How To Decide If Your Child Needs Laser Frenectomy For A Lip or Tongue Tie?

One of the most common questions asked by the parents. When patients visit the Pediatric Dentist near 77098, many parents come with a query about lip or tongue tie. Let’s explore more about the lip and tongue tie condition and if laser frenectomy is the right option for your child.

How Does Untreated Lip or Tongue Tie Affect Your Child?

Whether your child is a newborn, a toddler, or an adolescent, it has been observed that restricted upper lip or tongue tie, which hinders full mobility of the upper lip can lead to several health and dental issues. Some of the issues that are caused by tongue or lip tie include:

• Speech difficulty
• Narrow plate
• Difficulty in eating/ breastfeeding
• Dental malocclusion
• Sleep apnea
• Digestive issues
• Restricted mid-face growth

As parents, it is your responsibility to be aware and informed about what to look in order to identify the lip and tongue ties, how it can impact your child’s health and growth if it remains unidentified or untreated. When diagnosed, a frenectomy procedure can help in addressing the condition and promoting optimum growth, health, sleep, and development for your child.

What is Frenectomy?

It is the removal of the connective tissues from under the tongue or the upper gum. Usually, there are two types of laser frenectomies performed in Houston- Lingual frenectomy and labial frenectomy near me.

When is a Frenectomy Required?

The parents can choose frenectomy for their kids for various reasons at any age. When frenectomy is chosen for an infant lip or tongue tie, the reason is that the child has difficulty in breastfeeding or bottle feeding. The tongue or lip tie symptoms in the infant include:

• Prolonged breastfeeding
• Excessive gassiness
• Frequent spitting or reflux
• Difficulty in latching on to the breast

According to the pediatric dentist near you, in toddlers or young childrens dentist Houston, the symptoms that indicate the presence of lip or tongue tie are:

• The gap between the front teeth
• Speech impediments and difficulty with annunciation
• Jaw pain
• Eating problems

Significance of Identifying Tongue or Lip Tie in Your Child

During the routine checkups, the pediatrician or the dentist near you may not always notice the lip or tongue tie condition. In some kids, the condition remains unidentified till the kid reaches pre-kindergarten or elementary school. This is sad as frenectomy can help in addressing the condition that too with minimal pain during the first few weeks after the birth. Thus, parents must be aware of these conditions and the effect they can have on a child’s general health and growth. Frenectomy can have a huge impact on the patient’s quality of life, says the Pediatric Dentist Houston, TX.

What Does Laser Frenectomy Involve?

According to Houston Pediatric Dentist near you, the procedure is performed simply and straightforwardly. It usually needs only a single visit for the procedure to go through. Traditionally, the frenectomies were performed with the help of a scissor or a scalpel and sedation was used along with the need for sutures. However, with laser frenectomy, these things are no more required.

The advanced laser frenectomy equipment makes sure that there is minimal or no bleeding involved. The recovery time is also shortened to a couple of weeks.

Benefits of Laser Frenectomy

• Shorter duration of treatment, i.e. 1-2 minutes
• There is no or minimal bleeding
• The healing and recovery is quite fast as there is no need for invasive techniques
• The pain and discomfort are minimal
• Doctors recommend and encourage parents to feed the child immediately.
• It is a minimally invasive procedure
• There is no need for sutures
• Since there is no use of invasive techniques, there is no need for anesthesia or sedation dentistry
• There is nil to minimal chances of reattachment

The Laser Frenectomies for Children are completed at the dental office in a single visit. The doctors follow the required safety precautions making sure that the baby is safe and receives the best treatment. Not every child may need both lip and tongue revised and often times only the upper tongue is tied and not the upper lip. The pediatric dentists will evaluate the condition before proceeding further.