Tongue ties are pretty common: basically they are bands of soft tissue which tether the tongue down to the floor of the mouth. They don’t usually cause much of a problem but if t then the baby may have some problems feeding/breastfeeding, or the younger child may have a slight speech impediment in the form of a lisp or difficulty pronouncing certain consonants which require the tongue to extend forwards.
If your child sticks his tongue out and his tongue appears forked shape (with a divot at the tip), then he has a tongue tie. Tongue ties which are not affecting speech or feeding don’t need to have anything done. But from experience, my patients with tongue ties who have chosen to have the tongue tie divided in a minor daycase procedure, did so because they either felt it was restricting their pronounciatjon of certain sounds, perhaps more obvious when speaking languages with different tones, or because they felt there was some issue licking eg ice cream. Babies may have their tongue ties snipped safely under the age of 6 weeks old when they have been fed and are asleep. Some patients who are older will need some form of light sedation and/or local anaesthetic to have their tongue tie divided. Sometimes, stitches are placed to prevent recurrence of the tongue tie.
One of my adult patients decided to have her tongue tie divided because she thought it was affecting her kissing ability! Strange but true! After her tongue tie was divided, she (and her boyfriend) reported an improvement……;)
Upper lip ties don’t tend to cause that much of a problem as the tongue ties but again if it is really bothering the patient, then it can be easily and safely divided.
Your child is 1 year old so you can choose to wait till he starts to speak properly and then assess his speech articulation which might not be till age 2.
Every patient is different but a tongue tie condition that is causing problems is easily treated by dividing it safely in a minor daycase surgery procedure. Hope the above info helps!
