Tongue Tie

Tongue tie/Ankyloglossia is a condition in which the tongue experiences restrictions in movement; it is a birth anomaly. A person with tongue tie has a short lingual frenum/frenulum(the string of tissue that attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth) which restricts tongue movements, they usually can’t stick out their tongue.

A tongue tie can be anterior or posterior. The posterior tie is usually hidden and requires someone with experience to find unlike the anterior tie which is seen easily.

Tongue tie is commonly diagnosed in babies who experience difficulty in breast feeding; because their tongue can’t latch onto the mother’s breast, they find it difficult to suck. Tongue tie could be mild, moderate or severe. When it is mild, it may go unnoticed.

Some effects of Tongue tie include:

• Difficulty in feeding: this can be seen in babies with tongue tie during breast feeding or in those who can’t form a good seal on the teat of their feeding bottle. Older children may have difficulty with licking ice cream and eating as the tongue plays an important role in moving food around the mouth for chewing and swallowing.
• Speech problems: people with Tongue tie find it difficult to pronounce some sounds thereby making them sound differently. Some of these people have low self esteem as a result of the way they sound. 
• Poor Oral hygiene: the tongue plays an important role in removing food particles from the teeth. Those with tongue tie are not able to sweep their teeth with their tongue and this increases the risk of developing tooth decay.