Tongue tie surgery in elem age children*Need quick advice*

[Beaniemom]

DS has been diagnosed by his dentist as having a tongue tie. He has speech difficulties including the TH sound which could be related to this. He is scheduled to have it corrected via laser tomorrow but just tonight dh brought up the idea that I should have seen if his ENT would do the surgery This could save us money, around $200(dental is not fully covered but the vast majority of non-cosmetic medical procedures are covered completely). Now I don't know what to do. Has anyone had someone other than a dentist experienced in the laser treatment treat this condition? Should I cancel the appointment for tomorrow? This has been scheduled for 3 months. I don't know why dh just now decided to complain about how I set it up. I'm feeling pressured and stressed now and it is really ramping up my anxiety level.

[Katy]

Frankly when my DH pulls this sort of thing, I tell him to take care of it because it's stressing me out.  But dentists and oral surgeons can charge some things to normal medical insurance, not just dental insurance.  Call your medical insurance to check.

[Farrar]

I'd cancel it. I know of a couple of kids who had their tongue tie surgically dealt with post-infancy and both had it done by doctors, not dentists.

[mamakelly]

I've had 3 kids with tounge ties. 2 clipped by a doctor and one by an oral surgeon with a laser. As long as the dentist had done it before, I'd go with the dentist.

[kiwik]

Have you talked to a paediatrician? I can't imagine a dentist doing such a thing but your dentists are probably different.

[aaplank]

When my daughter had her tongue clipped by the dentist, the claim was run through our health insurance not our dental plan.

 

I would check your dentist and health insurance to see if this is possible. If not, I would find a provider through my health insurance.

[happypamama]

A lot of people can do that surgery -- around here, there is a dentist, an ENT, and a plastic surgeon who are all highly recommended. The plastic surgeon uses the laser, and it gets good reviews from people. The ENT does not, and for infants over a certain age requires general anesthesia, so it's possible he might for older kids too. I would personally go with whichever was most recommended in your area, dentist or whichever.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I can't fathom why insurance wouldn't cover it so I'd definitely figure out who needs to do it so you can get it covered.

 

 

[scbusf]

It totally depends on the doctors/dentists involved. My daughter is having her tongue tie repaired by her plastic surgeon, but that's only because she's having another surgery done, so he's just doing it all at the same time. If she hadn't needed the other surgery, I absolutely would have had our dentist do it with the laser. The laser is much quicker and an easier recovery.

[momacacia]

Dentist did oldest's upper lip tie via laser. Very easy procedure, but find out how often the ENT does it, are they good, etc.

[Beaniemom]

Thanks for all the input. I decided to just procede with the appointment. It was quick and he is feeling alright. Our health insurance would have required pre-authorization. Now if dd6 needs surgery for her upper tongue tie I know to explore other options.

[Noreen Claire]

We had our (now) 2yr old seen for severe tongue ties at 6wks old. The ENT at Boston Children's Hospital tried a procedure in the office, covered by insurance, that required two other providers to help, me to hold the baby, and it bled like crazy. Also, it didn't work. He recommended the next-step-up procedure, also fully covered by insurance, that would have included anesthesia (and an anesthesiologist), a surgical suite, 3 more providers, and serious bleeding complications. Instead, We went to Dr. Kotlow in Albany, NY. He's a pediatric dentist, uses a laser, and is the most *highly recommended* tongue tie doctor in the country. The entire procedure took less than 15 minutes, including swaddling the baby, taking before and after pictures, and printing me the pictures to take with me. It cost $500 out of pocket, which I successfully recovered from my insurance company about 6 months later.

 

We went back with my (then) 3yr old (now 4), who has speech issues (attends therapy twice a week) and also had some decay issues on his front teeth due to his previously undiagnosed tongue ties. Both issues were corrected with the same laser at the same appointment. His speech is improving a year later, his decay issues are all gone, and it cost less than $1000 out of pocket. (He required ketamine sedation - he did NOT want any part of the dentist!)

 

I highly recommend lasers over surgery. Neither child had any sensitivities or issues with healing after the laser. No blood at all. It was a 3hr drive (one way) and made for a long day, but it was definitely worth it.