What pathologies require solutions?
Normally, the frenulum of the tongue starts from the tip of the organ and ends in the area of the lower incisors. It is located exactly in the center (bottom). These are the perfect sizes. The main pathology that occurs is a shortened frenulum, which leads to limited mobility of the tongue.
As for the frenulum of the lip (pathologies are mainly found on the upper one), then normally it should be located between the front incisors and at the base of the lip. Such a film can be very short, which will lead to tension on the mucous membrane, or excessively large and will overlap the front teeth.
Due to such pathologies, a complex of problems arises, without eliminating which you risk creating serious troubles in the child’s life. And they will have to be resolved over more than one year.
The importance of performing tongue frenuloplasty on a child
Pronunciation of words, formation of bite, correct functioning of facial muscles and mucous membranes. All these are processes in which the frenulum of the tongue is actively involved. Abnormal parameters of this fold of the mucous membrane provoke the occurrence of many disorders. Plastic surgery of the frenulum of the tongue in children can prevent and stop their development. The operation allows you to restore the following functions:
- Opening the mouth
- Eating
- Tongue mobility
- Pronunciation of “L”, “R”, “Sh”
- Swallowing saliva, drinks, food
Specialists at the ATIS KISD clinic claim that plastic surgery of the frenulum of the tongue is necessary for a child in childhood, because it will prevent the formation of an unaesthetic smile, and with it many complexes associated with appearance.
Why frenulum abnormalities require seeing a doctor
Abnormalities of the labial frenulum
Such a frenulum (either short or long) leads to the fact that the front teeth move apart and a gap forms between them - a diastema. In addition, over time, gum recession occurs and tooth roots become exposed. This is dangerous because teeth become more sensitive and the risk of caries increases.
Anomalies of the frenulum of the tongue
- feeding difficulties: immediately after birth, the baby experiences difficulties, he has to make Herculean efforts to suck breast milk or a bottle of formula. Discomfort makes the baby refuse to eat, the baby becomes very capricious, and loses weight. This is due to the fact that the sucking reflex is impaired, since the tongue is limited in movement,
- Digestive problems: difficulty eating and swallowing leads to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract,
- developmental delay: such a child takes longer to gain weight than healthy ones and grows worse. Not receiving the vitamins and substances the body needs, it begins to lag behind its peers,
- articulation disorder: the voice becomes hissing or whistling, a lisp appears. The change in diction is explained by the fact that the child cannot pronounce certain sounds normally - again due to limited tongue movement,
- the development and proper functioning of the entire maxillofacial apparatus is disrupted.
Most often, a violation of the structure of the frenulum is a congenital pathology; there is also a high probability of the pathology being transmitted by inheritance - studies note1 that parents who suffered from this disease in childhood had beloved children who were also susceptible to a similar anomaly. But in some cases, the reason lies in the occurrence of problems during pregnancy: these could be frequent stressful situations, a lack of vitamins, or untreated infections in the baby’s mother.
Why is it necessary to trim the frenulum of the tongue?
The frenulum is located in the delicate area where the mucous membrane joins the floor of the mouth, i.e. in the middle of the tongue. Normally, the length of the frenulum is from 2.6 to 3 cm. With pathology, the upper tip may be located on the side of the tongue, and sometimes at the tip.
This condition leads to the following consequences:
- Bite problems;
- Limited tongue mobility;
- Underdeveloped jaw.
Signs of a short frenulum of the tongue:
- When folded, the tongue takes the shape of a groove, which provokes a characteristic clicking sound;
- The tip of the tongue is attached to the floor of the mouth, which is why it becomes immobile;
- In the anterior part, the frenulum is short and looks like a transparent film without vessels. Over time, it becomes denser, tissue with blood vessels is formed.
To determine whether a person has a pathology, you need to ask him to touch the roof of his mouth with the tip of his tongue. If this is not possible or provokes feelings of combat, then there is a problem and it needs to be solved. Here you will need a mandatory consultation with a dental surgeon who recommends treatment (link).
As a preventive measure, pediatricians examine the condition of the tongue and lip frenulum in children while still in the maternity hospital, and then during periodic examinations in the clinic.
At what age is it better to have frenuloplasty?
The sooner an anomaly in the shape and structure of the frenulum is identified, the more painless the operation to correct it will be. Accordingly, there will be many times fewer unpleasant consequences for the body.
- infancy: this is the best option. The pathology is usually diagnosed in the maternity hospital during examination of the newborn. At the age of up to 9 months, the membrane of the tongue has not yet had time to acquire blood vessels and does not have nerve endings, which means that the procedure for its correction will be quick and painless. The baby will almost immediately begin to eat well and stop being capricious. In children who have undergone frenuloplasty before one year of age, their appetite is quickly restored, since the sucking reflex is not impaired,
- 1-3 years: this period is the best time to visit the dentist for the first time; he will be the one who will be able to diagnose the problem and take action. Trimming the frenulum at this age will also be quite painless and will not harm the jaw system,
- 5-8 years: if the pathology of the frenulum was not resolved at an earlier age, then this can be done when the baby teeth fall out, but it is better before the baby teeth are replaced with permanent ones. A specialist needs no more than ten minutes to eliminate the pathology. But it is worth noting that at this age the child can already speak, which means he will have to additionally visit a speech therapist to retrain the baby to pronounce a number of sounds.
