home Audience 6 Short frenulum in a baby. Trimming the short frenulum of a child's tongue. Short frenulum of the tongue: surgery

Short frenulum in a baby. Trimming the short frenulum of a child's tongue. Short frenulum of the tongue: surgery

– a shortened hyoid ligament that prevents the full range of movements of the tongue in the oral cavity. A short frenulum of the tongue in a child disrupts the sucking function, interferes with the formation of correct sound pronunciation, contributes to the displacement of the dentition, the formation of malocclusion, gingivitis, periodontitis, etc. A short frenulum of the tongue in a child is detected during a visual examination of the oral cavity. There are two possible ways to treat a short frenulum of the tongue in a child - conservative (stretching the ligament through articulation exercises) and surgical (frenulotomy).

There are three frenulums in the oral cavity: the hyoid frenulum, the frenulum of the upper lip and the frenulum of the lower lip. The frenulum of the tongue is a fold of mucous membrane that extends approximately from the middle of the lower surface of the tongue and is attached to the floor of the oral cavity at a distance of 0.5-0.8 cm from the neck of the anterior incisors. A normal frenulum of the tongue looks like a thin, extensible cord that does not hinder the movement of the tongue.

In some children, the frenulum is attached closer to the upper third of the tongue or even to its very tip, which can limit the movement of the tongue to varying degrees: from insufficient activity to almost complete immobility. In a child aged 5 years, the length of the frenulum in the stretched state should be at least 8 mm. If a child's frenulum is of shorter length, insufficiently elastic, or abnormally attached, this condition is regarded as a short frenulum of the tongue.

Causes of a short frenulum of the tongue in a child

In almost half of the cases, a short frenulum of the tongue is inherited by the child from one of the parents. Non-hereditary cases of a shortened hyoid ligament may be associated with harmful effects on the embryo in the first trimester, during the formation of the dental system. Etiological factors include toxicosis of pregnancy, viral diseases of women, taking medications (salicylates, antibiotics, sulfonamides, etc.), stress, exposure to occupational hazards (working with paints, varnishes, chemical reagents), etc. It is believed that minor developmental anomalies are more common occur in children born to mothers over 35 years of age.

In general, the reasons for the formation of a short frenulum of the tongue in a child are not fully understood.

Classification of types of short frenulum of the tongue in children

In clinical practice, there are 5 types of short frenulums that limit the mobility of a child’s tongue:

a thin, transparent shortened frenulum that limits the mobility of the tongue;
a thin, translucent shortened frenulum, attached with its anterior edge close to the tip of the tongue, due to which, when it rises upward, the tip bifurcates in the shape of a “heart”;
a short frenulum of the tongue in the form of a thick, powerful, opaque cord attached close to the tip of the tongue. The mobility of the tongue is limited; when extended, its tip is tucked in, the back rises in a slide;
a short dense cord of the frenulum is fused with the muscles of the tongue. Occurs in children with congenital cleft lip and palate;
the cord of the frenulum practically does not stand out; its fibers intertwine with the muscles of the tongue, sharply limiting the mobility of the latter.

Symptoms of a short frenulum of the tongue in children

Ankyloglossia in children can cause problems with feeding, development of speech function, and development of the dental system. The severity of functional disorders in a child with a short frenulum of the tongue depends on the length and elasticity of the ligament, the place of its attachment, the length and flexibility of the free edge of the tongue.

Difficulties with breastfeeding occur in a quarter of children with a short frenulum of the tongue. In this case, the baby cannot properly latch onto the breast with his mouth, which is why the nipple latch constantly worsens or repeatedly “loses” the breast during feeding. During sucking, characteristic sounds of clicking (clicking) of the tongue appear, restless behavior, and rapid fatigue are noted. At the same time, during one feeding, the baby sucks out a volume of milk that is insufficient for saturation. The consequence of insufficient nutrition is poor weight gain, and in some cases, malnutrition.

