Ankyloglossia among Children of Regular and Special Schools in Karnataka, India: A Prevalence Study

Background: Tongue-tie (more formally known as ankyloglossia) is a congenital anomaly characterized by an abnormally short lingual frenulum, which may restrict the mobility of the tongue tip impairing its ability to fulfil its functions. Ankyloglossia is uncommon, but not rare. Incidence figures reported in the literature vary widely, ranging from 0.02% to 4.8%. Incidences of upto 10.7% have been reported. Since the literature provides no uniformity of information with regard to the incidence of tongue tie. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of tonguetie in general population and mentally challenged population, measure the grades of tongue-tie and also to determine the relations of gender with tongue-tie. Materials and Methods: Seven hundred school children in the age group of 9-17 years were examined for the presence of tongue-tie, 350 from regular schools and 350 from special schools. The presence of tongue-tie was evaluated, measured and graded into grades 1 to 5 according to KOTLOW's method and data subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Significantly higher incidence of 16.4% population having tongue-tie was identified, of which 18.57% were from general schools and 13.71% from special schools but the differences were not statistically significant. Males showed greater incidence than females and grades I, II, III were more predominantly seen than grade IV, but the differences were not significant statistically. Conclusion: Diagnostic criteria and definitive classifying systems are needed to allow for further comparative studies.