ReplyDeleteHere is a list of providers that treat a LT: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1csuZTXGQnLrRergYNXsS1YcIQbBlFA7fATAss11icz8/edit
There are even some candadian dcotors!
My son is 8 months old and has a top lip tie too. He's a breastfeeding champ still, and it's never affected his ability too eat. It's never caused me any pain either, and I usually just flipped his lip out to help him out. My doctor told me not to worry about it. She said kids usually get a bonk to the face that would break it, so it would solve itself.
ReplyDeleteHi, I just recently wrote on my blog about my daughter's lip tie and her frenectomy. Our story is a little different. We didn't even realize she had a lip tie until she was 6. She too had no problems breastfeeding. But then as she got older her two front teeth started growing further and further apart and the lip tie was pointed out by our dentist. If you want to read our story, you can check it out at http://monstersgonewild.ca/home/frenectomy-the-trouble-with-tongue-ties/
ReplyDelete