Clinical study of ankyloglossia in children

Abstract

  Ankyloglossia is a commonly observed medical condition of which there has been very little investigation. Our purpose in the present study was to determine the appropriate time to conduct the corrective operation.
  The study group consisted of 104 children with ankyloglossia, 78 males and 26 females, with an average age of 4.7 years. Speech disorder was the most frequent chief complaint. The patients found it most difficult to pronounce the Japanese syllables beginning with the sound /r/. Frenulectomy was the most frequently performed therapeutic procedure. The results of our investigation indicated that the operation should be performed on patients aged four or older.