A newborn baby had to undergo surgery, and it turned out to be because of his tongue!

Many babies are born

Parents began to worry about some issues

"Doctor, our baby's tongue isn't pointed enough, do we need to cut open the bottom?"

"My baby is two years old, why can't he speak? His tongue must be pulled by the tongue muscles. Go to the hospital and have it cut!"

"The baby's pronunciation is not correct. It must be because his tongue is not flexible. Go to the hospital to fix the tongue muscles!"

Even newborn babies were taken to the hospital to have their tongues cut to "prevent" future problems...

So what is this tongue muscle?

Should I cut it or not?

Please continue reading

Symptoms of tongue tie

The scientific name of this "tongue muscle" is the frenulum, which is a tight cord-like tissue between the tongue belly and the floor of the mouth when we open our mouth and lift our tongue. Some people have a thin and translucent frenulum, while others have a thicker one. A normal frenulum allows the tongue to move freely, and the tip of the tongue can naturally extend out of the mouth or lick the upper gums upwards. However, a small number of children have abnormal development of the frenulum, and the phenomenon of "frenulum is too short" occurs, which is manifested by the forward movement of the attachment point of the frenulum to the tongue belly or the mucosa of the floor of the mouth, which restricts the tongue from extending forward and lifting. When the tongue is barely extended forward, the tip of the tongue is W-shaped, commonly known as "tripped tongue".

This is often the focus of parents' attention. In many areas of our country, the idea of ​​cutting children's tongue ties is particularly popular among the older generation. Many parents will take the initiative to ask doctors to "cut" their children. But it should be emphasized that tongue ties are not born long. During fetal development until birth, the tongue tie is short and tight, with one end attached to the tip of the tongue and the other end attached to the bottom of the mouth. With age and the development of oral soft and hard tissues, the attachment position of the tongue frenulum will gradually retreat to the root of the tongue. Generally, after the age of 3, the tongue tie gradually moves away from the tip of the tongue, and the tongue becomes loose.

Therefore, if a newborn baby has his tongue tie cut, it may be a waste of time.

What kind of laces need to be cut?

When to cut?

According to the current treatment guidelines, speech abnormalities or asymptomatic short frenulum cannot be used as surgical indications for infant tongue-tie surgery; abnormal morphology of tongue-tie accompanied by functional disorders such as breastfeeding difficulties or traumatic ulcers is an indication for surgery. Therefore, in layman's terms: only when the baby is just born, the doctor confirms that the baby has difficulty breastfeeding due to the limited tongue movement of the child with a short frenulum - cut it! When the lower front teeth just erupt at around 1 year old, the short frenulum repeatedly rubs against the newly erupted deciduous teeth and causes traumatic ulcers - cut it! In addition to the above two situations, observe the baby until he is three years old and then ask the doctor for a decision.

In short, whether the tongue tie is short or not and whether it should be trimmed is up to professional medical professionals. Babies' growth is full of anxiety, so don't let the tongue tie be blamed.