Frenectomy Mississauga Services

Is your child tongue-tied and has been facing speech or eating problems? Or do you just have an unsightly lip, cheek or tongue tie? If yes to any of those, please read further about how you can alleviate common symptoms with a dental frenectomy.

What is a Frenectomy?

Frenectomy, also known as frenotomy, is a procedure of removing particular tissues called frenulum or frenum from the mouth usually from under the tongue or under the upper lip but occasionally attached to the cheek. An improperly tied frenum restricts movement and they can create all sorts of immediate and future problems.

Symptoms and Consequences of Tied Frenum (Frenulum)

Here are some of the main issues if it’s not fixed as early as possible:

Front Tooth Gap: One of the top causes of gaps in the front teeth is a poorly positioned upper frenulum. While it can be treated at all ages, we recommend the sooner the better for an easier procedure and quicker recovery.

Impaired Speech Development: The tongue is the primary tool for shaping sounds for speech. An improper tie here can impair pronunciation and therefore communication. This may lead to self-esteem issues and anxiety.

Poor oral hygiene: Tongue-ties might make it difficult to clean food trapped under the tongue. This can contribute to tooth decay and gum disease.

Here are some other symptoms you or your child may experience if there’s an improperly tied frenulum:

Developmental abnormalities in the mouth.
Discomfort while swallowing.
Frenum tear causing pain and bleeding.
Issues with breast feeding.
Sleep issues such as snoring and mouth breathing, which can be caused by jaw. development abnormalities due to frenum growth.
Trouble fully extending the tongue.
Pulling gum tissue away from the base of the teeth and exposing the tooth root which can lead to infection.

Types of Frenums

Lingual Frenum Tongue-Tie (Ankyloglossia)

The tongue tie frenum is a short, thick or tight band of tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth.

Labial Frenum Lip Tie

The lip tie is frenum that keeps your lip stable as you grow. It connects the underside of the top lip with the gums above the upper, front teeth.

Buccal Frenum Cheek Tie

A buccal tie, pronounced like “Buckle”, is a tie limiting frenum attachment from inside the cheek to the gum tissues. Unlike lip and tongue ties, they are more rare and they don’t typically cause some of the more severe issues. Luckily, buccal ties are easily removed.

Can a dentist fix tongue tie?

A dentist can absolutely fix a tongue tie. In fact, there are a wide range of types that can be fixed.

For anyone ages 4 and up, your treatment really depends on how the tie is configured as there can be cases ranging from easy to complicated depending on how long you have it and how it’s anchored.

If you request a consultation, it can be looked at and assessed and you will be presented with all the information so you can make an informed decision.

Dentistry Procedure

Most frenectomies are pretty straight forward and involve minimal surgery. Usually, the improperly placed frenulum is snipped (surgically or laser) and either reattached in a better position on the gums or removed completely.

The procedures may sometimes need appropriate anesthesia or topical gel to numb the area. If the lip tie is more complex, the doctor may use stitches to close the incision and stop the blood flow.

Why Perform the procedure?

Typically, frenectomies are done when there are quality of life or even safety issues such as improper breast feeding, infections, discomfort, difficulty eating, and aesthetics.

Who Benefits

Babies, older children up to teenagers benefit the most but adults as well if there are quality of life concerns.

Before And After Effects

The dentist should be made aware of any issues you have after the procedure but for most people, life returns to normal in a few days.

For some, especially if affects the spacing of their teeth or the pronunciation of their words, it’s life changing; a new sense of confidence is instilled in them.

How long is recovery from frenectomy?

The recovery can be anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks for full healing. You should speak with a dentist at Dr. Bobby Brown and Associates in Mississauga to understand what kind of treatment you need.