Tongue tie revision for preemie - seeking Kaiser ENT or Head and Neck doctor
Hi,
We recently brought our son home from the Kaiser NICU. He was born in mid-December (I was induced) at 35 weeks 3 days and weighed 4 pounds 2 ounces. He takes a bottle well, but we are coping with latch issues and he tires easily when breastfeeding. After speaking with a lactation consultant who mentioned that he likely has a mild form of tongue tie, I am convinced that we should take him to have this looked at and perhaps revised. Does anyone have any leads regarding decent pediatric dentists or ENTs who take Kaiser insurance? And would we need a referral from his pediatrician? We are willing to travel, if need be... I was told there may be a practitioner in Santa Rosa (Kaiser) who performs tongue tie revisions. I would love to hear from those who have recent experience with this, since the procedure is apparently no longer done at the Oakland facility. :-(
Thank you so much,
Larissa
Parent Replies
Sorry to hear you're having this problem with your baby. My son (now 9) was diagnosed with this as well and we had the procedure done in Oakland when he was an infant, and I remember feeling very scared. You didn't say if the lactation consultant was within Kaiser, or outside. Either way, really, I would want to stay in Kaiser for this, so get an appointment with any pediatrician (first available), to get the second opinion and referral if appropriate. I would NOT go to a pediatric dentist with my infant. If Kaiser thinks it should be done, you will get a referral to a Kaiser ENT.
Hi, we had this procedure done in early August of 2017 by a pediatric dentist Dr Yazdi, who was referred to us by a Kaiser lactation consultant. Dr Yazdi's office is in Castro Valley, and he specializes in tongue tie procedures and has lots of reviews on Yelp. Our Kaiser pediatrician told us that they don't do tongue tie revisions.
Dr. Yazdi in Castro Valley is the expert in the Bay Area. He treated our daughter for tongue and lip tie at 2 weeks old. I heard of people who went elsewhere and had to repeat the procedure because it was not done right. He uses laser so less bleeding.
Make sure to do the aftercare exercises!
I had this done for my son in 2012 at Kaiser Pinole. Not sure if the doctor who did it is still there (and sorry, can't remember her name). Our breastfeeding issues were different (low milk supply--thought perhaps baby could stimulate production more with a more robust suckle) and clipping the tongue tie didn't end up helping much, but neither was it a big deal (quick and easy).