Seeking Info/advice on Toddler Being Diagnosed "Tongue Tied"

Hi B.,

A tight frenulum (tongue tie) can lead to speech problems, as you mentioned, as well as causing the teeth to be out of alignment and other dental difficulties.

I agree, it should have been found years ago. Typically, if mom doesn't complain, many doctors think it won't cause a problem. But it can cause an impact later.

Warmly, S.

We found out our daughter was tongue-tied at age 4 1/2 (she is now 5 1/2). She was having trouble saying certain words/sounds, and I thought to myself, I just don't think that she has the ability to say certain things. Our dentist had told us at age 3 that she was just a little tongue-tied (our son had the same evaluation at age 3). The dentist reccommended that we wait and see if he outgrew it, a lot of times it is corrected as kids grow. His did correct itself. He never had trouble eating as a baby or with speech ever. But, our daughter just could not say certain sounds (she ate like crazy as a baby and never had problems eating ever.) So, we had her evaluated by a speech therapist through our school system, as our doctor recommended. She was 1 point away from needin speech therapy. i asked our doctor what the next step was because I just knew something was not right. He said we could see a speech pathologist (someone with a more advanced degree and who knows more about mouth/tongue structure and speech therapy.) We went to our local hospital for an evaluation. Right away without me saying anything, she indicated that our daughter's mouth/tongue would just not be able to say certain sounds clearly because her "tongue was too tightly attached to the bottom of her mouth." She recommended an ENT do the "simple" surgery. It just takes 5-10 minutes, HOWEVER, it does require that the child be PUT ALL THE WAY UNDER, because kids this age can squirm, be scared, etc., and the ENT wants the surgery to be precise!!!! (if they notice it with a baby, it is a very simple cut, not even bleeding, something to do with a newborn/baby not having developed this area of the mouth yet, that is why previous posters indicated it was over in minutes) So, we lamented so long over this .... we did not want her to be put all the way under, it made us nervous. But, after agonizing, we decided to do the surgery. We wanted her to be able to talk well, also eat popscicles and ice cream without making a mess, and later in life (much later!) be able to kiss comfortably. But, talking was the major reason.... thinking that self-esteem develops a lot from how you interact with others and how they react to you - we wanted her to be able to be the best she could be, and believed this surgery would help her say her sounds better (big brother and a neighbor were already calling to her attention that she was "talking funny".) I was nervous as I waited for the surgery to be over, but all went well. Within days she was able to say those sounds pretty well!!! Results vary the speech pathologist said..... some kids need more therapy than others. We did do therapy for about 8 weeks after. It was helpful, too. Now our daughter can say all those sounds that she could not say before!!! A few months ago our newphew was diagnosed with the same, and my sister went to an ORAL SURGEON (previous poster said Dentist, but a dentist can't perform this procedure)..... but, Oral Surgeons can do it, too. Our newphew (age5) did not need to go all the way under (only an anesthesiologist can do that anyway), and everything went well for him. I found out about the Oral Surgeon option a few days before our daughter's surgery was scheduled, and at that point, we had everything already set, but if I was doing this again, I might go the Oral Surgeon route just because she would not have had to go all the way under. We have not had any regrets that we did this. It is scary, but well worth it if you need to/decide to do it. My advice is to have daughter evaluated by a speech pathologist, an ENT, and an Oral Surgeon and compare their advice. One more thing ... this operation can be done at any age .... just, earlier the better in regards to speech .... kids/adults who do it later just need to re-learn a lot of their speech patterns. If the surgery is done at an older age, I think 8 or so according to my ENT, then putting the child ALL the way under isnot needed, they can sit still better. Hope this is helpful --- I felt compelled to write and I know I wrote a lot, but I just remembered how we felt when we were grabbling over what to do, and I feel for you. Good luck - do research - and you'll do the right thing!

This is a new one to me but it disturbed me the tone the last response took. I would get a 2nd opinion if you have doubts, but if it can improve her life, which speaking clearly and all that comes with that will, I would do it. A speech therapist/specialist may be the place to go. If they think they can correct it with therapy, you may want to do that. But if they agree surgery is the most expedient and effective, at least you have the opinion of both sides of treatment. Not sure school is the best place for an expert but its a start. Good luck and don't worry about what should have been done a long time ago. Start from today.

