[Prevalence of ankyloglossia in newborns in Asturias (Spain)]

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of ankyloglossia has been estimated at around 4% of live births. Its prevalence at national level is unknown.

Material and methods: Multicenter, prospective observational study. Six hospitals in Asturias took part. All newborns were examined on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 months. Coryllos and Hazelbaker criteria were used to diagnose ankyloglossia.

Results: The prevalence in the 667 newborns examined was 12.11% (95% CI: 9.58 to 14.64), of whom 62% were male. One in 4 children with ankyloglossia had a family history. According to Coryllos' classification, type II was the most common (54%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of ankyloglossia in Asturias was 2 to t3 times higher than expected. The diagnostic criteria for ankyloglossia needs to be unified, and further studies are required to determine the association with breastfeeding difficulties and other health problems.

Keywords: Ankyloglossia; Anquiloglosia; Breastfeeding; Frenillo lingual corto; Lactancia materna; Tongue-tie.