Ankyloglossia
Wikipedia Definition:
Ankyloglossia- (tongue tie) congenital oral anomaly which may decrease mobility of the tongue tip and is caused by an unusually short, thick lingual frenulum, a membrane connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth.
From
http://members.tripod.com/~Caroline_Bowen/tonguetie.html
Bowen, C. (2000). Tongue-tie, ankyloglossia or short fraenum. Retrieved from http://www.speech-language-therapy.com/tonguetie.html
Think about how many jobs your tongue has . . . It not only helps you speak and eat, it helps you to clean your mouth, clean left-overs from your teeth, moisten your lips, and even make funny faces. With Ankyloglossia, or tongue tie, your tongue movement is hindered by the shorter lingual frenulum on the underside of your tongue. You won’t ever see someone with ankyloglossia sticking his or her tongue out at you because they cannot stick their tongue out further than their bottom teeth. Young children with tongue tie will often experience it tearing or ripping, therefore curing it naturally.
Tongue tie effects all of the following: Speech development, dental health, periodontic health, oral hygiene, eating and digestion, sexual function, appearance, oral play, and self esteem.
There is a tongue-tie surgery called lingual frenectomy. However, it is not an easy procedure and is therefore not recommended unless it can be very well justified
Ankyloglossia Treatment
In former times, babies born with ankyloglossia had it severed by one of the nurses’ sharpened fingernails. Now, it is performed by an oral or plastic surgeon. Doctors or speech pathologists do not encourage frenulectomies, the surgery for ankyloglossia, unless the patient ’s speech is significantly impaired. Most sounds can still be pronounced with this abnormality. When young children have their frenulum snipped, there is no need for anesthesia. However, when the procedure is done on adults, there is some minor anesthesia used. The procedure is short and simple, but still not recommended, in the majority of cases.
See
http://www.asha.org/publications/leader/archives/2005/051227/f051227a.html
for more information.
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