Frenectomy advice needed!

[GMum]

I took DD to the infant dentist today for a check up. Turns out she has an attached labial frenulum and the dentist recommend I take her to my dentist and get a frenectomy but also said she would need a general anaesethic (she is only 14mo).

Surgery like this seems a drastic action to me. It does sometimes bleed when I brush it ( and now I have figured out why) or if she bangs it but other than that it doesn't seem like such a big deal at this point.

Has anyone had any experience with this problem?

What are the consequences of not having it done both now and down the road?

Is surgery REALLY necessary at her age or can I wait until she is older?

TIA for any help!

[Nan'sMom]

My younger two have this and we are opting to leave them alone. From what I understand it can cause problems with nursing (like in the beginning, not suddenly at 14 months) and then way down the road, with plenty of time for your child to decide what she wants done to her body. Some people do say it can create a need for braces though and do opt to clip it. Hopefully you'll get more posts...I know opinions differ.

[GMum]

Thanks so much for your reply. DH and I want to leave it alone - we are not into surgery or proceedures unless absolutely unaviodable, but i just wanted to hear from others in the same boat. So, thank you.

Does it correct itself?

The dentist told us that it would create a gap between her teeth...but we can live with that and is not a good enough reason to out her through all that, and I'll just be extra careful when we brush her teeth.

[tanyalynn]

I have a noticeable gap between my front teeth due to this, I can't say that it's been a worry in my life. But, my daughter's gap is much wider and I am wondering if she will have crowding issues if we don't cut it. But, our old dentist, when we talked when she was 3yo, suggested that we wait to address it (if we planned to) until 6-ish, I think it was around when baby teeth start falling out, just before adult teeth start coming in. Some people find that falls or whatnot cut it partially or completely on its own. My daughter's is quite thick and hasn't ever bled (is that common?) and I am thinking that we'll need to decide within the next year or two (my daughter just turned 5).

[GMum]

Thanks Mama

[timberwolf]

Hi, just letting you know that both of my kids have this. My son is almost 5 and his dentist originally told us to have the surgery. Then as luck would have it we went to "moms and ones" with a orthodontist mom who said in her opinion that it was not necessary. She said first of all, that typically the tendon snaps by a sudden fall (this happened to both of them!). Then also she said you never know if you are going to need that extra room for teeth. This got me thinking because my husband and I both have very tight teeth. Then she said worse case scenario is that they get braces when they are older, which is so not a big deal. Fin's gap was big when he first got his teeth in, but now it is not even noticeable. We are so glad we did not go with the surgery. It is an unnecessary risk imo.

PS -this surgery is free in my province for under 6 years old, still decided no.

[lexbeach]

My youngest ds had this, but his snapped with a fall, as I've heard is common. He was just at the dentist this morning for his first cleaning/check-up (at nearly 28 months), and the dentist thought the situation looked pretty good at the moment, but that he will need some work down the line. The frenulum left a big space between his front two teeth at the top, but the teeth are touching at the bottom. Eventually the dentist would like to widen the gap at the bottom slightly to help stop so much food from getting stuck in the current gap. Also, she said that he will probably need to have the torn frenulum "neatened" at some point, though she said this wouldn't need to be surgical (right now he just has the extra flap of skin hanging there).

I do know of some grown people who wished that they had their freulums clipped as kids so as to spare them the angst of the gap-between teeth in the teenage years, but they both had pretty extreme cases.

I probably would have had ds' clipped if it hadn't torn on its own because I don't think the procedure is a big deal at all (especially if you do it early).

Lex