Update on the Tongue Tie. We have found a Dr!
If you have read my previous tongue tie posts (Tongue Tie) you know that both of my children and my husband were born with tongue ties. They were all officially diagnosed in December of 2011. In January my husband got his fixed by a laser dentist (Tongue Tie #1 is Fixed!). We were hopeful that this dentist would also be able to correct my children’s ties but for various reasons he was not the person for the job. Everyone kept talking about this Laser Dentist in Granite City, Dr Chen, who is just amazing and teaches the other local laser dentists. He travels a lot teaching and I kept being warned that he can be hard to get in to see because of his travel schedule. Plus, I was nervous that he wouldn’t be that good with children. I finally made the call to his office last week to see when the girls could get in to see him. The appointment was quickly set for just a week later! At least so far my fears of a long wait were not realized.
Today my girls had a consultation appointment. It was a beautiful day and the half hour drive there was very pleasant. When we arrived at the building I was a bit unsure if we were at the right place. Beside the road was a large sign identifying the Dr and that he is a laser dentist but it was a plain, brown building without even a sign on the door in the outskirts of town. No quite what I expected from this amazing world traveling dentist! I wasn’t sure what I would see when we opened the door. (I wasn’t even 100% certain it was the right place since there wasn’t any sign on the building but there weren’t any other building nearby). The women working in the office were very nice and down to earth. I felt very easy with them right away which is a good thing to feel when you are seeing a dentist.
I have been talking to and preparing the girls for this appointment for days. I have been working harder on my 4 year old since generally she has more trouble cooperating at the dentist. I should have spent more time on her sister I learned. They had planned that the girls would each be in their own chair and the dentist would see them each like that. Neither of them was interested in any arrangement that required that they let go of my hand so we quickly abandoned that plan. I decided to have my 8 year old go first since she loves the dentist and generally is the most outgoing but she refused to sit in the chair. Finally we agreed that she could sit in my lap in the chair (she always sits by herself in the dentist chair at her regular dentist and has since she was 3). Dr Chen introduced himself and worked very hard to engage the girls and get them to talk to him a bit. We discussed that my 8 year old had a lisp and he wanted to hear her talk but she refused. (Those of you who know her may be shocked that she wouldn’t talk!) My 4 year old clung to my arm the whole time this was going on. I think in part because her sister was so nervous. Finally he just looked in her mouth with a mirror and got her to do some tongue movements. Eventually she even spoke a bit although I never did get her to not mumble.
Then it was her sisters turn. I suggested to my 4 year old that she could show up her big sister and that was all it took. She loved that idea and jumped right into my lap and started chatting with the Dr. She lay very still and cooperated with all that he asked her to do. This scenario was exactly the opposite of what I expected from my children.
What I loved about this practice. No one acted exasperated or annoyed that my children wouldn’t behave as requested (except for me). When I suggested that they sit in my lap no one batted an eye about the unusual arrangement. We have encountered medical professionals who just couldn’t work if things didn’t happen the way that they wanted them to. Not here! But the best part came next. Dr Chen understands children and he suggested that we come in to observe the next time he did a tongue tie procedure on a child. He felt that this would make my girls handle their own procedure much better and he is right! What a switch from the other Dr who said my girls could watch him work on their father and then changed his mind at the last minute and never told us. Luckily there is one scheduled for next week so assuming that child’s parents give their permission for us to observe we will be going back to watch it. I know this will make such a big difference for my eldest especially.
So their procedures are not scheduled (my 4 year old started to cry this morning when I told her that her tongue tie wasn’t going to be fixed today) but we have a plan in place to get there and I am now very eager to get it done! I feel very good about this Dr and his whole staff. I am sure that my children will do well in his care and that he will respect us and accommodate what my family needs to make this work.
