Oral Exam and A Frenum




Maxillary frenum or tongue-tie surgery can now be safely treated with a laser. Dr. Fuller and his team will complete a through oral exam in order to determine what type of procedure is necessary. Dr. Cameron Fuller, pediatric dentist at Pediatric Dentistry of Redlands and Associates, and his team can perform the surgery on babies that are two days old or older.  Midwives used to have a long nail that would snip the frenum after a baby was born. Lucky for parent’s technology is more advanced and a simple laser can be utilized to provide the necessary fix.
            When a laser is used there is multiple benefits. Tongue-tie or frenum is a thick piece of skin that attaches the upper lip to the gums. Sometimes babies are born with one that is thicker and it pulls the gums tighter then they should be. It may push between the two front teeth widening the space. If the space becomes too wide it can cause a speech delay later on and it may cause the gums to recced.
            When the frenum is snipped using scissors it then requires sutures and a local anesthetic due to bleeding and pain.  However, when a laser is used it reduces bleeding and pain. Sutures and a general anesthetic are rendered unnecessary for your young one. There is also a quicker recovery time for children. Dr.Fuller has found that most babies will immediately be able to correctly eat and older children can return to school the next day. The laser is able to release the skin attached between the teeth or loosen the tight grip that a too short frenum has. 

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