Often mothers note that a child with a short frenulum uses his lips to suck, bites or chews the breast with his gums, compensating for the incorrect position of the tongue and trying to increase pressure on the breast. If the child exerts a lot of tension, due to muscle fatigue, he may experience jaw tremors.

The process of feeding a child with a short frenulum of the tongue becomes tiring for mother and baby, and may be accompanied by pain due to injury and cracks in the nipple. Ineffective sucking leads to lactation problems (hypogalactia) because it does not stimulate milk production. In this regard, a child with a short frenulum of the tongue is often transferred to bottle feeding or artificial feeding.

In some cases, even with a short frenulum of the tongue, the baby sucks correctly and receives a sufficient amount of milk. In such children, an anatomical feature in the form of ankyloglossia may appear at an older age, during the period of formation of speech function. A short frenulum of the tongue in a child prevents the correct articulation of sonors ([p], ([p´], [l], [l´]), plucking ([w], [z], [h], [sch]) and others sounds of upper articulation ([t], [t"], [d], [d"]). In speech therapy, this condition is regarded as mechanical dyslalia. With a polymorphic disorder of sound pronunciation, the child’s speech becomes illegible and incomprehensible to others.

A short frenulum of the tongue in a child can cause dental problems: open bite, prognathia, displacement of the dentition, the formation of a diastema between the lower front incisors, the development of gingivitis and periodontitis, exposure of the necks and the formation of dental hyperesthesia.

An older child and teenager with a short frenulum of the tongue may be bothered by a cosmetic defect (V-shaped tip of the tongue), constant tears of the frenulum, excessive salivation during speech, aerophagia, snoring and sleep apnea. This problem can leave a negative imprint on self-esteem and give rise to emotional and behavioral problems that require the intervention of a child psychologist.

Diagnosis and treatment of short frenulum of the tongue in children

Diagnosis and treatment of tongue frenulum pathology and its consequences can be carried out by various pediatric specialists: neonatologist, pediatrician, pediatric surgeon, pediatric dentist, pediatric orthodontist, pediatric otolaryngologist, speech therapist.

Often a short frenulum of the tongue in a child is detected when examining a newborn in the first days of life. At an older age, parents themselves may suspect shortening of the lingual frenulum based on the following signs: the child cannot lick his lips, reach the upper teeth with his tongue, stick the tip of his tongue out of the mouth, etc. Medical specialists sometimes use the E. Haselbaker test to assess the functionality of the lingual frenulum.

Absolute indications for surgical treatment of a short frenulum of the tongue are problems with feeding the child, displacement of the dentition and the formation of malocclusion. Violation of sound pronunciation in 90% of cases can be corrected by stretching the hyoid ligament as part of speech therapy sessions for the correction of dyslalia using special articulatory gymnastics exercises (“Horse”, “Mushroom”, “Tasty Jam”, “Painter”, “Accordion”, etc.). ), speech therapy massage. For malocclusion in a child caused by a short frenulum of the tongue, orthopedic treatment is indicated.

If a short frenulum interferes with normal feeding, it can be cut while the child is still in the hospital. The operation of cutting the frenulum (frenulotomy) at this age is completely painless and is performed without the use of anesthesia, since the frenulum itself does not contain nerve endings. To stop bleeding, the baby is immediately placed on the mother's chest. In children under 9 months of age, dissection of the short frenulum of the tongue is performed using scissors (electric scalpel, laser scalpel) under local application anesthesia.

At an older age, when the frenulum becomes thicker, plastic surgery of the frenulum of the tongue (frenuloplasty) may be required - dissection of the frenulum and relocation of its attachment site with sutures. After surgical correction of a short frenulum of the tongue, a child (preschooler, schoolchild) needs speech classes with a speech therapist to overcome stereotypical speech habits and develop correct speech skills; myogymnastics - to avoid scar formation.

