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Tongue tie (tongue tied )

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

  • a review has been undertaken to review the presenting features of tongue-tie in childhood and indications for frenulotomy, drawing conclusions from a retrospective study of patients encountered in paediatric surgical practice and from the literature
  • the review concluded that there is no place for division of tongue-tie without anaesthesia in the newborn. Speech difficulties related to tongue-tie are over-rated and mechanical problems are underestimated  
    • the indications for frenulotomy include articulation difficulties confirmed by a speech pathologist, mechanical limitations such as inability to lick the lips, to perform internal oral toilet or play a wind instrument
    • there may be rare instances in infancy where problems with feeding and suction can be helped by frenulotomy but evidence for this is anecdotal
    • operation requires general anaesthesia except in older, co-operative teenagers in whom local anaesthetic is appropriate

Reference:

  1. J Paediatr Child Health. 1995 Aug;31(4):276-8

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