PURPOSE: to present a protocol proposal to evaluate the lingual frenum in babies with scores. METHOD: initially was performed a review of the literature, referring to the databases Web of Science, Pubmed, Embase, All Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews and Scielo as well as textbooks in the areas of Anatomy, Pediatric Dentistry and Language and Hearing Sciences. All aspects considered relevant were included in the work found in the initial release, which was assessed on three Speech Language Pathologists specialist in Orofacial Myology, obtaining the consensus version, which was applied in 10 term infants to verify the applicability of the instrument. RESULTS: based on literature and the pilot study, the protocol was designed to evaluate the lingual frenum in infants. The first part consists of the clinical history containing general questions of identification and specific questions about family history and breastfeeding. The second part is composed by clinical examination, that consists of anatomofunctional evaluation and evaluation of orofacial functions. CONCLUSIONS: the evaluation protocol of the frenum of the tongue in infants has been developed from a theoretical proposal and depends on its applicability to be configured as validated test. It is hoped that it may help health professionals to assess and diagnose the anatomical variations of the frenum and its possible interference with breast feeding, guiding and promoting effective conduct an evidence-based practice.The second phase of this work will be the experimental research and statistical analysis.
Evaluation; Protocols; Lingual Frenum; Breastfeeding; Suction; Speech; Language and Hearing Sciencesprocedimentos