Prognosis for short tongue frenulum in children

The prognosis for treatment of a short frenulum of the tongue in a child in most cases is good. Dissection of the frenulum in a newborn is accompanied by improved sucking, swallowing, breathing, and adequate weight gain. Early dissection of a child’s short frenulum of the tongue allows one to avoid problems with the baby’s development, bite formation, and speech.

It should be understood that plastic surgery of the short frenulum of the tongue performed on an older child cannot automatically lead to normalization of speech. To correct defects in sound pronunciation, a course of special speech therapy classes is required.

Conservative tactics for stretching the short frenulum of the tongue in a child require patience and systematic implementation of the recommended exercises. This method is most effective in children under 5 years of age.

It is important for parents to know about the existence of such a problem as abnormal development of the lingual frenulum. A short tongue frenulum in a child can cause a lot of trouble. How to determine pathology? To answer this question, you should first understand what this bridle is.

This term is usually used to refer to connective tissue, similar to a thin film, with which the tongue is attached to the lower palate. This film comes in various lengths and densities. A case where the length of this tissue is very short is called a pathological condition. A short membrane may be a congenital feature or a hereditary predisposition. A noteworthy fact is that this anomaly is less common in girls than in boys.

Where does the anomaly come from?

The length of the tongue film in children depends on many factors. Among the most common are the following:

unfavorable heredity;
penetration of infection into the mother’s body during pregnancy;
infection of the fetus from a sick mother;
getting abdominal injuries by a pregnant woman;
the birth of a baby in adulthood (about forty years and older);
bad environmental situation.

How dangerous is the pathology?

A tongue tie can cause a number of problems. Among them, the most important are the following.

Problem of infancy: difficulties with feeding an infant.
A later problem: difficulties in children's speech development.

In addition, the constraint of tongue movements, due to the short length of the frenulum, entails improper development of the teeth of the jaws, bite, and contributes to the occurrence of diseases of the oral cavity (for example, gingivitis, periodontitis).

There will also be such troubles: an increased amount of salivary fluid, the appearance of snoring during sleep, the development of interdental gaps in the front teeth of the lower row.

Difficulty feeding a newborn baby

Due to the low mobility of the tongue, the baby has difficulty feeding. After all, the tongue is of great importance when extracting milk from the breast. It helps the baby make sucking movements, which not only saturate the baby, but also stimulate good lactation in the mother. If the frenulum is short, the baby cannot suck well and has difficulty grasping the area around the nipple. Therefore, the baby quickly gets tired, malnourished, and loses weight. And a nursing woman may lose milk and develop painful cracks.

Undeveloped or poorly developed speech

When the baby masters speaking skills, he will encounter certain difficulties. A naughty tongue will cause some sounds to be pronounced incorrectly. This organ must take an active part in the articulatory activity of the speech apparatus. If he is practically immobilized, this will certainly affect the future speech of children. To solve speech problems, you will have to work with a speech therapist.

How do you know if the frenulum is short?

It is better to diagnose this problem as early as possible to avoid unnecessary consequences. In addition, it is in infancy that this procedure is performed with the least pain.

Usually, already in the maternity hospital, during a routine examination, the doctor must determine if the length of the lingual frenulum does not correspond to the norm. But the mother herself is able to understand that something is wrong with the baby’s tongue.

Breastfeeding is long and painful for both mother and baby. The baby is not able to latch onto the breast as expected, makes numerous attempts and throws the nipple, bites it with his gums, freaks out, and cries. Such children are malnourished, so they ask for food again and again. The result is low weight or weight loss. The mother suffers from cracked nipples, and the baby experiences slight tremors in the facial muscles from excessive tension.
It is possible to see the shortened membrane under the tongue by lifting its tip upward. Usually it is located on the edge of the tongue, depriving it of normal mobility.
Children are unable to touch the upper teeth with the end of the tongue, or reach the right or left side of the upper jaw. They cannot stick their tongue beyond the lower lip and have difficulty trying to lick their lips with their tongue.
When a child tries to pull the tongue forward, its end becomes like a heart or takes on the shape of a square. The tongue itself curves into a tubercle.
If the children are older, this problem manifests itself in diction defects. They find it difficult to pronounce hissing sounds and “r”. Children seem to swallow some sounds in their speech.

