In our mouths, there are fleshy attachments all along the sides of the cheek to the gum regions. The most noticeable attachment will be the one linking our tongue to the floor of the mouth in the centre of the lower jaw. This is the lingual frenum. This attachment can sometimes be quite short or tight in some patients, resulting in the limitation of the movement of the tongue. This condition is known as ankyloglossia or more commonly “tongue tie”.

In some patients, it may impede speech and eating. The procedure to ‘release’ the tongue tie is a fairly simple procedure but it must be properly done.

Oral & maxillofacial surgeons are trained to release the tongue tie on their surgical training. It is not simply cutting the attachment. There are surgical procedures to re-align the muscle fibres underneath so that the tongue tie fibres do not reform. The oral & maxillofacial surgeons are the best specialty to call upon for such surgeries.