Aetna considers inferior lingual frenectomy or lingual frenotomy for ankyloglossia medically necessary when newborn feeding difficulties or childhood articulation problems exist.

Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, exists when the inferior lingual frenulum attaches to the bottom of the tongue and restricts its movement.  This condition can impair the normal mobility of the tongue and interfere with speech or newborn feeding.

If the tongue can touch the anterior dentition, mobility is adequate for the development of normal speech.  However, in situations where the inferior lingual frenulum significantly impedes tongue excursion, a frenulectomy may be performed in order to free the tongue.

An assessment by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE, 2005) concluded that “[c]urrent evidence suggests that there are no major safety concerns about division of ankyloglossia (tongue-tie) and limited evidence suggests that this procedure can improve breastfeeding”.

Aras and colleagues (2010) compared the tolerance of lingual frenectomy with regard to a local anesthesia requirement as well as post-surgical discomfort experienced by patients operated on with diode laser or erbium:yttrium-aluminium-garnet (Er:YAG) laser.  A total of 16 referred patients with tongue mobility complaints were included in this study.  A GaAlAs laser device with a continuous wavelength of 808 nm was used in the diode group.  Frenulums were incised by applying 2 W of laser power.  The Er:YAG laser device with a continuous wavelength of 2,940 nm was used in the Er:YAG group.  Frenulums were incised by applying 1 W of laser power.  The acceptability of the lingual frenectomy without local anesthesia and the degree of the post-surgical discomfort were evaluated.  Although the majority of patients (n = 6) could be operated on without local anesthesia in the Er:YAG group, all patients could not be operated on without local anesthetic agent in the diode group.  There were no differences between the 2 groups with regard to pain, chewing, and speaking on the 1st or 7th day after surgery, whereas patients had more pain in the Er:YAG group than in the diode group the first 3 hrs after surgery.  The authors concluded that these findings indicate that only the Er:YAG laser can be used for lingual frenectomy without local anesthesia, and there was no difference between the 2 groups regarding the degree of the post-surgical discomfort except in the first 3 hrs.  Thus, these results indicate that the Er:YAG laser is more advantageous than the diode laser in minor soft-tissue surgery because it can be performed without local anesthesia and with only topical anesthesia.

Buryk et al (2011) noted that ankyloglossia has been associated with a variety of infant-feeding problem and that frenotomy commonly is performed for relief of ankyloglossia.  The investigators conducted a randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial to determine whether frenotomy for infants with ankyloglossia improved maternal nipple pain and ability to breastfeed. A secondary objective was to determine whether frenotomy improved the length of breastfeeding. Over a 12-month period, neonates who had difficulty breastfeeding and significant ankyloglossia were assigned to either a frenotomy (30 infants) or a sham procedure (28 infants) and breastfeeding was assessed by a preintervention and postintervention nipple-pain scale and the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool. Study subjects were followed two weeks post=procedure and at regularly scheduled follow-ups over a 1-year period. The infants in the sham group were given a frenotomy before or at the 2-week follow-up if it was desired. Both groups demonstrated statistically significantly decreased pain scores after the intervention, but the frenotomy group improved significantly more than the sham group (P < .001). Breastfeeding scores significantly improved in the frenotomy group (P = .029) without a significant change in the control group. All but 1 parent in the sham group elected to have the procedure performed when their infant reached 2 weeks of age, which prevented additional comparisons between the 2 groups. The investigators demonstrated immediate improvement in nipple-pain and breastfeeding scores, despite a placebo effect on nipple pain, which they state provides convincing evidence for those seeking a frenotomy for infants with signficant ankyloglossia.

Steehler and colleagues (2012) measured maternal breast feeding benefit after infant frenotomy.  In addition, these researchers examined if timing of neonatal/infant frenotomy affects outcome.  Medical records of neonates and infants suspected to have ankyloglossia between April 2006 and February 2011 were reviewed.  Patient demographic data were compiled.  A telephone survey was conducted to gather data on this cohort of patients.  Neonatal and infant consultations (n = 367) were performed for feeding difficulties due to suspected ankyloglossia, 302 of these infants underwent frenotomy for ankyloglossia.  A total of 91 mothers agreed to participate in a follow-up telephone survey regarding the intervention.  Results showed that 80.4 % of mothers strongly believed the procedure benefited their child's ability to breast-feed, and 82.9 % of mothers were able to initiate/resume breast-feeding after the procedure was performed.  The belief that frenotomy significantly benefitted an infant's ability to feed significantly differed in patients that had the procedure performed in the first week of life (86 %) as compared to infants that had the procedure performed after the first week of life (74 %) (p < 0.003).  The authors concluded that based on maternal observations, when frenotomy is performed on neonates with ankyloglossia and feeding difficulties in the first week of life, there is more benefit than when it is performed after the first week of life.  The population of patients with ankyloglossia is predominantly male with a high familial/genetic correlation associated with the phenotypic trait.  They stated that frenotomy for ankyloglossia demonstrated a high degree of maternal satisfaction; is well-tolerated and has been shown to improve breast-feeding and decrease pain and difficulty associated with breast-feeding.

O'Callahan et al (2013) evaluated the effect of office-based frenotomy on reversing breast-feeding difficulties among infants with problematic ankyloglossia, and examined characteristics associated with anterior and posterior ankyloglossia.  Mothers of infants who underwent a frenotomy for ankyloglossia from December 2006 through March 2011 completed a post-intervention web-based survey about breast-feeding difficulties they experienced before and after the frenotomy.  Maternal-infant dyads had been referred from health providers to a primary care practice for assessment of ankyloglossia.  Infants were subsequently classified as having no ankyloglossia, anterior (Type I or Type II) or posterior (Type III or Type IV).  There were 311 infants evaluated for ankyloglossia and 299 (95 %) underwent a frenotomy.  Most infants were classified as having Type III (36 %) or IV (49 %) ankyloglossia compared to only 16 % with anterior (Type I and Type II combined).  Differences by classification type were found for gender (p = 0.016), age (p = 0.017), and maxillary tie (p = 0.005).  Among survey respondents (n = 157), infant latching significantly improved (p < 0.001) from pre- to post-intervention for infants with posterior ankyloglossia.  Both the presence and severity of nipple pain decreased from pre- to post-intervention among all classifications (p < 0.001).  Additionally, 92 % of respondents breast-fed exclusively post-intervention.  The mean breast-feeding duration of 14 months did not differ significantly by classification.  The authors concluded that breast-feeding difficulties associated with ankyloglossia in infants, particularly posterior, can be improved with a simple office-based procedure in most cases.