How to help?

A short tongue frenulum in a child requires trimming. The operation is performed by a surgeon. The younger the patient, the thinner the frenulum and the easier and more painless the procedure.

On the contrary, the older the child, the thicker and denser the membrane under the tongue is. The level of complexity of the operation is higher, and it can bring more discomfort. Therefore, in older children, local anesthesia is required; in some cases, general anesthesia is even necessary.

Sometimes you can do without surgery. Then it will be enough to undergo treatment with a speech therapist. It will consist of a special massage and articulation gymnastics.

Features of surgical treatment in different age groups

Newborn babies have their frenulum cut if it creates difficulties for them to feed. The procedure is carried out without anesthesia using special scissors. The membrane at this age is thin, lacks sensitivity to pain, and has little blood. The child tolerates the operation easily, he quickly calms down when receiving breastfeeding.
If the pathology is discovered later, when the child is already several months old, the cutting will be performed under local anesthesia.
At an older age (3-5 years), the film under the tongue thickens, requiring not only anesthesia, but also suturing. For such children, the indication for surgery is abnormal speech development. After pruning, small patients will be required to undergo a course of speech therapy rehabilitation.

Conservative care

If experts see that the frenulum can be corrected without the intervention of surgeons, the child is prescribed the following treatment.

Special massage for stretching the hyoid membrane. It is accompanied by unpleasant sensations, sometimes causing pain. For the procedure to produce results, it must be done regularly, combined with individual lessons for children from a speech therapist.
Systematic implementation of articulatory gymnastics. This is a set of exercises to improve the elasticity of the frenulum. Many exercises can be done at home without the participation of a speech therapist. This treatment is also prescribed to children after surgery as rehabilitation.

You should not be afraid of the procedure of cutting the short frenulum of the tongue in children. It is safe and virtually painless, especially at an early age. Early diagnosis of this problem and timely measures taken will help you and your children avoid a number of difficulties.

Dear parents, today we will talk about how to identify a short frenulum of the tongue in a baby. In this article you will learn what main signs can be used to suspect such a condition, why this happens, and what treatment methods are available. You will know what age is considered optimal for the surgical procedure, as well as what contraindications exist for such therapy.

Short frenulum - what is it?

Upon visual inspection, this formation resembles a thin membrane represented by connective tissue. The main function is to attach the tongue to the oral cavity (lower part). A tongue tie in a child is a condition that makes it difficult for the fleshy organ to move.

It can be congenital and hereditary. Partial and full forms are considered. When complete, the formation of muscles (cords) is observed, the tongue is virtually immobilized, and pronunciation is very poor. Partial - connective tissue is replaced by muscle cords.

There are three degrees of functional limitation of the fleshy organ:

light - size greater than 15 mm, there is a violation in sound pronunciation;
medium - frenulum from 10 to 15 mm, accompanied by impaired pronunciation, inability to reach the palate with the tongue;
severe - length up to 10 mm, the baby is not able to lick his lips, cannot pronounce sounds correctly, touch the palate with his tongue, or stick out his tongue.

Possible reasons

Hereditary factor is a possible cause of short frenulum in a child

There are a number of factors that influence the formation of frenulum shortening:

heredity;
bad ecology;
infection of the fetus during gestation;
injury to the pregnant woman's abdomen;
factors of unknown etiology;
infectious processes in the body of the expectant mother;
woman's age over 35 years.

Symptoms

The formation of malocclusion can be observed due to a short frenulum

Characteristic signs of the presence of a short frenulum include:

increased salivation;
digestive problems;
difficulty chewing solid food;
a quiet voice with a nasal tone;
frequent ;
malocclusion;
gum recession;
periodontitis;
dyslalia (organic type);
The incisors on the lower jaw tilt inward.

