Tongue-tie (also called ankyloglossia) is a condition that restricts a child’s range of tongue motion. Ankyloglossia affects roughly 11% of newborns. In cases of tongue-tie, the child’s lingual frenulum is unusually short, thick, or tight. That lingual frenulum connects the bottom of the child’s tongue and the floor of the child’s mouth. Most of the time, that lingual frenulum detaches before the fetus is born, but in a minority of cases, the child is born with an intact lingual frenulum. What causes tongue tie? Specific causes and risk factors for the development of tongue-tie are not well understood, but tongue-tie is statistically more common in boys than in infant girls.
Tongue tie is not a significant medical issue except if it interferes with your child’s growth, health, or development. In some cases, a tongue tie may affect your child’s ability to breastfeed, learn to speak, or to maintain good oral hygiene. To determine if your child’s tongue tie is a significant enough medical issue for your child to warrant treatment, discuss your child’s experience with a tongue tie center near you.
Tongue-tie treatment options
There are several surgical and non-surgical techniques to treat tongue tie in young children. Each of these treatment options can be performed at any age, but treatment — where necessary — should be performed at the youngest age possible to aid the infant’s growth and development.
Non-surgical procedures
Non-surgical treatment of tongue-tie does not have the goal of severing the lingual frenulum. Rather, the non-surgical techniques focus on managing the effects of tongue-tie on your child’s ability to breastfeed, eat, speak, etc. Two examples of those non-surgical approaches are: lactation training and interventions to help the infant latch to the breast; and speech therapy to support speech development.
Surgical procedures
Frenotomy and Frenulectomy
Frenotomy and frenulectomy procedures involve the cutting of the infant’s lingual frenulum. While the infant’s tongue is held toward the roof of his mouth to hold the lingual frenulum taut, a single cut is made through the tissue. No local anesthesia is administered or required. Complications of the procedure are rare and, in unlikely occasions, consist of excessive bleeding.
Frenuloplasty
A frenuloplasty is a more invasive surgical treatment option than a frenotomy or frenulectomy. In a frenuloplasty, the infant’s tissues or grafted tissues are rearranged after an incision is made to free up and lengthen the child’s anterior tongue. Because a more invasive technique, a frenuloplasty is generally performed on older children and under general anesthesia.
Laser Frenectomy
Laser surgery is a quicker and less invasive surgical approach for severing the child’s lingual frenulum. Laser frenectomies are so quick, simple, and non-invasive that parents are even able to remain with their child during the procedure. Bleeding is rare and recovery is almost instantaneous. Almost immediately afterwards, the infant can usually begin feeding successfully.
If you believe or are concerned that your child may have been born with a tongue-tie, you should consult with a tongue tie center in Tampa as soon as possible for confirmation and advice about whether that tongue-tie may affect your child’s health or development. That’s not always the case, but confirmation one way or the other is a good idea — even if only to set your mind at ease.
If you receive advice that the tongue-tie may present problems and treatment is recommended to ease breastfeeding, speech development, and oral hygiene, non-surgical and surgical options exist to resolve the issue quickly and at a very young age. Don’t hesitate to contact a tongue-tie center near you about those treatment options at any time.