A short bridle of the tongue in a child is an anomaly that occurs quite often. The bridle, as you know, is called the membrane, which combines the tongue and the bottom of the oral cavity, inhibits the movement of the first and does not allow him to freely hang out. With the pathology in question, mobility is very limited, which causes some problems associated with the chewing process and articulation. This is usually solved in early childhood, so that the development of the baby and its vital activity proceed without any discomfort.
As a rule, an anomaly appears even in the period of intrauterine development of the baby. There are several factors that can cause a short frenum of the tongue:
- chronic diseases;
- environmentally unfavorable environment;
- injuries of the abdomen;
- intrauterine infections ;
- genetic predisposition;
- infectious diseases of the mother in the first and last trimesters;
- late motherhood (after 40 years).
Diagnosing a short frenum of the tongue in a child is very simple - you can even notice it visually. In the first months of life, it can cause feeding problems. If you notice that the baby takes the breast or the nipple with difficulty (the inactive tongue does not allow him to grasp the mother’s nipple normally), during the meal he constantly throws back his head, cries or characteristically smokes it - these may be the first signs that indicate a problem.
However, a short bridle of the tongue in a child may not cause inconvenience when feeding. However, problems will appear later when the baby begins to learn to talk. Usually at this moment it becomes difficult for him to pronounce some sounds, they are fuzzy.
In such cases, the help of a speech therapist and orthodontist is recommended. These doctors will be able to tell you what is best to do in this particular case: to stretch the bridle by performing specialized exercises, or to perform surgical correction.
The child should cut the frenum of the tongue up to a year. In the first months of the baby’s life, the mucous membrane is very thin, and therefore there will be no scar. The procedure itself is very simple, and the children tolerate it well. Kids undergo surgery without anesthesia, and after 10-15 minutes, a checkup is performed, after which you can immediately go home. In this case, breast milk is the best hemostatic, and therefore, after the procedure, it is better to immediately feed the baby.
Cutting the frenum of the tongue in an older child is done with suturing, and for children from 5 years of age and older - under local anesthesia. Seams dissolve within a week.
If you do not perform the correction, this can subsequently cause serious problems with diction. Sometimes a short bridle of the tongue in a child contributes to the formation of a malocclusion. And therefore, the sooner you notice a problem and turn to specialists, the better for your child! Indeed, at an early age, the procedure for cutting it will be much less painful for the baby, and after only a couple of hours it will return to its usual way of life, and after a couple of days the slightest discomfort will disappear.