bottom teeth and tongue

[Shannon]

This is a picture of dd's bottom teeth. She's 2yo.

They came in straight, but have slowly been turning in like this. Her teeth are not crowded at all, so I'm wondering if she has a slight tongue tie and the frenulum is what's pulling them in?

Ignore the rice on her cheek :)
Here's a video that might be easier to see

[elisabeth.mccourt]

Can we get a picture of a wide open mouth? Maybe even a money shot of the palate?

That does look like it is the frenulum pulling them in, FWIW. How is she with her L's and R's?

[Shannon]

I can try when she wakes up... You can tell from the video that she's great with L's. R's are her hardest sound for sure, though.

[ellasmama2007]

wow, that looks just like my dd's teeth on the bottom

[Nessa]

What do Ls & Rs indicate?

Both of my LOs have this - the V teeth. But one (Lily, nearly 4) has a hell of a time with Ls and Rs. Aevryn (nearly 2) has been accurately pronouncing Ls since she was 12m old. (Seriously - one of her first "words" was "water bottle". It was hilarious & awesome.)

[kortner]

here's our pics:

bottom teeth (they actually have been looking straighter - they were v-ed even more)

palate (best we could get) - our CST said it was a little high, but not too narrow

tongue when crying (sorry) it curls up around the edge - more when he's yawning

he can also stick his tongue out a little bit, but we couldn't get that. what do you think?

[elisabeth.mccourt]

it is high and a wee bit narrow to my eye, but all in all not too bad. I would say there is the potential for a tie there. Especially with the teeth. Keep working with the CST for sure. ESPECIALLY if you are seeing a shift in the dental formation! Is the labial frenulum quite thick? Did the upper lip flange on it's own during nursing?

It's great that the tongue curls. Most babes who have posterior ties *can* stick their tongues out which is why if's often missed. It's the elevation that they lack. Conversely a tongue with an anterior tie cannot protrude past the gum but has decent elevation.

You can also have both.

L's and R's are two of the hardest letters for someone who is tied posteriorly to pronounce.

[Nessa]

"Did the upper lip flange on it's own during nursing?"

Both DDs had this issue as a baby - i.e. i had to manually untuck their upper lips. DD1 moreso than DD2. Now that they're almost 4 & almost 2, it's not quite as bad - but I think that their mouths are just bigger and don't need to flare as much.

I really need to get us looked at for tongue-tie, don't I? We have a CST about an hour away. It's not ideal, but I'm open to giving her a shot.

[kortner]

I am stroking his palate when he'll let me, but now most times I ask to feel in his mouth he shakes his head no (he doesn't do this for anything else, unless he is super tired).

The teeth haven't changed with CST, they've just looked less 'V'ed since they have grown in more. We only saw the therapist once and can't really afford more at the moment. She showed me how to loosen the muscles under the tongue, which I am doing when he allows.

I couldn't get a great view, but his labial frenulum does look thick (though I don't have much for comparison). His lips usually flange when he nurses, but now that I've started paying attention they sometimes don't too. I could get a picture of nursing if that would help...

He is great at Ls! One of his first words was 'Lola' (one of our dogs). Not water bottle though! :)

[Nessa]

when lily saw this earlier she asked why the baby had her tongue out. i started to explain tongue ties. i had her stick out her tongue, she has the heart-shaped tongue end. wouldn't you know it, so do i? dave (husband) does not. his is pointy, actually. very interesting. now i need to get my 21m old to stick out her tongue on command. ;)

i need to wrap my head around this. we have v teeth in both kids. ridged palate in lily & myself. heart-shaped tongue in me and lily, possibly aev. both kids had/have nursing lip issues. lily had trouble with Ls & Rs until very recently (she's almost 4).

i think the universe is giving me a gentle shove toward the CST in a neighboring town...