Tongue is connected to the floor of the mouth by a band or tissue called frenulum. It is sometimes short, sometimes long, but ususally serves the purpose – moving your tongue while talking, eating or in the case of babies, breastfeeding.
If the frenulum is unusually short or tight, it restricts the movement of tongue; its called a tongue tie or ankyloglossia. In the case of babies, it can cause feeding difficulties and therefore, cranky and underweight babies.
This calls for a specialist intervention.
Tongue-tie is a congenital condition and affects about 10 % of babies worldwide.
The symptoms to look out for:
- Constant hunger
- Difficulty latching when breast-feeding
- Trouble gaining weight
- The breastfeeding mother can also experience symptoms like pain during nursing and cracked/sore nipples.
- As the child grows older, he/she might experience speech difficulties, mouth breathing and difficulty during swallowing.
Treatment:
It’s possible for the tongue tie to resolve on its own. In case it doesn’t, surgery may be recommended depending on the extent of the problem.
A simple procedure called a frenotomy can be performed using laser in your dentists’ office. The procedure causes minimal discomfort in infants; as for older children and adults, it is performed under local anesthesia and pain medication is prescribed to be used after the procedure.
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