We also discussed lip tie today. My 4 year old has a severe one. I asked if he wanted to correct both ties at once and he said no. For one thing he felt like it was too much to ask of her at one visit. Also he said that if he did it now he might have to do it again when her permanent teeth come in. So we are to go back in a couple of year for him to check and he will tell us when the time is right for that to be corrected. He also then looked at my 8 year old again and said that she also has a lip tie (I didn’t know this) and that once her 4th top center tooth comes in he can decide if it needs to be corrected for her to have straight teeth.
One further thing he said was to not start speech till about 2 weeks after the tongue tie procedure but to go ahead and get a therapist set up now. So we will go ahead and do that if we can and have it in place for when the time comes.
One issue that came up that I don’t feel was addressed adequately was the MTHFR, nitrous oxide issue. People with MTHFR mutations are at risk for neurological damage from nitrous oxide and so I want to avoid using that with them but there isn’t anything similar. When I talked to the dentist about this today he didn’t have any ideas for me as to something else to use. I am talking to our family Dr about another kind of sedative that we might use if the procedure proves to be too upsetting. I know from experience that my 8 year old can get very worked up over minor medical procedures and I worry that she won’t be able to relax for this one despite our reassurances that it is pain free and simple. My opinion is that, while not ideal, a drug that will help her to relax is preferable to general anesthesia or nitrous oxide in her situation. One trick will be finding something that will work. We tried one in the past for a different medical procedure and it appeared to have no effect on her.
So that is the latest. I know some of you out there have been working on this for your children as well. How is it going?
Many of my blog posts contain affiliate links. Purchasing through an affiliate link allows me to keep blogging and sharing what I learn with you. It is a bit like leaving a tip for service and is very much appreciated. Thank You! -PattyLA
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Have you thought about using Rescue Remedy or an herbal sedative (valerian, skullcap) with them? Also, I’m curious about your reasons for having the tongue ties fixed. My older son just saw his dentist last week, who recommended he see a specialist about his tongue tie. My natural inclination is to just leave it alone, but I haven’t done much research about what can happen if he doesn’t have it fixed. Thank you for posting your experience about this!!
We have used both rescue remedy and valerian. Rescue remedy does take the edge off of minor stresses but so far hasn’t ever helped with medical procedures. If her nervousness today when she knew the only thing happening was him looking at her and deciding if he can do the procedure is any indication this is going to very tough for my 8 year old. I’m just not sure about my 4 year old but since we can’t use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) I want to be prepared.
We want to get the tongue ties fixed for several reasons. A tied tongue is likely the cause of speech issues in both children. Also it contributes to cavities. It also contributes to a high palate and that means compromised sinuses (my dh has a huge problem with this and getting his fixed won’t change that but my children are still growing). It may prevent the need for braces and will help them have straight teeth. Both of my children have digestive issues and tongue tie can contribute to that. My younger dd has trouble eating because of her tongue tie.
It is good that your dentist pointed out your ds’s tongue tie. My dh had a completely tied tongue and no dentist ever said a word to him about it. He was very lucky that his permanent teeth came in straight and he didn’t need braces and just got his first cavity in his adult teeth a couple of years ago. That is fairly unusual for someone with as severe a tie as he had. He also did not have any speech impediments unless you count not being able to understand him when he spoke quickly. That was extremely frustrating to both of us. Now that his is clipped he can speak much more clearly while speaking quickly (something he tends to do a lot even if it was impossible to understand him).
Wow - I didn’t know it can cause so many problems. Thank you so much for the information, I’ll definitely take it more seriously now! I wish you so much luck with your daughters and will be waiting to hear how everything goes. And thank you for doing everything you do.
I am still not sure how to handle this with my eight and six year olds. The baby’s was done about six months ago, at four months old by a pediatric dentist in Albany NY who has been doing the laser procedure for a long time. It was worth the trip! His feeding therapist has only been here a month and thinks she may be backing off appointments soon because he’s doing everything he should be doing. He’s making noises and sticking his tongue out like my first two never did. I wish I had known my older two were tongue and lip tied as infants, it would have been so much easier to have it done at that age then it is to consider now.
