Several recent systematic reviews and randomized control trials have argued that ankyloglossia does not impact speech sound development and that there is no difference in speech sound development between children who received surgery to release tongue-tie and those who did not.Messner and Lalakea also examined speech and ankyloglossia in another study. They studied 15 patients and speech was grossly normal in all the subjects. However, half of the subjects reported that they thought that their speech was more effortful than other peoples speech.Horton and colleagues discussed the relationship between ankyloglossia and speech. They believe that the tongue-tie contributes to difficulty in range and rate of articulation and that compensation is needed. Compensation at its worst may involve a Cupids bow of the tongue.Although the tongue-tie exists, and even years following surgery, common speech abnormalities include mispronunciation of words, the most common of which is pronouncing Ls as Ws; for example, the word "lemonade" would come out as "wemonade". Mechanical and social effects
Ankyloglossia can result in mechanical and social effects. Lalakea and Messner studied 15 people, aged 14 to 68 years old. The subjects were given questionnaires in order to assess functional complaints associated with ankyloglossia. Eight subjects noted one or more mechanical limitations which included cuts or discomfort underneath the tongue and difficulties with kissing, licking ones lips, eating an ice cream cone, keeping ones tongue clean and performing tongue tricks. In addition, seven subjects noted social effects such as embarrassment and teasing.
This relatively common dental procedure may be done with soft-tissue lasers, such as the CO2 laser.A frenotomy can be performed as a standalone procedure or as part of another surgery. The procedure is typically quick and is performed under local anesthesia. First, the area under the tongue is numbed with an injection. Once the patient is numb, a small incision is made in the tissue and the tongue is freed from its tether. The incision is then closed with dissolvable sutures. Recovery from a frenotomy is typically quick and most patients experience little to no pain or discomfort.According to Lalakea and Messner, surgery can be considered for patients of any age with a tight frenulum, as well as a history of speech, feeding, or mechanical/social difficulties. Adults with ankyloglossia may elect the procedure. Some of those who have done so report post-operative pain.Horton et al., have a classical belief that people with ankyloglossia can compensate in their speech for a limited tongue range of motion. For example, if the tip of the tongue is restricted for making sounds such as /n, t, d, l/, the tongue can compensate through dentalization; this is when the tongue tip moves forward and up. When producing /r/, the elevation of the mandible can compensate for restriction of tongue movement. Also, compensations can be made for /s/ and /z/ by using the dorsum of the tongue for contact against the palate rugae. Thus, Horton et al.