Correcting tongue tie

 

Tongue tie is a relatively general congenital oral anomaly that is known to affect about 5 per cent of newborns and arises because of  genetic mutation. The only technique of correcting this abnormality is surgery in order to assure that the child’s speech is not affected.

What is tongue tie?

Tongue tie, medically called ‘ankyloglossia’, is a birth disorder which considerably decreases the movement of the tip of the tongue. When a baby is born with the birth Fault a short, thick membrane connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth. There are many levels of ankyloglossia which change from minor cases to complete tongue tie, where the tongue is heavily attached to the floor of the mouth.

Sachin Grover, whose baby was diagnosed with a tongue tie, tells “I got to know that my kid had tongue tie a day after she was born. As soon as she crossed 4 months we got it operated. The surgery was easy but the anesthesia, hospital environment and not having sufficient food did bother my child. Thankfully, children heal fast. In just 3 days, the baby had recovered totally and got back to her normal self.”

Diagnosis and treatment

Most kids are diagnosed of tongue-tie in the very first medical examination that is done at birth. If the degree of tongue tie is grave then feeding can become a trouble and the surgery has to be done not later than 4  months as the child’s appetite improves drastically after that. But if the degree is very Intense then it can be done till around a year.

However, if a baby is able to bring out his/her tongue below the lower lip, then a tongue tie operation can be provided a miss. It is said that if the kid can take out his tongue and lick an ice cream then an operation is not called for. But it is suggestible that parents do not delay the surgery beyond 2  years or so since most children learn to pronounce the whole letter by then. If the operation is delayed and the child cannot pronounce rightly , the child will need a few sessions with a speech therapist. However, the trouble is not such that it cannot overcome.

Challenges during the operation

The surgery is a minor one and needs hospitalization only for a couple of hours. The tricky part is that the baby’s stitches should not a bleed. The child is sent house once he/she regains consciousness and is able to have some food without a throwing up. It is good to get the surgery done before the child has cut his/her teeth. If the kid has teeth, the child could just end up biting the newly-done sensitive stitches. In a week’s time the parent can be sure of it being healed totally.

Social implications If a tongue tie goes uncorrected till 5 years or so, possibilities are that the child will not speak clearly and may be laughed at in school. If this is not attended to, he/she may begin questioning ‘why me’ and as a result stop socializing and start withdrawing from people and improve a low self-esteem, which can later on direct to a less confident individual.

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