Signs in infants

Difficulty sucking the breast may be the first alarming symptom

The following symptoms may indicate that your little one has a short frenulum:

the baby bites the breast while sucking;
smacking when feeding;
prolonged act of sucking;
frequent feeling of hunger;
capriciousness when feeding.

Home diagnostic method

To determine whether a baby has a short or long frenulum, you need to ask him to perform certain actions.

Let the little one stick out his tongue at you. If the frenulum is short, it will be difficult for the child to remove it completely from the mouth or the edge of the tongue will be tilted down.
Let your baby raise his tongue to the roof of his mouth. If there is a deviation, the child will either not reach at all or the lateral sides of the tongue will rise, the central one will be practically inactive.

In addition, you can visually determine whether the frenulum is normal or not. So, normally, a newborn toddler’s frenulum is longer than 8 mm, and a five-year-old child’s frenulum is longer than 17 mm.

Where to contact

If you are interested in the question of where to trim a child’s tongue frenulum, then the answer is simple - in a dental clinic. The procedure will be carried out by a surgeon, but before you decide to take this step, you will need to consult with several specialists:

from a pediatrician - for problems with eating;
see a speech therapist if there are difficulties in pronunciation;
at the orthodontist - if malocclusion develops.

Treatment

Classes with a speech therapist -
an effective method for mild cases of short frenulum

Therapy can be either medicinal or non-medicinal. Everything will depend on the severity of the child’s condition.

Non-drug methods include:

massage;
classes with a speech therapist;
correction exercises;
articulation gymnastics.

Drug therapy involves surgery. It can be of varying degrees:

easy - will be carried out directly at the appointment and without anesthesia in cases where the sublingual membrane is plastic and very thin;
frenulotomy - will be performed on a child with a thick frenulum under local anesthesia, stitches will be placed.

You need to know that the operation can be complicated:

prolonged bleeding;
wound infection.

Exercises for correction

Exercise in front of a mirror

Ask your child to stick out his tongue and try to touch the tip of his nose, then his chin. Take a break and do another approach. At first, the exercise should be repeated no more than five times, and over time it is increased to 20.
Let the baby stick out his tongue and begin to move it left and right. Initially five approaches, increased to 20.
We ask the little one to open his mouth wide. Let him touch the tip of his tongue to the upper incisors and try to press on the teeth with all his strength. It is important that your mouth remains open. Each time the child must count to ten (to himself). We also start small and work up to 20.
We spend it in front of the mirror. Let the little one open his mouth wide and follow the movements of his tongue when pronouncing the syllables “kar - kar - kar”, “bar - bar - bar”.
Ask your child to lick his lips, first the top, then the bottom.
Let the baby close his mouth and move his tongue in one direction or the other. With all his might he presses on the inside of his cheeks with the tip of his tongue.
To achieve a good and quick effect, you need to do the exercise daily for 15 minutes.
If correction is prescribed after surgery, it begins only after the wound has healed.

Operation

The procedure is performed under local anesthesia.

An operation is prescribed if the severity is severe; in the case of moderate severity, the doctor makes the decision; in mild cases, treatment is carried out using conservative methods, in particular, speech therapy and sessions with a speech therapist.

Indications for surgical intervention will be:

severe limitation in tongue mobility;
moderate severity of the disease in the absence of positive results from therapeutic treatment;
lack of monthly weight gain;
development of malocclusion;
inability to latch onto the nipple during feeding;
the process of formation of displaced dentition;
the need to install dentures, including removable ones.

It is worth considering that the operation may have certain contraindications. These include:

infectious processes in the oral cavity;
oncology;
blood diseases;
gingivitis;
stomatitis;
acute infectious process in the body.

