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Tongue-Tie - Topic Overview

What is tongue-tie?

Tongue-tie (ankyloglossia) is a problem that occurs at birth. It happens when the tissue that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth (lingual frenulum) is too short. This can limit the movement of the tongue.

See a picture of tongue-tie .

What causes tongue-tie?

The cause of tongue-tie isn't always known. It can run in families or may occur in babies who have other problems that affect the mouth or face, such as cleft palate.

What are the symptoms?

Many babies with tongue-tie don't have symptoms. The tissue either stretches as the child grows, or the child adapts to the tongue restriction. But some children with tongue-tie have:

Trouble latching on to the mother's breast and sucking. This occurs because the tongue can't move milk from the milk glands of the breast to the nipple. Bottle-fed babies usually don't have feeding problems, because it is easy to get milk from the nipple of a bottle.
Gaps or spaces between the front lower teeth.
Speech problems, because the tip of the tongue cannot rise high enough to make some sounds clearly, such as t, d, z, s, th, n, and l.
Personal or social problems related to the restricted tongue movement, such as problems cleaning food off the teeth with the tongue. A child with tongue-tie may be made fun of by peers.

How is tongue-tie diagnosed?

Your doctor will do a physical exam of your child's mouth and ask about his or her symptoms. In an older child or adult, the doctor may check the shape and movements of the tongue.

How is it treated?

Most children with tongue-tie don't need treatment. If your child has tongue-tie, you may choose to wait and see if his or her lingual frenulum stretches on its own.

While you wait and see, you can also:

Talk to a lactation consultant if you are having breast-feeding problems.
Consult a speech therapist if your child is having speech problems.

If your child's problems with breast-feeding are severe, medical treatment may be done. In children younger than 1, a procedure to clip the lingual frenulum (frenotomy) is usually all that is needed. In older children, if speech problems are very bad or are causing personal or social problems, surgery that clips the lingual frenulum and closes the wound with stitches (frenuloplasty) may be done.

Children who have either procedure will need to do tongue exercises to improve tongue movement. Children who have not had surgery may also be taught tongue exercises if they have mild problems with tongue-tie.

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: February 02, 2011

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.