Tongue Tie Correction

Tongue Tie – also known as ‘Ankyloglossia’ or ‘anchored tongue’ – is a common but often overlooked condition. It is seen at birth and causes a wide range of difficulties that affect the sufferer in different ways. Diagnosis and assessment are essential before taking any remedial action. In the past, there was little besides observation or anecdotal evidence to guide us towards a decision about whether to intervene. Now, both diagnosis and assessment of a tongue tie can be made by informed and qualified professionals.

Tongue tie can be defined as a structural abnormality of the lingual frenum.  When the frenum is normal, it is elastic and does not interfere with the movements of the tongue in sucking, eating, clearing food off the teeth in preparation for swallowing and, of course, in speech. When it is short, thick, tight or broad it has an adverse effect on oromuscular function, feeding and speech. It can also cause problems when it extends from the margin of the tongue and across the floor of the mouth to finish at the base of the teeth.

Diagnosis

In making a diagnosis of tongue tie, the two traditional criteria have been acute malnourishment or misarticulation of tongue tip sounds such as ‘t’, ‘d’, and ‘n’.

However, there are several other factors which can be attributed to the limitations of lingual ability that accompany a tongue tie and these should be considered in any assessment of whether a tongue tie exists and whether surgical intervention is warranted. The other factors include:

• Appearance of the tongue and its movements.
• Maternal factors including pain, nipple injury, blocked ducts or mastitis during breastfeeding.
• Infant factors including low weight, vomiting and gagging.
• Lack of lingual mobility which affects speed and accuracy of tongue movements.
• Eating difficulties caused by poor coordination of oral musculature.
• Dribbling – which is prolonged.
• Dental problems which are severe and wide ranging.
• Speech which is unclear due to several aspects, especially coordination.