DownSyn Forum

maggiebeth25

i need some feed back about mouth development. rachel has an under-bite and a tight labial frenulum (the skin connecting the upper lip to the gum line). i brought up the jaw issue with her dentist and it seemed like he blew me off. i was talking with a friend and her daughter just had the frenulum snipped and is already making more and different sounds. all the info i'm getting about these two issues shows they can hinder speech and eating. does anyone have experience with this?

_________________
Maggie, mom to Rachel (9/19/09), duodenal atresia repair on 10/26/09, VSD closed
and Charlie (8/12/11) MSPI
www.maggiefluck.blogspot.com

lespring · Posted: March 19 2012, 3:50 PM Post subject:

Yes, it's a very well-known fact. If the frenulum is still intact it inhibits lip movement. (The same goes for being tongue tied which inhibits tongue movement) Most kids, somewhere around the time they start walking, will fall and tear it. But once in awhile along comes a child who has an exceptionally strong frenulum, or they never fall just right, and it needs to be snipped.

_________________
~Leah~

My mom's blog
http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to visit MINE!
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mom to Rob 26, Noah 25, Tyler 23, Bryon 23, Angela 16 (DS), Axel 12 (DS, adopted from Serbia 12/2012, AAI w/fusion) Asher 7 (DS adopted from Serbia 12/2011, AAI non-fusion)

maggiebeth25 · Posted: March 19 2012, 4:06 PM Post subject:

lespring wrote:

Yes, it's a very well-known fact. If the frenulum is still intact it inhibits lip movement. (The same goes for being tongue tied which inhibits tongue movement) Most kids, somewhere around the time they start walking, will fall and tear it. But once in awhile along comes a child who has an exceptionally strong frenulum, or they never fall just right, and it needs to be snipped.

lea, can you point me to some articles? our speech therapist doesn't agree and i'd like to have some stuff to back it up when talking to her dentist (or new dentist for that matter). she has a very thick one that goes all the way down her upper gum. i know, at the minimum, that i would affect how her permanent teeth come in. my son, charlie, is tongue-tied (and i'm pretty sure has the same upper frenulum as rachel) and i thought about bringing him in to have his tongue snipped but i just couldn't take him. i think we are just going to wait and see how it affects him.

_________________
Maggie, mom to Rachel (9/19/09), duodenal atresia repair on 10/26/09, VSD closed
and Charlie (8/12/11) MSPI
www.maggiefluck.blogspot.com

lespring · Posted: March 19 2012, 6:17 PM Post subject:

You can find a lot of stuff on it. Look up tongue tie (medical term is Ankyloglossia ) Here's one. Not the the type of article you're looking for probably http://speechified.com/tight-frenulum-when-to-refer-for-a-frenectomy

_________________
~Leah~

My mom's blog
http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to visit MINE!
http://itsmylifemom.blogspot.com/

mom to Rob 26, Noah 25, Tyler 23, Bryon 23, Angela 16 (DS), Axel 12 (DS, adopted from Serbia 12/2012, AAI w/fusion) Asher 7 (DS adopted from Serbia 12/2011, AAI non-fusion)

TheBradyBunch · Posted: March 20 2012, 11:08 PM Post subject:

I would be discussing it with a doctor, not an early interventionist. They don't know enough. I learned this the hard way. Ask me how many people who were supposed to know what they were doing failed Noah in every way imaginable.

_________________
Mom to: Nicholas (May/02), Nathan (April/04), Charlene (June/06), Noah (DS, ASD) (May/07), Jesse Lynn (July/08 ), Tessa (Apr/10), Kaitlyn (Jun/12)

"Sometimes the things we can't change end up changing us"

kctahoe · Posted: March 21 2012, 3:30 PM Post subject:

Just wanted to share what our dentist had to say about Charlie's underbite. Charlie's is not very sever, but bad enough that his top teeth fall directly on his bottom teeth. Sometime the bottom ones are out past the top ones, but naturally, they just match up. This has been terrible for him as his baby teeth on top and bottom are really getting worn down, and they look brown and icky and scraggly. I don't not know about speech issues related to this, and have not discussed that issue with the dentist, just my concern for his adult teeth. I don't want those to become brown and worn and scraggly looking. He will need them for life! This is what my dentist (who works with lots of kiddos with special needs, including Down Syndrome, which is why we go to him) said: He said it is very common for children with Down Syndrome to have their lower jaws grow faster than their mid-face. He said the hope for Charlie will be that as his adult teeth come in his mid-face will grow to fit with his bottom jaw so he will no longer have an underbite. But, if that does not happen (likely) then Charlie will need orthodontics.

