Being "tongue-tied" means that you literally have a thick and/or short band of tissue that ties your tongue to one spot and keeps your tongue from moving around in your mouth. If you cannot open your mouth and lift your tongue easily, you are tongue-tied. If your dentist was the first one to notice this fact and suggests that you get a frenectomy, you may be wondering why your dentist is concerned. The following three reasons show why your dentist may be very concerned about a frenulum problem.

Tongues That Cannot Move Cannot Prevent Dental Health Issues

Your tongue is a very important part of the first stages of mastication and digestion. Your tongue moves the food around your mouth, coating it with saliva to make it easier to swallow and helping your teeth chew up large bits into tinier fragments. If your tongue cannot move because you are tongue-tied, you cannot salivate properly nor can your teeth chew up your food as well as they should. As such, more food gets stuck in your teeth and causes problems for your gums and teeth. Your tongue's movements and salivary glands actually help prevent some of these dental health issues, which is why your dentist would express immediate concern.

Tongues That Cannot Move Prevent Proper Dental Hygiene

Along similar lines, tongues that cannot move out of the way block one's ability to brush the backs of his/her lower teeth and prevent him/her from flossing properly too. If your dentist has noticed that there is a lot of plaque or gum disease along the backs of your lower teeth, and you have a really hard time trying to brush and floss these areas, your dentist might suggest that you see a lingual specialist and/or get a frenectomy. This loosens up your tongue so your brush can reach these areas and you can get a really deep flossing in every day.

Tongues That Cannot Move May Experience Gagging During Dental Procedures

Because your tongue cannot move out of the way during dental procedures, you may experience more gagging when your dentist works on your back teeth. This constant sense of gagging or choking may cause repeated stops and starts during dental procedures, which means your dentist may not be able to finish the work until the thick or short frenulum is corrected. If you already have some serious decay on your back molars, you may want to address the problem as soon as possible or lose the affected teeth. Click here to find out more.