Three Myths about tongue-tie

There is more awareness about tongue-tie now than 10 years ago, which is amazing!! Many mothers have been blamed themselves for why their baby is unsettled and not feeding well, only then to find out that they were tongue-tied all along, it was just misdiagnosed. 

Here are 3 myths that I will debunk for you.

1: Tongue-ties will resolve by themselves: Tongue-tie means that the tongue is tied to the floor of the mouth in a way that restricts the tongues movement. Mainly Type 1 Collagen fibres make up the fibrous tie. These fibres have very little stretch to them, which means that the tie doesn’t resolve, the baby just learns how to live with it and may lead to symptoms later on due to the body trying to compensate for the tie.

2:  Laser is safer and more effective than scissors: Here in the UK the most common procedure used is sterile scissors, the research shows that it is a safe procedure with little complications (1,2). So I would question if any professional is suggesting that laser is superior to scissors.

3: Babies over 6 months require a general anaesthesia to release their tongue-tie: There are many practitioners who perform the procedure on children aged 6-12 months without general anaesthesia. There is research that shows general anaesthesia under the age of 3 years can lead to changes in brain development (3).  Therefor the risks of a general anaesthesia may be seen to out way the benefits at this age.

Reference:

1. Messner and Lalakea, (2000) Ankyloglossia: controversies in management

2. Ramoser G, Guóth-Gumberger M, Baumgartner-Sigl S, Zoeggeler T, Scholl-Bürgi S, Karall D. Frenotomy for tongue-tie (frenulum linguae breve) showed improved symptoms in the short- and long-term follow-up. Acta Paediatr. 2019 Oct;108(10):1861-1866

3. Wu L, Zhao H, Weng H, Ma D. Lasting effects of general anesthetics on the brain in the young and elderly: "mixed picture" of neurotoxicity, neuroprotection and cognitive impairment. J Anesth. 2019 Apr;33(2):321-335.