Plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum: all about the operation, consequences, recovery

Few people know, but the beauty of a smile and the ability to correctly pronounce all sounds largely depend on the location, length and thickness of the frenulum of the upper lip. Unfortunately, defects in its development and attachment are quite often diagnosed in dental practice, especially when it comes to young patients. With age, the abnormal size of the cord and the incorrect height of its fixation provoke problems with the eruption of permanent incisors, the development of caries, the appearance of symptoms of gum inflammation and exposure of the dental necks.

It is to prevent the occurrence of such pathological changes or to treat existing ailments that dentists offer removal of the frenulum of the upper lip. What kind of operation is this, when is it indicated for a baby and are there any contraindications for this procedure in children and adults?

What is upper lip frenuloplasty?

Surgical correction of a connective cord defect is an effective surgical technique that allows you to correct your bite, eliminate problems with diction and prevent the development of dental pathologies. The intervention is carried out under local anesthesia by dissecting the fold tissues and then attaching them to the desired location.

According to official statistics, approximately every sixth child under the age of 6 years undergoes frenuloplasty. Also, children are often offered correction of the lower cord, located below between the skin-muscular fold surrounding the mouth and the mucous membrane of its cavity in the middle of the central incisors.

How to determine and when to prune?

When the frenulum is attached in the middle of the child’s tongue, and its length is about 8 mm, this is considered normal. But if it is attached almost to the tip of the tongue, correction is needed.

You can do a simple test for children 2–3 years old:

Ask your child to open his mouth.
And touch the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue.

If the baby does this without difficulty, there is no reason to panic. But when a child cannot touch the palate, or he experiences pain, then there is a reason to consult an orthodontist. For older children, only a doctor can make a correct diagnosis.

Sometimes doctors can determine this even in the maternity hospital. If this defect prevents the child from sucking the breast, then surgical intervention will be performed. If not, it will be postponed until a later date.

If there are indications, the bridle should be trimmed no earlier than 5–6 years. The optimal time is when the central incisors on both jaws have already erupted, but the lateral incisors have not yet erupted.

Who needs plastic correction

In childhood, this surgical intervention is indicated in a number of cases, including:

the presence of a diastema or gap between the front incisors, which is formed due to the frenulum being interwoven into the interdental papilla (such a pathological condition eventually leads to the development of periodontal disease and tooth loss);
periodontal diseases or a high risk of their development with a short upper cord;
improper bite formation;
inability to correctly install braces or plates to straighten teeth;
defect in the pronunciation of certain sounds as a result of improper attachment of the frenulum of the upper lip;
sucking dysfunction in infants.

Plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum in adults is carried out mainly during the installation of removable dentures. The fact is that during chewing movements or conversation, a short cord can touch the denture and contribute to its removal. Naturally, such a phenomenon causes considerable inconvenience to the patient. To prevent this from happening, dentists decide to trim the lip frenulum.

Indications

Normally, the frenulum does not interfere with a person in any way, but in some cases it can cause significant discomfort. Due to certain physiological characteristics, it can interfere with normal speech, negatively affect teeth and cause malocclusion. In such cases, surgery is necessary.

If there are abnormalities in the attachment of the frenulum to the upper or lower lip, surgical plastic surgery is indicated. Indications for surgery may be:

formation of a diastema (gap between the front teeth);
disorders of chewing functions;
inflammation of the gums;
periodontal diseases;
dysfunction of sucking in infants;
speech defects in children, etc.

Upper lip frenuloplasty is also performed for hygienic reasons. A wide frenulum leads to a systematic accumulation of deposits between the teeth. As a result, plaque forms on the surface of the incisors, and then tartar. All this can cause the development of caries and inflammation of soft tissues.

Another common complication that accompanies an incorrect frenulum is the development of tooth instability and increased sensitivity. A wide frenulum leads to exposure of the roots of the teeth, which significantly reduces overall immunity in the oral cavity. Bacteria and infections easily penetrate the gums, which leads to various periodontal diseases.

A short frenulum interferes with normal speech. The operation must be carried out for freer movement of the tongue and lips, without which the development of correct diction is impossible. The decision to correct the frenulum in this case is made by a speech therapist.

Indications for plastic surgery are determined by the following specialists:

orthodontist;
neonatologist;
speech therapist,
periodontist.

Plastic surgery to correct the frenulum of the upper lip should be performed in childhood. The most optimal age is 7-8 years (after complete eruption of the upper incisors). Advanced anomalies, such as an overly wide frenulum, can lead to serious consequences that can only be eliminated with long-term orthodontic treatment.

