A Pediatric Dental Specialist May Do A Frenectomy If Your Baby Has Trouble Latching And Feeding

The frenulum is a small amount of tissue that attaches your lip to your upper gums or your tongue to the bottom of your mouth. If the tissue is too big or too long in infants, it can cause problems with breastfeeding and tooth spacing. Your baby might have issues with both the upper lip and tongue or with just one area only.

The solution to this problem is a surgical procedure called a frenectomy. This surgery is performed at a pediatric dental specialist clinic—such as Dentistry For Children & Adolescents—and it's often done with a laser. Here's more information about a laser frenectomy.

Why A Frenectomy Is Needed

If the frenulum is too long on your baby's tongue, it may interfere with normal tongue movement. Your baby might have difficulty latching and nursing. Even if they can nurse normally, they could have trouble with speech as they grow. Having surgery while still an infant can prevent developmental problems with your baby.

If the frenulum on the upper lip is too big, it might drop in the space between two upper teeth. That could cause a large tooth gap that affects your child's smile when they get older. With the frenulum in the way, the teeth can't close even in adulthood, unless the frenulum is removed.

How A Laser Frenectomy Is Done

Pediatric dental specialists often use a laser for this procedure because a laser makes the surgery go quicker and it reduces the risk of complications. A laser frenectomy usually just takes a few minutes, and the laser isn't painful for your baby since the area may be numbed first. However, anesthesia and sedation aren't usually needed.

The laser reduces bleeding and sterilizes as it vaporizes tissue. The laser also stimulates tissue repair, so healing might be quicker. A laser also eliminates the need for sutures. The pediatric dental specialist simply uses the laser over the area of the frenulum to free it so the tongue or lip has a more normal attachment.

How To Prevent Reattachment

Your baby should tolerate the procedure well and have very little discomfort. The dentist may encourage you to feed your baby right after the procedure to comfort and calm them. Since your baby doesn't have to be sedated, they can feed right away.

An important part of recovering from a laser frenectomy is doing the exercises with your baby that prevent reattachment. If you don't keep up with the exercises, the ends of the frenulum might bond together again.

However, this can be prevented by doing gentle stretching exercises with your fingers in your baby's mouth that keep the ends of the frenulum separated until they've healed. The pediatric dental specialist will tell you what you need to know to keep your baby comfortable and to help with their recovery.