My Words are Tied, So is My Tongue - A Case Study of Ankyloglossia

Dr. Rani Nallathamby

Abstract: Tongue tie or Ankyloglossia is a congenital anomaly characterized by a very short frenulum that literally glues the tongue to the floor of mouth. An unusually thick band extending from undersurface of tongue to floor of mouth or labial gingiva is often recovered. This represents a short frenulum. This poses problems in daily life of the affected person in the form of speech difficulties, deglutition issues etc. This article reports a 9 year school going boy presenting to the opd with difficulty in speech. The case was successfully treated and followed up.

Keywords: lingual frenulum, tongue tie, Ankyloglossia