My daughter has a frenum attachment that caused a gap between her top 2 front teeth. She's had her teeth cleaned at a family dentist, who then referred us to a pediatric dentist to look at / fix the frenum attachment. I finally got her in to see this dentist, and he says he can't fix hers! Now I have to take her to a periodontist! The earliest appointment I could get her is in May.
The pediatric dentist said the extra skin comes down between her teeth & attaches at the back of her gums. He said sometimes when the permanent teeth come in, they would fix the attachment & be ok. He doesn't think that will happen with my daughter & that if it doesn't get fixed, then her permanent teeth will have the same gap.
So, while we are waiting 2 months to find out what the periodontist says... has anybody else had this with their child? She just turned 5 about a month ago. He said we may be able to wait a bit before having it fixed, and that at her age she would probably have to be put to sleep because it's a type of surgery.
How old was your child when it was done? How did it go?
I'm thinking we should have it done before she starts Kindergarten this fall.
My oldest has this and he is 9 they will not snip his until he gets braces in a few years. My guess is they do it the same way they did my younger sons tongue but that's just a guess. I can I ask my mom next time I speak to her though she works for an oral surgeon and it's a pretty routine procedure for them.
A frenectomy is a pretty simple proceedure. The Frenum is clipped at the top and it peels out kind of like the string on a banana. I do think that 5 y/o is way too young to have this proceedure. The worst part of this proceedure is the anesthetic as it needs to be injected in the area above the front teeth. (This is probably the most painful part of the mouth to have an injection) That is probably why they are recommending sedation. Recovery is usually a day or two. I used to work in general dentistry, and in one office this was a very common proceedure. Other offices I worked in rarely if ever performed this proceedure. I would have a 2nd or even 3rd opinion. An oral surgeon would be another source for a 2nd opinion. I would also talk to an orthodontist...he/she would probably know a better timeline, and who to refer you too. Hope that this helps.
LASER, LASER, LASER!
http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/17075606367412289537
My six year old daughter had a lingual frenulectomy via laser in Dec 2010. See the above post. My daughter also has a gap b/n her teeth but it is due to her tongue thrust issue which causes pressure on the teeth which causes the gap.
I am wondering a couple of things...does this cause her pain? Does it inhibit her speech? Is she self-concious about the gap? I ask for two reasons.
One, our family dentist tried to have me get this done to my daughter years ago. I did not. She is now 10 and since her adult teeth have come in and continue to come in, the gap is no longer noticeable.
Two, the reason I did not have the procedure performed is because I and my sister remember when she had hers done. I remember crying and no sleep. She remembers pain and begged me not to have it done to my daughter. While I realize procedures have changed, I, personally, am not a big fan of any cosmetic procedures until a child is old enough to ask for and consent themselves. That is why I asked the questions at first...
Just my 2 cents!
My sister had this done when she was 18 and they put braces on right after and they did it in the dentist office & she did not have to be put under for it.
