Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a birth defect in which the tissue
that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth (lingual frenulum) is
too short. This condition may interfere with a child's eating, speech
development, and social interaction.
Many babies with tongue-tie do not have symptoms. The lingual
frenulum may stretch as the child grows or adapts to the tongue restriction.
But some children with tongue-tie have:
- Difficulty latching on to the mother's breast
and sucking. (Bottle-fed babies usually do not have feeding problems, because it is easy to get milk from the nipple of a bottle.)
- Speech
problems because the tip of the tongue cannot rise high enough to make
(articulate) some sounds clearly, such as t, d, z, s, th, n, and
l.
- Personal or social problems related to the restricted tongue
movement. The restricted tongue can make it difficult for a child to play a
wind instrument or to clean food off the teeth with the tongue. A child with
tongue-tie may be ridiculed by his or her peers.
Many children with tongue-tie adapt to the tongue restriction or
their lingual frenulum stretches as they grow. Surgery may be needed if a child
has a lot of problems caused by the tongue restriction.