A short bridle in a child (ankyloglossia) is a malformation in the development of the oral cavity. This pathology causes difficulties in the feeding process. This is due to the limited mobility of the tongue. In the presence of this defect, children are not able to reach their lower lip. At the same time, the language itself looks thickened. In some cases, it has a cleft at the tip. In medical practice, there are also cases of complete fusion of the tongue with the bottom of the oral cavity (absence of the bridle). However, this is extremely rare.
If the baby has a short bridle of the tongue, then when feeding it usually gets tired quickly and falls asleep. However, due to unsaturation it often wakes up. Due to the short frenum of the tongue, the newborn cannot take the mother’s nipple correctly. This leads to pain during lactation, the formation of cracks in the nipples. Such children are recommended to be transferred to artificial feeding. A short bridle of the tongue further provokes difficulties in swallowing food, as well as the pronunciation of individual sounds.
As practice shows, this pathology is detected in approximately one child for every thousand. More often a short frenum of the tongue is observed in boys than in girls. This violation also has a hereditary character. According to research results, approximately half of children with this defect have the same relatives.
The treatment is usually surgical. During the operation, the frenulum under the tongue is dissected. Such an intervention is recommended until the age of nine months. When performing an operation in a later period, the child will have serious difficulties. Mostly, he will need to learn to pronounce individual sounds correctly again.
The operation for very young children is carried out using local anesthesia. Using special scissors, a bridle is cut. After the baby is given a drink or applied to the chest.
For children who have a thickening of the frenulum, or who have teeth, surgical correction is performed under general anesthesia.
As a rule, the operation is not difficult. Healing of the resulting small wound occurs within no more than a day.
How to determine if the child has a normal bridle length?
It should be noted that indeed, the connecting membrane may have different lengths.
If the baby can stick out a tongue, the tip of which does not bifurcate and does not take the form of two semicircular petals, slap the tongue or lick the saucer, then, most likely, there will be no obstacles for setting individual sounds.
In a child of five years, the normal length of the hyoid frenum should be at least eight millimeters.
The consequences of ankyloglossia
The short hyoid membrane causes difficulties when moving the tongue, in particular, when lifting it to the upper palate. In this regard, there is a disorder in the pronunciation of such sounds as w, h, p, u, p, w.
In addition, a shift in the center of the language, its low mobility and asymmetric development are often observed. This, in turn, creates obstacles in the formation of the correct articulatory position of individual sounds.
Short hyoid membrane is often the cause of dyspepsia (clarity and speech intelligibility).
In many cases, the defect affects the development of the lower jaw of the child. This can be manifested by deviation or exposure of teeth.
The likelihood of developing gingivitis or periodontitis is high. If you find a short hyoid membrane, you should consult with an orthodontist.
In addition to surgical correction, stretching is also used. This method is advisable when the shortening of the frenum is negligible.