The child can not reach the lower lip with the tongue. The tongue is usually also shortened, thickened and at the tip can have a central cleft. In extremely rare cases, it can be spliced with the bottom of the oral cavity. In the article "A short frenum of the tongue in a child" you will find a lot of interesting and useful information for yourself.
Prevalence
A short frenum of the tongue is three times more common in boys than in girls. Up to 50% of patients with ankyloglossia have close relatives with the same pathology. The majority of children are otherwise relatively healthy, but in some, it can be one of the manifestations of the syndrome of multiple congenital malformations. The prevalence of ankyloglossia is approximately 1: 1000. The success of breastfeeding is largely determined by the fact that the child massages the tongue of the mother's nipple, stimulating the release of milk. Some babies with a short tongue bridle bite the nipple instead. This causes pain to the mother and does not stimulate lactation. Such children quickly get tired at feeding and fall asleep. However, not being full, they wake up early, demanding attachment to the chest. Some people eat almost continuously, tired at the same time and tired their mother.
Artificial feeding
In the past, a bridle in children with ankyloglossia was trimmed by a midwife at birth, since it was already known at that time that it interfered with breastfeeding. Feeding from the bottle often turns out to be for children with ankyloglossia, since they can bite the nipple. Therefore, some infants with a given pathology are currently being transferred from breast to artificial feeding.
Solid food
In children with ankyloglossia, which can normally eat naturally or artificially, there are often problems with eating solid foods. They need to put food on the back of the tongue so that they can swallow it.
Other restrictions
Some children with a short frenulum can not completely clean the oral cavity. Solid food particles, such as rice grains, can get stuck under the tongue. With ankyloglossia, it is also impossible to lick your lips to lick ice cream and put out your tongue. It is believed that ankyloglossia is not accompanied by a delay in the development of speech skills. However, due to the limitation of language mobility, a child is often unable to correctly pronounce certain sounds.
Correction of speech problems
Children with ankyloglossia may have problems with the pronunciation of the letters "d", "l", "n" and "t". Often parents bring them to a speech therapist at the age of more than four years, and it is difficult for them to learn how to pronounce sounds correctly even after the operation to cut the bridle. Therefore, late surgical correction with ankyloglossia is ineffective. Only surgery before the development of speech can prevent speech problems. In the past, midwives broke a shortened bridle with a pointed nail. Nowadays, treatment depends on the child's age, degree of severity of pathology, and on the presence of a split tip of the tongue. It is necessary to make sure that the bridle is not too short or thick. Surgical methods of correction of ankyloglossia are relatively painless.
Early correction
Currently, children up to the age of 9 months of age, the short frenulum of the tongue is neatly dissected with scissors under local anesthesia. After the operation, the baby is put to the chest or given to drink from a bottle. Usually he immediately stops screaming. In this case, there is practically no bleeding.
Late correction
Children older than nine months, who already have teeth or a bridle thickened, are dissected transversely under general anesthesia. To prevent bleeding, an electric scissor or an electrocoagulator is used. Both methods of surgical correction of ankyloglossia are quite simple, and the wound at the bottom of the oral cavity usually heals within 24 hours. Feeding most babies with ankyloglossia after its elimination is improving. Dissection of the bridle brings an immediate effect to babies who are breastfed who after the operation suck better and, accordingly, begin to receive the required amount of milk. After the operation, the child can stick out his tongue and lick his lips. In most children, the appetite improves after the operation. However, some of them, having adapted to eat in a certain way while limiting the mobility of the language, may not feel improvements. The speech of the child after surgical correction also improves, but this may take some time. With the late dissection of the tongue bridle, the child is forced to re-learn the correct pronunciation of sounds.