Dysfunctional suction dynamics in newborns with ankyloglossia.

Purpose: Compare infant suction in babies with and without ankyloglossia using a microprocessor-controlled pressure sensor coupled to a pacifier.

Methods: Fifty-five infants from 0 to 2 months of age underwent clinical examination for ankyloglossia, after which they were offered a silicone pacifier connected to the pressure acquisitiondevice and suction activity was recorded. Thus, we extracted the frequency of sucks within a burst, the average suck duration, the burst duration, the number of sucks per burst, the maximum amplitude of sucks per burst and the inter-burst interval.