- Tongue Tie
- Mucocele
Tongue Tie
Ankyloglossia, or tongue tie, is a genetic condition that restricts the tongue’s range of motion. A child who suffers from the condition will have an unusually stunted lingual frenulum (the tissue that connects the tongue and the mouth base). Tongue tie can produce breast feeding difficulties in newborns. It can contribute to some initial feeding difficulties in children initiating solid foods. It also can lead to speech articulation difficulties in older children.
For children under 4-6 weeks of age, we at ENT for Children may recommend a frenotomy (releasing of the frenulum) in the office. For all other children, we would recommend performing the procedure while under a general anesthetic, and would perform a frenulectomy (removal of the frenulum) or frenuloplasty (removal of the frenulum with closure of the defect).
Mucocele
An oral mucocele is a harmless cyst-like growth in the mouth that contains fluid. The swelling often occurs in children when there is trauma to the mucous layer inside the mouth or on the lip, injuring the minor salivary gland within the tissue. The injury to the gland and its duct results in a cyst. The cysts may shrink in size and reform, may stay the same in size, or can enlarge. There are other types of cysts that can also be found in the mouth, including dermoid cysts and other inclusion cysts.
ENT for Children may recommend surgical removal for mucoceles or other oral masses that persist for more than 2 months, particularly if they are painful for the child.