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What does the world think of ankyloglossia?
Ruilin R Jin1, Alastair Sutcliffe2, Maximo Vento3
1School of Women's and Children's Health, University of New South Wales, Randwick, NSW, Australia.
Aim:
The diagnosis of tongue-tie (or ankyloglossia) has increased more than 10-fold in some countries. Whether this is a global phenomenon or related to cultural and professional differences is uncertain.
Methods:
An online survey in English, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish was disseminated between May and November 2016 via 27 international professional bodies to >30 clinical professions chosen a priori to represent occupations involved in the management of neonatal ankyloglossia.
Results:
A total of 1721 responses came from nursing (51%), medical (40%), dental (6%) and allied health (4%) clinicians. Nurses (40%) and allied health (34%) professionals were more likely than doctors (8%) to consider ankyloglossia as important for lactation problems, as were western (83%) compared to Asian (52%) clinicians. Referrals to clinicians for ankyloglossia management originated mainly from parents (38%). Interprofessional referrals were not clearly defined. Frenectomies were most likely to be performed by surgeons (65%) and dentists (35%), who were also less likely to be involved in lactation support. Clinicians performing frenectomies were more likely to consider analgesia as important compared to those not performing frenectomies.
Conclusion:
The diagnosis and treatment of ankyloglossia vary considerably around the world and between professions. Efforts to standardise management are required.