Depending on the age, the child may be prescribed one of three types of surgery:

frenulotomy (can be performed on children up to nine months old) - an incision is made with scissors closer to the teeth, the mucous membrane is initially dissected, then the muscle cords are applied, sutures are applied;
frenulectomy (performed on a child over five years old) - the septum is fixed with a clamp, an incision is made between it and the lip, and stitches are applied;
frenuloplasty (applicable for children over five years old) - a triangular flap is truncated from the bridge, then an incision is made and this flap is sewn in the right place to lengthen the frenulum.

My son had his bridle cut when he was 7 months old. I was not present at the procedure, I was very worried. Dad and grandmother went with him. Everything went without complications, and the child recovered quickly.

Laser treatment

Laser method of surgery

In recent years, the method of cutting the frenulum using a laser has become increasingly used. This method has a number of advantages:

practically painless;
there is no need for stitches;
the cut is made accurately;
wounds heal quickly;
minimum consequences or their complete absence;
disinfecting properties prevent infection;
no bleeding during surgery.

Optimal age

The sooner the operation is performed, the less painful it will be for the child.

If you are wondering at what age a child’s tongue frenulum is cut - if it is detected early in the first month of life, while still in the maternity hospital. The best time is considered to be the first year of a baby’s life. However, there are often cases when parents do not notice the problem, and realize that something has gone wrong when problems with pronunciation arise at the age of five. At this time, a longer operation will be performed under anesthesia.

Now you know how the procedure is carried out. Remember that the lack of timely treatment can lead to speech problems and the development of pathology. No matter how sorry you feel for the baby, if there is an urgent need, go for surgery.

In a newborn, this is a fairly common problem that parents are increasingly faced with today. If it is detected in a timely manner, there is no reason to worry. In this article we will tell you why such a defect appears, how you can identify it yourself, and in what cases surgery is required.

Anatomical features of the frenulum under the tongue

The frenulum is a thin bridge that is located under the tongue and connects it to the lower part of the oral cavity. It is completely covered with mucous membrane. Thanks to the membrane in the sublingual region, this organ is constantly held in a certain position.

There are also two more bridges in the oral cavity: the upper frenulum and the membrane between the lower lip and gums. Together, they provide lip motility, articulation, and the process of chewing food.

The length of the hyoid frenulum in an adult is no more than 3 cm, in a newborn it is only 8 mm. Normally, it does not interfere with tongue movement, conversation, or eating.

A short frenulum in a newborn is considered a pathology. The severity of this defect depends on the length and location of the organ. The most difficult case is when the front end is attached directly to the tip of the tongue, tightening it. In this case, the tongue practically does not rise. Even when silent, it remains between the teeth.

Main causes of the defect

In approximately 50% of cases, the pathology is inherited from one of the child’s parents. The formation of the frenulum is directly influenced by the behavior and well-being of the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy. Taking hormonal medications and antibiotics can negatively affect the development of the baby's oral apparatus.

A certain role in the development of this anatomical defect belongs to the age of the woman in labor, unfavorable environmental conditions, and addictions. All these factors together can affect the child’s health. As medical practice shows, a short frenulum occurs in one newborn out of a thousand babies, and the pathology is more often diagnosed in boys.

Signs of a defect

A short frenulum in a newborn has a number of characteristic signs, so it is very easy to determine the presence of a defect. Usually it is eliminated in the hospital.

The very first sign of pathology is a heart-shaped tongue with the tip slightly pulled back. Doctors also call other symptoms:

The feeding process takes a long time, the baby cannot hold the breast in his mouth for a long time.
A newborn does not gain weight well due to not getting enough to eat.
When feeding, the baby chews and bites the nipple, smacking.
At the end of feeding, he is always accompanied by painful colic.
A woman's appearance changes, characteristic cracks appear.

Sometimes the amount of milk produced by a mother decreases, since this process requires a certain stimulation, and the child cannot provide it in full.

