Tongue-tie is the common name for a lingual frenulum that is tighter or shorter than average.

In kid words

"Tongue-tie just means the bit under your tongue is a little snugger than most, so your tongue does not stretch quite as far as it could." Not every kid has it, and having it does not hurt. It is just one more way mouths are built a little differently from each other.

The parent version

Tongue-tie, sometimes called by its clinical name ankyloglossia, is the everyday term for a lingual frenulum, the band connecting the tongue to the floor of the mouth, that restricts tongue movement more than average. How tight counts as tight is genuinely a range rather than a single line, and mainstream sources describe outcomes that range just as widely, from no noticeable effect at all to something worth a real conversation.

Feeding in infancy and certain speech sounds later on are the two areas most often mentioned alongside tongue-tie, though how much either one is actually touched depends entirely on the individual child. None of that is something to size up from a mirror at home. Ask your pediatric dentist, or your child's pediatrician, what it looks like for your own child.

Where you might hear it at our office

This word tends to surface early, often in a baby's first weeks or months, and often from someone other than us first: a pediatrician, a nurse, or a lactation consultant. If it is still on your mind by the time your child comes in for one of the early visits described on our infant dental care page, it is a fair thing to bring up, and your pediatric dentist can take a look and talk through what it means for your child specifically.

Whenever another word from a visit needs translating, more entries are waiting in the Kids' Dental Dictionary.

Related words

Frenulum. Frenectomy. Lip-tie.