Lingual Frenectomy

The lingual frenulum is a single fold consists of connective tissue covered by the mucosa without major nerves or vessels found underneath the tongue that extends from the midline of the ventral surface of the tongue to the floor of the mouth to perform its function. Anomalies such as absent frenum, short frenum, and double frenum have been mentioned in the literature. The restriction of tongue movements due to a shortened lingual frenulum is called ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie. Limited tongue movement may cause problems with function, speech, feeding, sleep-disordered breathing, etc. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the problems caused by ankyloglossia, the available treatments, and to help improve the quality of life of patients affected by this problem.