Hi B.,

It is not uncommon for a child to be diagnosed around age 5 as being tongue tied -- it is often because the diagnosis was not considered earlier. The procedure is fairly straight forward and can be done in the ENT office. It usually takes just a few minutes and is normally pain free. It can totally change her ability to speak without the need for speech therapy. As she gets older being tongue tied can be a hinderance. You can also go to the dentist and have him take a look at the frenulum and see what he thinks.

tongue tied runs in our family the younger it is corrected the better it is for the child. if not corrected the will need speech in school and sometimes the children make fun of the children who go to speech i would follow my doctors and ent suggestion

Calling is surgery is a little over the top. My little girl had to have it done because she couldn't suck. It is such an easy proceedure that in many states, nurses and PAs are allowed to perform it in the office. I was so worried when my little had it done, but it was over so fast and she instantly grabed for her bottle and quit crying.

I'm so sorry they didn't find it sooner. Good Luck!

My daughter had to have hers repaired when she was 10 days old becasue it was causing a sucking issue with her and she couldn't eat. We were referred to an oral surgeon, it literally took less than a minute and 3 minutes later she stopped crying. Get it done and avoid problems later.

My son was diagnosed as being tongue tied at around 2-3 weeks old. He had his frenulim clipped and it was a simple 5 minute procedure in the ENT office. It can be hereditary. The Dr. looked at mine and said it was probably from me. Which makes sense, I was in speech therapy for years in elementary school. The Dr. said if we didn't clip it then he would probably have speech issues also.

I don't know what the procedure would be like for a 5 year old, but my son had it done when he was less than 24 hours old and he was fine. One of my nurses noticed that he was tongue tied and was having problems nursing. She said that we might have to go to an ENT, but when my doctor came to check on us, she went ahead and did the procedure herself (apparently not many doctors will do this). My son was out of the room for 15 minutes and came back ready to nurse and take a nap. It was a very simple procedure and didn't even require stitches.

All the people I've known who had this done, it was a dentist who did it.

I just recently heard of this condition. I have a 6 week old that I am going to have my Dr look at because someone recently told me that's why I hear a clicking noise when I feed her. I am hoping she won't need surgery either but if she does I'd rather do it sooner rather then later. Good luck. As to the person who said you should have had this looked at sooner I think they were too harsh and many times kids don't speak right for a few years then learn to say the letters they have trouble with. So just blow off that response.

Both of my sons were tongue tied. My oldest we didn't discover it until he was 3 when he was having speech problems. We took him to the ENT and it was over in seconds. He ate french fries less than an hour later with no problem. My youngest son had his clipped a day after birth because his was so tight he couldn't even suck on a bottle. I urge you to get it done. This really isn't "surgury", just a quick snip. Good luck.

I have two of my three children that are tougue tied. This was discovered at birth. However having a conservative doctor, she said some kids grow out of it (which one did), so always show signs with no speech or eating problems and some have problems right away or speech issues later (and need the simple procedure). I had my son (which is 13 and still tongue tied)tested by the school speech specialist. He has always spoken very clearly and eats very well, so there was no need for the procedure. He just can't stick his tongue out! Not a big deal, so if there aren't speech or eating problems, I'd let it go unless it really bothers you or the child.

I don't think it its a difficult procedure. I have a cousin that had it done ...oh...30 years ago or so. They just clipped that little piece of skin under his tongue that was keeping him for extending his tongue out far enough to speak properly. He was fine.

It is considered "normal" for children to acquire the "s" and "th" sounds from anywhere from 3-8 years. That being said, I would not rush them to a local speech therapist as one responder stated. If you are concerned, then do have her tested.

I would follow up with the ENT that your doctor recommended and see what he/she has to say. I don't know of any one personally that has had to have the surgery but did read of one speech therapist that had her teenage son have it clipped because of social issues that he may face later in life (ie kissing!!)