Consequences
Some parents categorically deny the need to undergo plastic surgery of the frenulum of the tongue, suggesting that it will not affect the development of their child in any way. But that's not true. A short frenulum has many adverse consequences, including the following:
- salivation;
- problems with breastfeeding
- apnea;
- sleep disorders;
- frenulum tear;
- problems with chewing food lumps;
- impaired diction;
- belching and problems with digesting incoming food lumps;
- voice change.
A child’s tongue frenulum can be trimmed from 0 to 9 months, from 2 to 2.5 years, and also after 5 years.
Stages of frenuloplasty
The procedure is quite simple and does not take much time. Using a scalpel or surgical scissors, the doctor will dissect the film. In children, this process does not even require pain relief; in older children, topical anesthesia is used. It is worth remembering that the older the child, the thicker the frenulum, so more time will be required for rehabilitation.
In the case of a short or long frenulum of the lip, the procedure will take more time. It must be performed under general anesthesia (deeper infiltration rather than superficial). If the frenulum is too bulky, the doctor will remove some of the tissue and apply stitches. If, on the contrary, it is short, dissection of the mucosa and even its partial transplantation will be required.
A few hours after the procedure, when the anesthesia wears off, pain and some discomfort are possible, but the edges of the wound are quickly covered with a thin film of epithelium, and the scar from the procedure disappears in a maximum of a couple of weeks.
Intervention
Tongue frenuloplasty is indicated for problems with breastfeeding, misalignment of teeth, malocclusion, and diction problems. In total, there are three types of surgical intervention: frenulotomy, Glickman method and frenuloplasty. The first method is the simplest and most gentle.
Recently, doctors have increasingly begun to resort to using a scalpel to trim the frenulum of the tongue. Now preference is given to more modern, painless and highly effective methods. Laser frenulum correction is one of these. This method is used even in very young children.
In general, the intervention itself does not take much time and is not complicated. It is mandatory for the patient to donate blood and urine before the intervention. The cutting is performed under general anesthesia. The rehabilitation period is 24 hours. At this time, you should not eat too hot or spicy food, and carefully monitor your oral hygiene.
Rules for rehabilitation after frenuloplasty
Many parents are interested in whether it is dangerous to have frenuloplasty. There can be only one answer here - it’s more dangerous not to do it at all. The procedure is very simple to perform, and there are almost never any complications after it. But, of course, as after any other operation, you need to follow some recommendations:
- limit consumption of hot and cold foods,
- Carry out oral hygiene with extreme caution,
- follow the doctor’s orders and do language exercises to restore speech after the procedure,
- visit a speech therapist to learn how to speak correctly.
These simple recommendations will help maintain health and very quickly return your child to a full life. But parents will definitely be required to monitor compliance with the rules.
1 Kozlova S.I. Hereditary syndromes and medical genetic counseling. Atlas-reference book, 1996.
How to determine if the frenulum is short
What should a normal frenulum be like? The length of the fold of the mucous membrane in the average person varies from 2.7 to 3.0 cm. It is located under the tongue in the central part and attaches it to the lower floor of the mouth. If the frenulum is located closer to the tip of the vocal organ, then it is called short. This anomaly limits the mobility of the tongue and causes rapid fatigue during eating and talking. In some cases, the length of the frenulum does not exceed 1.7 cm and does not cause discomfort.
How to determine the presence of an anomaly? It’s very simple, the child just needs to touch the upper palate with his tongue. If this action cannot be carried out, then it is time to contact an ATIS KIDS dental surgeon, and also find a good speech therapist. The operation is not considered difficult, and its price will be fully justified by a healthy future. Plastic surgery of the frenulum of the child’s tongue can be performed immediately after birth so that the baby can suckle normally at the mother’s breast. The surgical intervention takes about 5 minutes. The wound heals within 24 hours.
Tongue frenuloplasty – price
The cost of the operation depends on many factors:
- The general health of the patient;
- Nature of the problem;
- Specialist qualifications;
- Other related factors.
On average, the price of lingual frenuloplasty in Moscow is from 3,000 rubles. You can find out exactly how much the procedure costs during a personal consultation at the clinic.
If you suspect a problem, you should contact a trusted specialist (live link) in the field of plastic surgery. The sooner the doctor examines, makes a diagnosis and recommends effective treatment, the sooner the problem will be solved once and for all.
How to trim the frenulum of the tongue: methods and technologies
Methods and technologies for performing frenuloplasty surgery depend on the nature of the problem. There are three types of procedure: changing the place of attachment of the fold, making an incision using a laser or scalpel. The most complex types of surgical techniques are dissection with a scalpel and changing the attachment site of the fold. Plastic surgery of this type of hyoid ligament lasts half an hour and begins with an anesthetic injection or the use of an anesthetic. Next, the doctor trims the frenulum with a scalpel and applies a suture, which is removed a week after the operation. Laser plastic surgery of the hypoglossal ligament is performed using diode radiation. The surgery is performed using a laser by an experienced dentist. For quick rehabilitation in the postoperative period, you need to avoid hot, spicy and too salty foods. For children, doctors recommend laser surgery because it has a number of advantages over conventional surgery. Laser plastic surgery is bloodless, lasts ten minutes, eliminates bacteria and leaves no traces. This type of surgery is considered the safest. Make an appointment with your doctor and find out what type of hypoglossal ligament surgery you need.
