Symptoms of ankyloglossia after infancy: A review (Cordray et al., 2023)

<p dir="ltr"><b>Objective:</b> The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of pediatric quality-of-life sequelae associated with ankyloglossia that may affect children who do not undergo tongue-tie release (frenotomy) during infancy.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Data Sources:</b> This study contains data from PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Google Scholar (1961–January 2023).</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Review Method:</b> The review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews reporting guidelines. Experimental and observational studies were eligible if they reported baseline outcomes associated with ankyloglossia in children above a year of age. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed quality. Low-quality studies were excluded.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Conclusions:</b> Twenty-six of 1,568 screened studies (> 1,228 patients) were included. Six studies were high quality and 20 were medium quality. Studies identified various symptoms that may be partially attributable to ankyloglossia after infancy, including speech/articulation difficulties, eating difficulties, dysphagia, sleep-disordered breathing symptoms, dental malocclusion, and social embarrassment such as oral hygiene issues. Multiple comparative studies found associations between ankyloglossia and risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea; a randomized controlled trial found that frenotomy may attenuate apnea severity. Ankyloglossia may also promote dental crowding.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Implications for Practice:</b> Ankyloglossia may be associated with myriad effects on children’s quality of life that extend beyond breastfeeding, but current data regarding the impact are inconclusive. This review provides a map of symptoms that providers may want to evaluate as we continue to debate the decision to proceed with frenotomy or nonsurgical therapies in children with ankyloglossia. A continuing need exists for controlled efficacy research on frenotomy for symptoms in older children and on possible longitudinal benefits of early frenotomy for maxillofacial development.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S1.</b> Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) Checklist.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S2. </b>Search strategy.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S3.</b> Characteristics of included studies.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Supplemental Material S4.</b> Studies excluded as low quality.</p><p dir="ltr">Cordray, H., Mahendran, G. N., Tey, C. S., Nemeth, J., & Raol, N. (2023). The impact of ankyloglossia beyond breastfeeding: A scoping review of potential symptoms. <i>American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 32</i>(6), 3048–3063. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00169">https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_AJSLP-23-00169</a></p>