All of us have a membrane located under the tongue that joins it to the floor of the mouth and allows it to move. Generally, the growth of this frenulum is consistent with that of the tongue, but this may not be the case, the frenulum being short. In this case, many mothers and fathers wonder What happens if my child has a frenulum of the tongue that is too short?.
As we have said, until approximately the first year of life, the frenulum of the tongue does not cause problems when articulating sounds or sucking breast milk. However, from this age, its length may be inconvenient.
We can make sure that our little one has the short lingual frenulum (or hookworm) if we see that it is difficult for him to push the lingual apex out of the teeth or if when he succeeds, the tongue curves.
The short frenulum has always been a subject full of controversy, since it has gone through several stages in which as soon as performing a frenectomy, or cutting of the lingual frenulum, was something routine as it stopped practicing (in this case, it was suspended breastfeeding)
Luckily, society's awareness of the advantages of breastfeeding over other types of breastfeeding was a review of the issue of childhood ankyloglossia, with more concern for professionals to find solutions to this problem.
Lingual frenulum: what is it for?
The fact that the language has adequate mobility has an impact not only on the articulation of most phonemes, but also on vital importance for breastfeeding to be something pleasant for both mother and baby.
If the baby does not have a good lingual coordination or can not perform movements of extension, elevation, lateralization or peristalsis correctly (that is, moving the tongue in an undulating way to transport the milk inside the mouth), he will have serious problems to achieve Good grip on the chest, preventing me from sucking milk properly.
It can also even damage the mother's nipple because of the compensatory suction movements it makes to prevent the nipple from escaping, such as compressing the nipple with the lower gum.
Consequences of short lingual frenulum for mothers
Generally, the fact that the baby has a too short lingual frenulum will have consequences for both the mother and the baby.
If a mother breastfeeds her child, and he has ankyloglossia, he will have an enormous sensation of pain during the time of breastfeeding, as cracks can occur due to friction and excessive pressure inside the baby's mouth. In addition, these cracks can favor bacterial infections caused by poor drainage of the breast ducts. The conclusion that the mother draws from a situation is that breastfeeding is a painful and unpleasant experience.
There may also be two completely contrary situations. On the one hand, cases of hypogalactia can occur, in which even due to the baby's ankyloglossia, the amount of milk produced is insufficient. But the totally opposite situation can occur, in which to compensate for the problem, the mother can suffer constant engorgements.
In addition, babies who have the lingual frenulum too short have a hard time leaving the breast on their own, becoming irritable and causing the mother to look tired and frustrated, being able to abandon breastfeeding early.
On the contrary, it may happen that mothers do not feel any pain during breastfeeding, but feel that although the child sucks, he constantly demands more and does not gain enough weight, even thinking that his milk is not of quality or They produce little, when in reality the problem is that the suction is not entirely effective.
Consequences of short lingual frenulum in babies
For babies, the short-term consequences of having a short frenulum is that it negatively affects breastfeeding; for example, in the case that the mother produces milk excessively, babies will find it more difficult to digest, causing green and smelly stools, regurgitation and intestinal discomfort (eg colic).
But in the medium and long term, hookworm can also cause other problems. For example, problems in lingual mobility have a negative influence on the correct development of the maxillofacial structure (such as the palate or teeth), which can cause them to breathe through the mouth continuously.
More striking are the problems in the articulation of the different phonemes, since the existence of a too short lingual frenulum will lead to dysglossias that will have an impact on the correct pronunciation of the sounds, one of the most common being rotationalism.
How is ankyloglossia corrected?
To avoid all these problems that we have indicated previously, a surgical procedure is used by which the lingual frenulum is sectioned. This simple technique is called frenectomy.
However, phrenotomy is not the only solution to these types of problems, since whether it is performed in an infant or in an older child, specific exercises of suction or articulation of phonemes should be carried out to correct bad habits.
This, by way of summary, is more or less what what happens if your child has too short a frenulum of the tongue; Not only does it influence the articulatory issue, as is generally believed, but it also influences something as natural and precious as breastfeeding.
