If the tongue tie is cut, you will become mute

A person's tongue tie can control the flexible movement of the tongue. If there is a problem with the tongue tie, it will affect normal movement and make it difficult for people to swallow food normally. However, some people's tongue tie is too long, so some people choose to cut it off as a treatment. However, if the tongue tie is cut badly, it may cause a person to be unable to speak. Let’s find out whether a tongue tie will become mute if it is cut badly.

1. Will I become mute if my tongue tie is cut?

This won’t happen, don’t worry too much. Tongue tie mainly assists the movement of the lips and is not a dominant force, so it will not have any impact.

2. Why do babies have short tongue ties?

Many parents of newborns ask doctors when to trim their children's tongue-ties. They are afraid that their babies will have unclear pronunciation when they grow up, and they will feel uneasy if the tongue-ties are not trimmed. Under normal circumstances, the tongue tie of a newborn baby extends to the tip of the tongue or close to the tip of the tongue, so it looks like the tongue tie is short. During the development of the tongue, the frenulum will gradually retract toward the root of the tongue. As age increases and the teeth erupt, the frenulum will gradually loosen, and the front attachment will gradually decrease and move to the bottom of the mouth. The short frenulum will no longer exist. In normal children, the tip of the tongue gradually moves away from the frenulum after the age of 2. Only a small number of children with abnormal development have a short frenulum. Therefore, a short tongue tie in infants and young children should not be considered abnormal, and it is best to observe it after the age of 2.

3. Common symptoms of tongue tie

1. The tongue cannot extend out of the mouth.

2. When opening your mouth, the tip of your tongue cannot curl up, lick the upper gums, or extend over your upper lip.

3. When the tongue is extended forward, the tip of the tongue becomes concave and "W" shaped due to being pulled by the frenulum. When a normal person's tongue is extended, the tip of the tongue becomes "V" shaped.

4. Sucking and chewing difficulties: The frenulum is too short and affects the movement of the tongue.

5. Unclear pronunciation.

4. Disadvantages of premature surgery for tongue-tie (2 to 6 months)

1. It can easily lead to scar formation on the surgical wound, so some children have to undergo a second operation.

2. Because most children cannot cooperate with doctors well, accidental injuries and infections may easily occur if they are not careful.

3. The psychological impact of forced surgery on children will be greater than the physical harm they suffer. Therefore, the earlier the tongue-tie is performed, the better.

5. When is it appropriate to have surgery for a short tongue tie?

Most experts believe that the best age for surgery is between 4 and a half and 5 years old. First, the tongue tie will gradually shift backwards as the child grows older. Second, a short frenulum generally only affects the pronunciation of certain words and is not the only reason for inaccurate pronunciation. A child's pronunciation is related to factors such as auditory function, language environment, intellectual development, and pronunciation level. For children under the age of 4 or younger, it is difficult to predict whether they will have pronunciation disorders in the future. Third, children around 5 years old have a certain level of thinking ability and can cooperate with medical staff to successfully complete the operation.