Effectiveness of tongue‐tie assessment tools in diagnosing and fulfilling lingual frenectomy criteria: a systematic review

It is unclear how effective tongue‐tie classification assessment tools are in diagnosing symptomatic tongue‐tie and fulfilling lingual frenectomy criteria. The purpose of this systematic review is to determine and evaluate any association between tongue‐tie severity, as measured by pre‐treatment assessment tools, and post‐operative outcome following tongue‐tie division. PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane search engines were used to retrieve articles published between 1947 and 2021. Included studies consisted of patients with symptomatic tongue‐tie, assessment by either the Coryllos, Kotlow, or Hazelbaker Assessment Tool for Lingual Frenulum Function (HATLFF) classification tool, and tongue‐tie division. A total of 205 abstracts were identified; 31 studies met the criteria for a full‐text review, of which, only 14 studies met the criteria for data extraction and analysis. Six studies used the HATLFF, 2 studies used the Kotlow, 5 studies used the Coryllos, and 1 study used a combination of both Kotlow and Coryllos methods. Significant heterogeneity was evident across all studies. No statistical correlation between the two variables could be determined. Although tongue‐tie division procedures appear to provide benefits in breastfeeding and speech, there are no data to suggest a statistically significant association between the severity of tongue‐tie, and the correct identification of patients who would benefit from tongue‐tie division. © 2022 Australian Dental Association.