Short frenulum and breastfeeding

This anatomical feature can be easily identified by improper latching, as well as breastfeeding in newborns. If the bridle is not trimmed in a timely manner, the baby will not be able to eat fully and over time will begin to noticeably lag behind in weight. You should also not deny him breastfeeding, because the woman runs the risk of losing milk.

As a rule, babies with this pathology more often ask for the breast, quickly refuse it, or it simply constantly slips out of the mouth. The child cannot “suck” correctly and fix the tongue in the desired position. The latter is directly involved in the process of milk production. When tongue mobility is limited due to anatomical features, the newborn has to use his gums and lips during feeding. As a result, the baby begins to bite and chew the nipple, which is accompanied by unpleasant sensations for the mother. The child himself also gets very tired. Due to severe overstrain of the jaw muscles, tremors are sometimes observed.

Thus, breastfeeding is usually ineffective, uncomfortable, and requires a lot of effort for a newborn diagnosed with a lingual frenulum.

How to determine the defect yourself?

The length of the frenulum in a newborn should be at least 8 mm. To identify the defect, it is enough to pull the lower lip so that the child opens his mouth slightly. You can visually determine whether the frenulum is really short. This is evidenced by the fact that the tongue is attached near the very tip, that is, it barely touches the lips.

The easiest way to identify pathology is in children 2-3 years old, when they are already starting to speak. If diction or pronunciation of certain sounds is incorrect, parents usually take the child to a speech therapist. It is the specialist who identifies the birth defect. If parents discover it early, treatment of the frenulum can be done with massage or

How to eliminate pathology?

If an anatomical defect is found in a newborn baby who cannot breastfeed, the problem is corrected immediately in the hospital. This operation does not require anesthesia, since the frenulum is devoid of nerve endings and therefore insensitive to pain. The procedure itself is very easy and absolutely safe. After this, the baby is immediately put to the breast. Milk helps stop bleeding and promote rapid healing of the injured area.

The frenulum can also be trimmed in children a few months old. In this case, the operation is performed under local anesthesia. The classic method using surgical scissors is also applicable, but today doctors increasingly prefer to resort to electrocoagulation. Modern laser surgery has the necessary techniques to eliminate this defect.

At what age is it better to have surgery?

To ensure that the surgery is as painless as possible, it is recommended that it be performed in the first weeks of the baby’s life. Over time, the membrane thickens. For example, a nine-month-old child already requires anesthesia and suturing during surgery.

If this time is missed, the next appropriate moment is considered to be the period when the baby is already 2.5 years old. At this stage, pronunciation is consolidated, but pronunciation is not yet fully formed.

The next favorable period is five years. At this age, baby teeth are replaced with permanent teeth and a bite is formed.

Modern laser surgery allows this type of surgery to be performed at any age. The intervention is not particularly difficult for a qualified doctor. The operation lasts a few minutes and is not accompanied by future complications. However, after surgical treatment of older children, additional speech therapy is required.

Possible complications

Difficulties with feeding are not the only problem that a short frenulum entails in a newborn. Incorrect functioning of the tongue affects the formation of the jaws and bite. Sometimes this pathology serves as a predisposing factor to the occurrence of gingivitis, periodontitis and other dental problems.

If the anatomical defect is not corrected in a timely manner, in the future the child may have difficulties with diction and sound pronunciation. In such cases, additional help from a speech therapist is required. Other unpleasant consequences include the formation of interdental gaps, excessive saliva production, and night snoring.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, today doctors are increasingly diagnosing a pathology such as short frenulum in newborn children. What to do with such an anatomical defect, how to identify it yourself, can be learned from the materials in this article.

With timely detection of pathology and surgical intervention, the prognosis for most children is favorable. Thanks to cutting the frenulum, breathing improves and the child gains weight. Unpleasant symptoms, by which the presence of such an anatomical defect can be determined, gradually disappear. The sooner a specialist performs this procedure, the higher the likelihood of preventing malocclusion and problems with diction. Remember: the health and well-being of the baby is in the hands of the parents.