Hi Debi,
I suspect the tongue looks short with a tongue-tie for one of two
possible reasons:
-the tongue cannot extend, so keeps a bunched and retracted posture in
the mouth.
-some tongue tie is associated with short mandible.

I have been really paying attention to this matter over the past few
years, and I've noticed that infants with shorter mandibles have a
tighter tongue, mostly because the "retroplacement" of the mandible
makes the insertion of the tongue into the floor of the mouth relatively
closer to the alveolar ridge.  In other words, as you shorten the jaw,
you decrease the amount of space between the gums and the base of the
lingual frenulum.  I also think I see a lot more short tongues with
short mandibles, although sometimes an infant has a long tongue with a
short mandible too.

Functionally, I think you get a similar result from short jaw/short
tongue as you do from avg jaw/avg tongue/short frenulum - the tongue is
restricted in elevation, extension, transverse movements, and grooving.

Anyone have any comments on this?
And while we are on the subject, has anyone found a definition of
micrognathia in an infant?  I have been unable to find something that
lays out exactly what the criteria is for diagnosing micrognathia in
newborns, though we all "know it when we see it".
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html