Ankyloglossia Back to Basics

  

  K. Vellatha , MythiliSwaminathan , S. Rajasekar

   DOI : https://doi.org/

 Abstract

The advent of the new century is marked by newer diagnostic techniques and treatment modalities that facilitate easier and quicker diagnosis, thereby improving patient care and treatment. The tongue is an accessory organ of importance in deglutition, mastication, and speech. It also exerts influence on dental occlusion, growth, and facial form. Ankyloglossia, commonly known as tongue tie, results from the frenulum (the membrane under the tongue) extending further than usual towards the tip of the tongue. In this condition, the frenum is short, thick, and fibrosed. The tongue tie interferes with tongue function, causing decreased tongue mobility, poor breastfeeding in infants, difficulty in eating/drinking, speech disorders such as stuttering, lisping, and retardation in speech, malocclusion, and gingival recession. To achieve release of ankyloglossia, several surgical procedures such as frenectomy and frenotomy have been used. Presented here is a case report of ankyloglossia and its surgical management in a 24-year-old male patient.

 Keywords

Tongue-tie, Frenulum, Tongue Function, Frenectomy.

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