Frenectomy/ dental and speech problems
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Frenectomy/ dental and speech problems
By shikokumom on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:02 pm: Hi! I'm new here and I just had a baby. My son is tongue-tied - that thin vertical membrane connecting your tongue to the underside of your tongue is too tight(it's called a lingual frenulum). This means that he can't stick his tongue out far enough and when he does it forms a heart shape. There's also the same kind of membrane connecting your upper lip to the upper part of your gums (labial frenulum). His connects straight down to the bottom of his upper gum. When he breastfeeds, his bottom lip curls inwards. He was having difficulty breastfeeding and I was in a lot of pain in the beginning so I was told to bottlefeed. Then we noticed the tongue-tie. When we brought it up, they said that it was okay and that I can get nipple shields to help etc etc. This condition can easily be fixed with a procedure called frenectomy. We've been to a few doctors already and they said that the proceedure isn't done / isn't common in Japan. I'm wondering if this is just because we live in a fairly rural area of Japan and that doctors here aren't as experienced with this sort of thing. He's gaining weight, though I still supplement with a bottle every once in a while and I'd rather not. But the tongue-tie can potentially cause dental problems and speech problems. As for the the upper lip/gum, his lips curl under when he feeds - both with bottle and breast and when he starts growing teeth, he's going to have a gap between his front teeth. From there, a slew of potential dental problems can happen as well as speech problems. I've never been to Tokyo and I don't know what it's like out there but here in the inaka, there are so many people with really bad teeth. I'm also an English teacher and now that I've learned about oral frenulums, I've discovered that many of my students who have pronunciation difficulties (not to mention bad teeth) have this condition. I was wondering if anyone can recommend an oral surgeon and or pediatrician who can and has experience with frenectomies. I'm really worried because the tongue-tie can easily be done but the upper/gum will require surgery and if this is not a common procedure in Japan, there probably won't be anyone who will be able to do it. Our baby is 6 weeks old and we'd like to have this procedure done right away. We're still looking around here in Shikoku for a doctor/oral surgeon who can do it but since the procedure is going to be done on an infant, we figured it's going to be pretty slim finding one with experience or one willing to do it. We're hoping that someone in Tokyo or any other big city in the mainland will be able to help us out. Thank you in advance for your help/ advice. Cheers! Ghiselle
By Nancy on Thursday, June 29, 2006 - 11:19 pm:Ghiselle I posted this for someone who was looking for an oral surgeon. I have no idea if Dr. Seto will treat an infant but do contact him all the same as he may be able to put you in touch with someone who can. By Nancy on Friday, January 27, 2006 - 07:17 pm: Tsurumi University Dental School has a division of Oral and Maxillofacial implantology. http://www.iticenter.ch/html/230scholarship/260_yokohama.htm;http://www.iticenter.ch/html/230scholarship/260_yokohama.htm}. Professor Seto speaks English, German and Japanese. Good luck!
By Blue Sky on Friday, June 30, 2006 - 1:53 am:Ghiselle For the most comprehensive collection of information about breastfeeding a baby with tongue tie, see this link http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bfhelp-tonguetie.html As a Lactation Consultant here in Japan, I have heard the whole range of stories, from midwives in Japan that will clip the frenulum in all babies as a matter of course, to doctors who disagree that a tongue tie can interfere with breastfeeding! Please feel free to contact me off list and I will see if there is anyone in the Japanese Association of Lactation Consutants who may be able to guide you to a reputable doctor for an assessment. Iona Macnab IBCLC blue.sky[at]gol.com
By Shikokumom on Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 8:35 pm: Dear all, Thank you so much for all your help - both on and off this mailing list. It is quite overwhelming to have this kind of support and I am so grateful to all the people who have responded - including offers for a place to stay should we need to go to Tokyo for a specialist. We've taken our baby to an oral surgeon and he told us not to worry as the condition isn't all that severe. Our baby is nursing well with no need for a bottle supplement and is growing like a weed. His upper lip doesn't flange out as much but is certainly much better than before. I guess in our situation, a "wait and see" approach is probably best. We will most likely be going to NA next year and we will take him to a specialist there for an assessment. Once again, thank you for all your kind responses. Cheers! Ghiselle
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