Survey of Ankyloglossia in Pre-school Children

Abstract

The frequency of ankyloglossia in Japan varies greatly depending on the report. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of expression by age, and the correlation between morphology and function. We conducted a survey of 2,886 children aged 4 to 6 years. The following results were obtained.

1. The length of the lingual frenulum and the shape of the tip of the tongue were abnormal in 10% of the children. In these children, the tongue had a heart-shaped tip and a lingual frenulum less than 1 cm long; in 3%, the tongue tip was thickened. The length, thickening of the lingual frenulum, and shape of the tongue tip did not differ among ages.

2. Children with functional problems, such as difficulty with anterior, lateral, and vertical movements of the tongue, had a similar proportion of morphologic abnormalities; approximately 30% of children could not produce popping sounds and had dysarthria. Functional impairments correlated with age, and the range of motion of the tongue increased with increasing age.

3. Morphology of the lingual frenulum correlated with its function, and the length and morphology of the tongue tip were highly associated with functional impairments, such as difficulty moving the tongue in the anterior, lateral, and vertical directions.

4. The association between mandibular midline diastema and interocclusion with functional problems was very small.