Unfortunately, the so-called ankyloglossia, or short frenulum of the tongue, is not so rare in children. This is a congenital defect, consisting in the fact that the fabric of the connection of the tongue of the child with the linal frenulum is too short. Because of this, the movements that the tongue can make are limited, and speech suffers as a result. Sometimes the baby cannot speak at all if the situation is completely deplorable.
A short frenulum of the tongue in children does not appear out of nowhere. This defect is inherited, and if the baby was born with such a problem, it means that one of the next of kin had exactly the same defect. Other reasons may be the use of drugs by the mother during pregnancy and congenital deformity of the face and mouth (this is already caused by changes at the chromosomal level). Fortunately, this is only a physical handicap, not in any way related to the development of the baby and does not cause any other he alth problems.
It must be said that a short frenulum of the tongue in children does not always require surgical intervention. It can be stretched with the help of classes with a speech therapist. However, leaving the problem unattendednot worth it, because this disease can cause a number of unpleasant consequences.
Firstly, the child may have difficulty eating even in infancy: due to too short a bridle, he will not be able to tightly adjoin the mother's breast. Perhaps, in this case, you will even have to resort to artificial nutrition. Well, at an older age, a child will not be able to clean his teeth from food with his tongue, play wind instruments.
Secondly, growing up, the baby will not be able to pronounce quite a lot of letters (n, s, l, s, t, d), since the tip of the tongue is simply not able to rise to the level necessary for pronunciation. Such speech defects can cause ridicule from peers and misunderstanding of the child's speech.
Thirdly, from here it is quite logical that insufficiently high self-esteem and difficulties with adaptation in society develop, which will affect the whole subsequent life of the baby. So it is simply impossible to launch this problem and leave it without a solution.
A short frenulum of the tongue in children is recognized very quickly and simply: during a medical examination of the oral cavity. The length, the degree of adjoining to the tip of the tongue are checked, and at an older age - also the movements of the tongue, its shape.
If the problem did not resolve itself as you grow up and speech therapy classes, it is imperative to solve it surgically. Frenuloplasty, the price of which varies somewhat in different clinics, will help to correct the child’s self-esteem and speech, will provide an opportunity to integrate normally into the publicWednesday. It is done after two years (up to a year, even plastic is not needed - just press the bridle).
The frenulum of the tongue is cut with a laser or with a standard surgical intervention. Painkillers are usually not used. After the procedure, you need to rinse your mouth with an antiseptic solution and infusion of medicinal herbs. Everything heals within a week. Soon after the operation, the child easily licks his lips, sticks out his tongue. He improves his appetite and speech. Perhaps this will not happen immediately, and you just need to wait. An adult child may need to be retrained to make certain sounds.