Contraindications

Such a surgical intervention as plastic surgery of the frenulum of the upper lip is not recommended for everyone. Among the strict contraindications to surgical correction of the cord, the following should be highlighted:

the patient has oral diseases;
osteomyelitis;
caries, which led to complications;
mental illness;
complex pathologies of the blood and internal organs, diseases of the nervous system;
oncology;
metabolic disorders with a tendency to collagenosis;
conditions after radiation therapy in the head and neck area;
infectious diseases in the acute stage of development;
elevated body temperature.

Optimal age for correction

At what age is the upper frenulum trimmed? The operation is indicated not only for children, but also for adult patients, naturally, if they have no contraindications to this type of plastic surgery. It is better if surgical intervention is carried out before the development of the pathological condition, which will prevent the problem, saving money and nerves.

The optimal age for trimming the frenulum of the upper lip in children is after 5.5 years. At this time, baby teeth begin to be replaced by permanent teeth, so problems may arise with their normal growth. Some dentists prefer to wait with plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum in children until the age of eight, when the child’s central incisors have already erupted and the bite can be more clearly traced.

In isolated cases, cord correction is performed on infants in the first months of life. A similar situation is relevant when the wide frenulum is located low, which disrupts the process of normal breastfeeding and prevents the necessary weight gain.

What to do if a child tears the frenulum on the upper lip?

Full collection and description: what to do if a child tears the frenulum on the upper lip? for readers of our site.

the upper frenulum was torn

The upper frenulum tore, there was a little blood and it went away, my son is 9 months old. Is it necessary to go to a traumatologist or get treatment and that’s it? I anointed it with peroxide with a cotton swab and sprinkled it with miramistin. I take everything around into my mouth and hold it in my arms.

Torn frenulum on upper lip

My son fell, I looked now while he was sleeping, and there the upper frenulum was torn, and there was a dark blue spot. There was a mouth full of blood on it. Wake me up and call an ambulance? Or go to the dentist?

Torn frenulum on upper lip

The son fell, his upper lip was swollen. Mouth full of blood. He also screamed and went to sleep because he wanted to. She gave him the breast and fell asleep, now I look, and the frenulum on his upper lip is torn, and there is a little blood from there. Go to the dentist? Or…

Torn frenulum on the upper lip

During a walk in the garden, my daughter fell, broke her lip and tore the frenulum on her upper lip. I ran and took her, the nurse told me to see the dentist and that I might have to get a stitch. While we were waiting for dad from lunch, so that...

The frenulum between the upper lip and gum is torn

Hello, yesterday my son (he is 1 year old) hit himself and the frenulum between his upper lip and gum tore, there was not a lot of blood. Now it hangs when you open your lip, but on the gum there is...

Girls, when the child fell, he tore the frenulum, the one under the upper lip. The surgeon at the medical center said that this was not her specialty, but she would sew it up so that it would heal correctly and there would be no speech defects. told me to go...

I tore the frenulum of my upper lip!

Girls, hello! Yesterday the child was running around the room and fell face down on the floor... he broke his lip and bruised his gum above his front teeth, I treated his wound with Miramistin. This morning he didn’t let me brush my teeth, I didn’t insist...

Hello girls. Two days ago, Mark fell very badly, his mouth full of blood, they stopped him quickly. Fortunately, my husband is a sports coach and knows all about broken lips. But! That’s what we thought (I’m talking about the lip)…. Eventually,…

The frenulum of the upper lip is torn

Alina Vladimirovna, hello. My son is 1 year 10 months old. fell, the frenulum of the upper lip was torn. Ours is normal, not short. What should you do now? Need to see a doctor? Will the frenulum heal normally? How might this affect the future...

Good day to all! I want to share with you and hear advice. We walked on the playground yesterday. My Danila unsuccessfully decided to jump and hit his upper lip on a metal pipe (part of the machine). There was a lot of blood, but it quickly...

White_Woman theme author

The child is 1.10...today he was running, slipped and fell...there was a lot of blood in his mouth (((his lip was swollen...I thought he broke his lip...and then later I lifted it and saw that his frenulum was dangling...it was torn a little. What should I do now?? It will heal on its own or you need to see a doctor. Has anyone had this? The message was modified by the user on 11-02-2010 at 14:28

Have you learned how to kiss on tomatoes and think you’re ready for life? Buy bananas.

Hello participants of natural selection!

