[DYSPHAGIA] Question - OT?

[teapot@teapot.mv.com (Nisa)]

Sorry in advance if this question is OT - I posted this question on
the ASHA website, but haven't gotten any replies so I'm hoping someone
here might know the answer.  It's slightly related to swallowing, but
probably more tangential than some of you would like.

Shortly after my daughter (a preemie) was born, I noticed that her
upper labial frenum was attached quite low (to the bottom of her gums)
and somewhat thicker than I thought it should have been.  After she
came home, I brought it to the attention of her ped. who said it was
normal.  I tried to tell myself that she'd 'outgrow' it (duh, I know)
and I didn't need to worry about because I should just have been happy
that she was alive and well.  Of course she hasn't outgrown it and the
feeling that something wasn't 'right' never quite left me.  Now that
she has all but her last 4 molars, she has a nice diastema between her
upper frontal incisors.  We never got the hang of breastfeeding
because she just never learned to latch on - something I attributed to
her being a preemie, but now that I have thought about it more, the
more I think that her frenum interfered with it because she couldn't
have possibly been able to get a good lip seal.  She had problems
early on with coordinating the suck-swallow-breathe pattern so she
often had apnea and bradys while feeding from a bottle, but the
difficulty with lip seal couldn't have had a part in that, could it?
Her smile is also a little goofy too because the upper lip bulges out
slightly when she gives big smiles.

I'm not looking to point fingers of blame at her ped., the lactation
consultant, or even myself though I feel that I should have known
better given my profession.  I just want to know if my instincts were
right and now that she's 21 months old, what can and should be done
about it?  Anyone?  Should I consult a dentist?

Nisa


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