Many mothers left messages saying that they found that the bitten breast had a headache when eating milk, which could not be improved. After going to the hospital for examination, the doctor said that there was something wrong with the muscle in the baby’s tongue, which might also affect the child’s speech. In treatment, they could choose to cut or wait.
What should I do?
Today Dr. Clove will tell you the secret of the muscle in his tongue.
What is the frenulum of tongue
The frenulum of the tongue is the slender mucosal tissue directly below the tongue, which is, in common terms, the tongue tendon.
What’s the use of it? Before birth, this frenulum is a sign that the tongue grows forward, and the tongue grows forward along the frenulum. After birth, it plays a role in fixing the tongue in the mouth. Although so, many muscles related to the tongue play a more obvious fixing role, and the role of the frenulum is optional.
If it is not suitable for growth, such as too short, it will also affect the movement of the tongue.
Effect of short frenulum of tongue
If the tongue frenulum is too short, it will make it difficult for the tongue to extend forward and lift upward, which will have the following effects:
1. Affect breast feeding:
In the past, I was often called to consult by the obstetrics department, saying that my mother suffered severe pain during breast-feeding and was unwilling to breast-feed. Let’s teach the new mother the benefits of breast-feeding and stick to feeding. Sometimes, after observing the situation after my mother’s breast-feeding, I will find that it is not the mother’s pampering that does not eat well at breast-feeding, but the problem of the child’s short tongue frenulum.
During normal feeding, The baby’s correct breast-holding posture is to use the tongue pad on the gums to suck milk, but when the child’s tongue frenulum is short, sometimes it will not stretch long and the pad will not go up, causing the gums to bite the mother’s nipples directly, as shown in the following figure. Everyone can try if they have children. When the little guys are nursing, it is really [using the strength to eat milk]. It is really big. At this moment, the biting mother is crying.
If your mother hurts, the lactation will be reduced. Think about it for the same reason. When you feel uncomfortable, you cannot work happily.
Therefore, children eat less milk, the less they eat, the more they use their strength to bite, and the more painful their mothers are. In this vicious circle, the more children cannot eat milk, the more painful their mothers are, the less milk they produce, and finally they cannot feed it.
However, even if the frenulum of the tongue is too short, it does not affect the breast-feeding. Sometimes, it is really the mother who cannot master the breast-feeding posture well, and the doctor is needed to help judge at this time.
Knowledge of how to hold milk and maintain correct feeding,
Please see the relevant articles:
2. Lack of pronunciation
We can definitely say that the short tongue frenulum does not affect the children’s speaking sooner or later, but only affects some words. For example, when the tongue is restricted too much, it will also affect the pronunciation of some people who need to lift the tongue to the upper jaw or upper incisors, such as t, d, sh, ch, etc. If children are found to have problems with these pronunciations, the tongue frenulum should be considered.
But most of the time, When we pronounce, our tongue will not stretch forward too long or tilt upward too high. Generally, the tongue frenulum is short and will not affect our pronunciation. If the child has Lickitung and other performances, it is recommended to ask a speech trainer or speech rehabilitation trainer to evaluate whether it is a tongue problem first. For example, my tongue frenulum is very good, but I can’t distinguish the flat frenulum, ha ha.
3. It is difficult to clean your tongue and teeth.
We all know that the tongue has the function of cleaning up the tongue and oral debris, such as licking the vegetable leaves on the teeth, cooperating with the lips, sucking the food residue in the teeth, etc. If the child’s tongue cannot be extended outward and upward, it will have some influence on these movements, which may lead to periodontitis for a long time.
4. Affect the kissing experience in adulthood
When kissing, it is not the bare lips that play a very important role in the lips, but the tongue. Your tongue cannot reach into the other person’s mouth and cannot be [teased]. The effect may be reduced by 90%, and then… no then.
How to Judge Tongue Frenulum Is Too Short
At present, there is no unified definition of too short frenulum of tongue and no unified diagnostic method. We can generally distinguish the following methods:
- When the tongue is extended forward, it crosses the incisors less than 2 mm, or presents a W-shaped or heart-shaped shape, as shown in the following figure: when the tongue is lifted upward, it cannot reach the upper alveolar or is V-shaped, as shown in the following figure: for newborns, it is impossible to extend or lift the tongue, and the appearance can be seen. If the tongue frenulum reaches the tip of the tongue, it indicates that the tongue frenulum is short, as shown in the following figure:
Tongue frenulum is too short, cut or not cut
At present, the definition of too short frenulum of tongue has not been unified, and the impact has not been quantified. Therefore, in terms of treatment, there is no final conclusion as to whether to cut the frenulum of tongue or not when what cut it well.
If for the newborn, after the diagnosis by the breastfeeding teacher, it is clear that there is no feeding posture and other problems, and it is clear that the short frenulum of the tongue causes the influence of breast milk. At present, it is recommended to cut the frenulum of the tongue. Generally, it is not anesthetized, and it will be cut in a few minutes, basically without bleeding, and it will be possible to eat milk after cutting.
However, for those who do not affect breast milk, the possibility of affecting pronunciation is not very great, and the problem of too short tongue frenulum will gradually improve as the child’s tongue grows gradually, so cutting is not recommended. However, if the parent is perfect, just like cutting, ok, the child will not suffer anyway.
For older children, if there are obvious pronunciation problems after the age of 4, it is first recommended to ask a speech trainer or speech rehabilitation trainer to evaluate the child’s situation. If it is clear that there are no other problems, it can be cut.
At present, some studies suggest that tongue frenulum cutting has an effect on improving pronunciation, but this evidence is not very sufficient. At this time, tongue frenulum cutting is equivalent to no other method. Try it if it is effective or not.
For perfectionist parents or if they are really impatient and have to cut, they should discuss this issue with the surgeon as early as possible. According to the degree of too short frenulum of the child’s tongue, whether there is fibrosis, etc., they should determine which anesthesia method, operation method, etc. They are confident and the child is not in a hurry.