Ankyloglossia

Ankyloglossia or tongue-tie is the result of a short, tight, lingual frenulum causing difficulty in speech articulation due to limitation in tongue movement. In this article, we have reported a 24-year-old male with tongue-tie who complained of difficulty in speech following which he underwent frenectomy procedure under local anesthesia without any complications. Finally, he was given speech therapy sessions.

Signs and symptoms of tongue-tie include Difficulty lifting the tongue to the upper teeth or moving the tongue from side to side, Trouble sticking out the tongue past the lower front teeth, a tongue that appears notched or heart shaped when stuck out

Typically, the lingual frenulum separates before birth, allowing the tongue free range of motion. With tongue-tie, the lingual frenulum remains attached to the bottom of the tongue. Why this happens is largely unknown, although some cases of tongue-tie have been associated with certain genetic factors.

Statistics: The reported prevalence varies from <1 percent to 10.7 percent. Most series identify an increased frequency in boys with a male to female ratio of 1.5:1 to 2.6:1. 60% of otolaryngologists and 50% of speech pathologists answered that ankyloglossia is sometimes associated with speech difficulties compared to only 23% of pediatricians; 67% of otolaryngologists compared with 21% of pediatricians answered that ankyloglossia is sometimes associated with social and mechanical difficulties. Limitations of this study include a reduced sample size due to unreturned or incomplete surveys.