Bridle plastic surgery

Important components of the oral cavity are thin folds of the mucous membrane, which are called frenulums. They ensure reliable attachment of the lips to the gums, thereby maintaining them in the correct position.

There are three types of frenulums in the mouth of every person: upper lip, lower lip and tongue. Each of these mucous folds performs its important role in the human body, but the common functions of all three are as follows:

• breastfeeding;
• correct bite formation;
• orotundity.

If one of the bridles is too short, it negatively affects the functions listed above

Normally, the frenulum of the lip is attached to the cellular process of the upper jaw at the level of 0.4-0.7 cm from the necks of the central incisors, which makes it possible to articulate well and does not pose a threat to the dento-gingival attachment.

There are two forms of defects of the frenulum of the lips, depending on the attachment of their stem:

• to the interdental papilla without interweaving of frenulum fibers into the intercellular suture;
• attachment of the frenulum of the lip, in which case its fibers are woven into the median seam.

When to trim the frenulum of the child’s upper lip?

According to the recommendation of dentists, it is better to do frenulum plastic surgery for children at the age of 5-8 years. If the frenulum rupture occurred at an older age, for example as a result of an injury, then the operation is performed regardless of the age of the patients or according to orthodontic indications.

Indications for trimming the frenulum of the lip

If the child has a developmental anomaly, this problem and the importance of surgical intervention should not be ignored. Most parents treat this problem as a harmless aesthetic defect. But this is a false opinion, and how, in addition to an ugly smile and impaired diction, it threatens the health of the teeth:

• the presence of a diastema (dental gap) between the upper incisors.If you do not resort to plastic surgery, it will increase and thus the teeth will shift;
• disease of the periodontal tissues, which causes an abnormality of the frenulum, pulling the mucosa and exposing the roots of the teeth, inflammation of the gums occurs.Teeth begin to loosen and fall out;
• the presence of bite anomalies.

Methods of bridle plastic surgery

Modern dentistry offers to correct the frenulum with the help of laser plastic surgery, frenulotomy, frenulectomy, frenuloplasty:

• Plastic surgery with a laser is an innovative method without applying stitches. Application reduces the risks of infections and pain;
• frenulotomy – transverse crossing (performed in the case of a short frenulum represented by a duplication of the mucous membrane with the correct attachment of its leg);
• frenulectomy – excision of the frenum (used for a massive and wide frenum of the lip, when the fibers of the frenum are woven into the palatal suture between two incisors. In this case, the fibers located at the base of the frenum in the cellular process are excised).
• frenuloplasty (moving the leg of the frenulum up, which is fixed to the cellular process or cellular part: Y-shaped and Z-shaped frenuloplasty).

The frenulum of the tongue is a fold of the mucous membrane, which is normally attached 1-1.5 cm below its tip. The second point of attachment is in the area of ​​the floor of the oral cavity along the median line between the sublingual papillae.

Too short a bridle or its incorrect attachment can cause the following problems:

• violation of the act of sucking from the first days of life and refusal of breastfeeding;
• at 6-7 months – growth retardation of the frontal area of ​​the lower jaw;
• at 5-6 years old – pronunciation disorder (letter “r” and “l”);
• at 7-9 years old – incorrect location of the front teeth on the lower jaw, malocclusion, diastema, inflammation of the gums.

How to eliminate the defect of the frenulum of the tongue?

In the first minutes after birth, the baby is examined by a neonatologist. Among other important indicators, he pays attention to the length of the frenulum of the tongue. If it is shortened, it is cut with scissors (frenulotomy). If this is not done immediately, the baby will have problems with nutrition from the first days of life – he will not be able to breastfeed properly, and therefore will not receive enough nutrients. In the future, this can lead to a delay in physical development.

You can cut the frenulum of the tongue while the baby is breastfeeding. But the earlier it is done, the better for the child.

In some situations, a speech therapist can refer a child to a dentist. The baby cannot pronounce the palatal sounds “l”, “r” and others. It is even difficult for the child to reach the hard palate with the tip of the tongue, there is a bifurcation of the tip of the tongue, which resembles a “heart”.

What does the doctor recommend after the plastic frenulum of the lips and tongue?

Immediately after the plastic frenulum of the lips or tongue, the patient is given the following recommendations:

• it is not advisable to eat and drink within 2 hours;
• It is recommended not to consume hot food and drinks for 4-5 days;
• exclude hot baths, physical activity in the next few days;
• do not rinse the mouth, oral baths with an antiseptic solution prescribed by a dental surgeon according to the age of the child are recommended;
• carefully carry out individual tooth brushing with a soft toothbrush to avoid infection.