Impact of ankyloglossia on the language development of children

Abstract

Objective: Ankyloglossia is a benign anomaly of the tongue which may cause functional limitation. Evidence regarding the impact of
ankyloglossia on children’s language development is limited. We aimed to evaluate the language development of children born with
ankyloglossia.
Patients and Methods: Children diagnosed with ankyloglossia were followed up prospectively. Demographic characteristics, degree
of ankyloglossia assessed by Hazelbaker score in infancy and its effects on breastfeeding were evaluated. Language development was
tested by the Turkish version of the Test of Early Language Development-Third Edition and the Denver II Test at 3-5 years of age.
Results: Out of 53 children diagnosed with ankyloglossia, 38 (71.7%) children had language development testing and were included into
the study. Significant ankyloglossia was detected in infancy in 10 of these children (26.3%). Median time of exclusively breastfeeding
was not different according to the severity of ankyloglossia. All children evaluated with Denver II Test were developmentally normal
in all domains. Scores of Test of Early Language Development-Third Edition were not different between children with and without
significant ankyloglossia.
Conclusion: Long term language development of children with ankyloglossia was not adversely affected. Parents should be
appropriately informed and efforts must be paid to prevent unnecessary surgical interventions concerning language delay.

Keywords

• Ankyloglossia
• Children
• Language development

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