I don't know about the frenulum, but if it were me, I would ask your pediatrician about that. It is a common and pretty simpe procedure to correct (I mean really, of all the procedures our kids can go through!), and where I am breastfeeding moms often have that and tongue-tie corrected with a simple little snip at the doctors office for reasons of improving latch. Anyway... I hope you can get some competent, helpful care for your daughter in with these issues.

_________________
Kim. Wife to Ray, Mommy to Charlie (DS), Calvin, and Miles.

maggiebeth25 · Posted: March 21 2012, 4:17 PM Post subject:

thanks for the info...i hope she grows out of her underbite. it is a definite underbite. i will talk to the dentist about it again at her next 6 month appointment. the frenulum i'm concerned about is the top one. the one that connects the upper lip to the gum.

_________________
Maggie, mom to Rachel (9/19/09), duodenal atresia repair on 10/26/09, VSD closed
and Charlie (8/12/11) MSPI
www.maggiefluck.blogspot.com

lespring · Posted: March 21 2012, 4:38 PM Post subject:

Yes, the upper frenulum problem is very common, and yes it can affect speech depending up how much of the lip is connected.

_________________
~Leah~

My mom's blog
http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/

And don't forget to visit MINE!
http://itsmylifemom.blogspot.com/

mom to Rob 26, Noah 25, Tyler 23, Bryon 23, Angela 16 (DS), Axel 12 (DS, adopted from Serbia 12/2012, AAI w/fusion) Asher 7 (DS adopted from Serbia 12/2011, AAI non-fusion)

Nicola · Posted: March 21 2012, 5:46 PM Post subject:

Just saw an orthodontist this week regarding Gianna's underbite. Her top teeth are hitting her bottom ones and this is already doing damage. We go back in May to get a plate to push her top jaw forward and once that is corrected we will have to look at braces also.

_________________
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Mum to Brendan 18, Chiara 17, Kiernan 15, Aidan 13, Lachlan 12, Gianna 10 (DS) and Sienna 8.
"This then is what Yahweh asks of you: to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God."

maggiebeth25 · Posted: March 21 2012, 7:34 PM Post subject:

Nicola wrote:

Just saw an orthodontist this week regarding Gianna's underbite. Her top teeth are hitting her bottom ones and this is already doing damage. We go back in May to get a plate to push her top jaw forward and once that is corrected we will have to look at braces also.

did you dentist give you an age as to when it was necessary or was it a wait and see?

_________________
Maggie, mom to Rachel (9/19/09), duodenal atresia repair on 10/26/09, VSD closed
and Charlie (8/12/11) MSPI
www.maggiefluck.blogspot.com

Nicola · Posted: March 21 2012, 8:06 PM Post subject:

It is just now at 9 years old that the plate is necessary, because Gianna's top and bottom teeth are hitting when she closes her mouth. I think the braces will have to wait until G has more adult teeth through.

_________________
https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/457305_4140051469588_391538551_o.jpg
Mum to Brendan 18, Chiara 17, Kiernan 15, Aidan 13, Lachlan 12, Gianna 10 (DS) and Sienna 8.
"This then is what Yahweh asks of you: to act justly, to love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God."

Rae · Posted: March 22 2012, 5:49 AM Post subject:

Sam has underbite that they will address when he gets his permanent teeth. He is seven and hasnt lost a tooth yet. His ent snipped the tongue tie at three when he did tonsils. It was funny. Sam would move tongue in all different positions that he could not do prior to procedure.
I am an early interventionist and while I think I, and my coworkers, do good work. I also think that you as a parent know what is best and you should not back off because of a speech therapist. Good luck!