Miss Ray X,
Our laser frenectomy expert
Miss Ray X,
What is frenectomy and when is it necessary? Do older children need a frenectomy? With the help of this intervention, a child’s quality of life can be improved in just 10 – 15 minutes.
The frenum is a mucosal fold that fixes or restricts the mobility of an organ in the body. The frenum on the oral cavity is found on the lips (lip frenum) or on the tongue (lingual frenum).
On the inner surface of both lips, there is a mucosal crease represented by the median labial brake that connects the upper lip, respectively the lower lip with the adjacent gum. The tongue is also attached to the floor of the mouth through such a mucosal fold, called the lingual frenum. If the frenum development limits the movement of the lips or the tongue, then intervention must be made.
The frenum makes difficult many essential processes important for proper development, especially at an early age, such as:
- Feeding in the first year of life, but also in the following years
- Nasal breathing
- Swallowing (the way we swallow)
- Self-cleaning of dental surfaces
- Speech development
- Development of maxillary arches
- Periodontal health maintenance
Frenum removal on time not only visibly improves the child’s life and the parents’ sleep, but also provides a much more pleasant experience for them. This happens both in the first year of the child’s life and throughout the child’s developmental period.
- Proper feeding of the baby – children suffering from restrictive frenum can not eat properly, do not gain weight and can develop, over time, various gastrointestinal disorders.
- Breastfeeding can be prolonged – because the frenum often prevents proper breastfeeding, many mothers feel discouraged and give up on breastfeeding earlier than they would have liked it.
- The child’s speech is improved – there are many cases in which children cannot articulate certain words correctly and thus there are delays in language development. These can have a psychological impact and lower the self-esteem.
- The child gives up on breathing through the mouth – children with restrictive frenum are much more likely to breathe through the mouth and have an increased risk of developing allergies, tonsillitis, etc.
- It reduces the risk of caries – in most cases, children with restrictive frenum have a higher than normal caries index (the lip is always in contact with the teeth, and the bacterial plaque adheres much more easily to them; the tongue has no mobility necessary to participate in the self-cleaning process).
- It decreases the risk of having an incorrect bite and underdeveloped dental arches laterally (transversely) – and, implicitly, may decrease the risk of following a complex dental treatment.
- The shape of the face develops correctly – the frenum presence can affect a child’s face aspect and even the way the face bones develop.
- No more pain during chewing – in older children, the frenum can be attached so as to cause discomfort, even pain, when eating more substantial food.
- Ensures the correct eruption of the incisors – there are cases in which, if the frenum is made of a lot of fibrous tissue, it can negatively influence the development of the incisors, by the presence of a significant diastema (a gap between a person’s two upper front teeth).
- Decreases the risk of periodontal disease in adulthood.
- It is a minimally invasive procedure, without bleeding, and does not involve the use of a scalpel or sutures.
- It requires very little local anesthesia (both topical – gel and injection).
- It’s not a traumatic event for the child because the laser doesn’t look “scary”.
- The edema is reduced and there are no scars left.
- The laser performs a biostimulation of the adjacent tissues. It cauterizes in real time, so bleeding is minimal.
- It is a very quick procedure and does not involve a post-intervention follow-up.
- Laser frenectomy is performed by a specialist who is experienced in treating children.