You mentioned it is pain free, was that your husband’s experience? I could probably take the boys to the same dentist but I am very concerned about their anxiety levels. There is also a dentist in my area who has started doing the procedure but does not do infants. The other option is having them put under at the oral surgeon which carries its own risks. My oldest has speech delays and my six year old is completely non verbal, and everyone tells me tongue ties don’t contribute that much, but I don’t believe that.
My husband found the procedure uncomfortable at times but not painful. He metabolizes medications very quickly (as do I and my older dd) and so the dentist just applied more gel to numb it. The recovery did include some soreness for a few days once the anesthetic wore off. The laser dentist I am taking my children to taught the dentist that did my DH’s tongue tie correction. He clearly feels confident with working with children and with his own ability to do the procedure easily on my children. The first dentist was hesitant and unsure and tried to talk us out of it. Not who you want to have working on your kids.
If it is possible I would take your older children to the Dr in Albany. Let the local guy practice on someone else who can’t make the trip. I personally would not do general anesthesia unless I had no other option and the impairment was severe. Since your children are old enough to be getting their permanent teeth waiting is not in their favor. Also if they do not have a MTHFR mutation nitrous oxide is an option for them to make the procedure go easier. I really wish it was an option for my children.
I find it to be very believable to that a tongue tie would contribute to speech delays. I wonder if my brother who never spoke till he was over 2 has a tongue tie… My father does but my mother does not. That said I have a lisp that speech therapy couldn’t/didn’t correct but no tongue tie so it isn’t always the cause but eliminating it from the equation won’t hurt.
You can test out GABA. It is Natural and can help relax your daughters and relieve their anxiety.
http://laura-owens.suite101.com/gaba-the-brains-own-anti-anxiety-medication-a59854
http://www.naturalstresscare.org/GABA.aspx
Thanks I will look into it.
Hi Patty!
I’m wondering about whether you really thought that the procedure was necessary. I think my youngest is tongue tied. So far (he’s 7) his speech doesn’t seem to be affected. And he certainly had no issues nursing. Thanks for sharing this!!
You can of course email me if you’d like.
I would not have gone through with this if I did not think it was important. Necessary is a difficult word. My husband just got his corrected in January. He has had a successful life up till now with a tied tongue. He also has chronic sinus issues and was difficult to understand when he spoke quickly. A couple of months after he got his tongue tie clipped he got a promotion that he has been deserving for a long time. I can’t help but wonder if his becoming easier to understand played a part in that. He never had an identifiable speech impediment, his speech just became mushy when he talked fast, and he prefers talking fast.
My youngest has lots of obvious issues related to her tongue tie. Getting her’s corrected was a no brainer despite her not having any issues nursing. My older dd has more subtle issues that may or may not be caused by her tongue tie but the only way to know for sure is to get it fixed. Her’s is also a milder tie but most certainly is there. I am hopeful that this will correct her reflux, lisp, and tooth crowding.
I have a 9 year old son, homozygous for the C677T MTHFR and he will also need to be sedated for any procedures (which is why I have put off trips to the dentist - but it’s now time). Were you able to find an appropriate sedative? I understand the level of anxiety that comes with exams/procedures and how ‘regular’ supplements and remedies are simply not enough - actually they don’t come anywhere close. I’m just starting on this journey of exploring appropriate sedation - would love to hear what you have learned!
We used valium. It helped but wasn’t perfect. It isn’t a sedative, just an anti anxiety drug and that was enough for her in this case. I asked Dr Lynch about this and he suggested asking pharmacists. Hmmm… he gave me more details as to what exactly to ask but I didn’t write it down. It is on the GAPS Diet Journey BlogTalk Radio Show with Dr Lynch. The best I can give you right now is to tell you to go listen to that. It is archived. I don’t think she has done transcripts.