Some parents might hear from a pediatrician, lactation consultant, speech therapist, or orthodontist that their child needs a frenectomy. A frenectomy is a procedure that is used to treat a tongue tie or lip tie, which means that the tightness of the tissue connecting your child’s tongue or lip to their mouth is restricting their ability to properly function when eating, speaking, or cleaning their teeth. A frenectomy procedure revises the tightness of the frenum attachment so that your child is able to improve mobility and function of their tongue and lip.

If a tongue tie or lip tie is not treated, this can make it difficult for infants to properly latch and eat efficiently when breastfeeding or drinking from a bottle. Older children who have an untreated tongue tie or lip tie may have difficulty with speech, clearing food from their teeth, or may experience displacement of their teeth or receding gum tissue.

It is important for a pediatric dentist to evaluate whether a tongue tie or lip tie is contributing to any restrictions in function as soon as concerns are identified since earlier correction often leads to better results. If a frenectomy procedure is indicated to improve the mobility of your child’s tongue or lip, it is important to follow up with your pediatrician, lactation consultant, or speech therapist to help retrain your child’s tongue and lip position to improve eating or speech after the procedure.

Dr. Sarah Villaseñor is a Board Certified pediatric dentist who is highly trained in treating your child’s function of their mouth rather than just the appearance. In our office, we use the Epic X Diode laser which allows gentle and comfortable treatment.