I want to become a mother

Be sure to go to the doctor. Our friends’ daughter also had this happen. She fell in Mayakovsky Park and at first they also thought she had knocked out a tooth, and then they saw that the frenulum of the upper lip was torn. We also thought that there was nothing wrong, but they decided to go to the doctor. Doctor She told them that they had to sew it together, otherwise these two parts would grow together and there would be a double frenulum. So go see a doctor.

Preparation stages

Despite the fact that plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum in children is a technically simple procedure, it requires special preparation of the patient. The main task of this event is to determine possible contraindications to the manipulation. Preparation for surgery includes several stages:

general laboratory and instrumental examination of the patient;
fluorography;
sanitation of the oral cavity and elimination of dental problems in the form of caries;
on the day of surgery, the patient must eat well before the procedure (after plastic surgery, a person is prohibited from eating for a certain period of time);
Before trimming, you should brush your teeth and rinse your mouth.

What to do if a child tears the frenulum on the upper lip?

Full collection and description: what to do if a child tears the frenulum on the upper lip? for readers of our site.

the upper frenulum was torn

Torn frenulum on upper lip

Torn frenulum on the upper lip

The frenulum between the upper lip and gum is torn

I tore the frenulum of my upper lip!

The frenulum of the upper lip is torn

White_Woman theme author

Types of operations on the frenulum of the upper lip

Modern dentistry has several types of surgical correction of an incorrectly located cord. The choice of one of them depends on the degree of complexity of the anomaly, the neglect of the pathological process, the volume of the operation, etc. The decision to use one or another technique must be made by the doctor. All types of plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum are operations aimed at correcting the defect, with varying degrees of tissue trauma at the site of impact.

Laser plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum

The procedure for dissolving tissue with a powerful beam under local anesthesia is absolutely painless and lasts up to 5 minutes. It can be carried out as an independent manipulation or combined with other laser operations, for example, gum trimming. Among the advantages of this correction are:

no scary sounds or need for stitches;
bloodlessness;
minimal inflammation;
short recovery period;
no risk of infection getting into the wound.

Frenuloplasty

This operation is plastic surgery with decortication of the frenulum of the upper lip, which is performed under local anesthesia using surgical instruments. Today it is implemented by two methods, namely Y- and Z-shaped methods of tissue excision.

The procedure lasts about 20 minutes. The postoperative wound is sutured by applying sutures, which are then dissolved. The operation is completely painless and does not cause any discomfort to the patient.

Frenectomies

If the bridge is wide, doctors recommend its complete excision. It is performed on an outpatient basis using anesthetics and special instruments for plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum. At the end of the procedure, absorbable sutures are placed on the wound. During the operation, the interdental papilla and tissue located between the roots of the central incisors are excised.

What to do and how to remove the defect?

Medicine does not stand still. Nowadays, doctors offer several ways to correct the frenulum. The baby who tore it will undergo appropriate plastic surgery. There is plastic surgery using a scalpel, gum scissors, and a new method of removal - laser. The doctor decides which method is best to resort to. Any procedure has its own indications and contraindications. This is discussed with a specialist.

Laser frenulum removal is an innovative method. It has a lot of positive reviews not only from doctors, but also from patients.

There are methods that have proven themselves to be positive over the years:

Procedure

Description
Frenotomy	The frenulum is cut vertically and sutured horizontally.
Frenectomy	The method is most suitable for large strands. It is cut along its entire length, and then the interdental papilla and all excess tissue are removed.
Frenuloplasty I	The frenulum is cut with a scalpel or scissors. A diamond-shaped defect remains. For mobilization, the edges close to the incision of the mucous membrane are excised and, using a raspator, brought closer to the periosteum, closer to the formed vestibule. Then everything is sutured.
Frenuloplasty II (according to Limberg)	A vertical incision and two oblique ones are made in the center of the frenulum. Triangular flaps are formed and mobilized. Then they are fixed taking into account that the central cut is located horizontally. It is sutured with interrupted sutures.

Rehabilitation

How long does the recovery period last after upper lip frenuloplasty? Recovery after surgery may take several days. At this time, every effort should be made to ensure that the postoperative wound heals faster, namely:

carry out high-quality oral hygiene;
adhere to the recommended diet with cooking dishes at a certain temperature and liquid consistency;
undergo a preventive examination by a doctor 4-5 days after surgery;
perform so-called muscle gymnastics exercises.

How long does it take for a trimmed frenulum of the upper lip to heal in adults and children? As a rule, a postoperative wound in patients of different ages heals completely within 5-7 days. The duration of tissue restoration depends on the chosen correction method, the volume of the operation, the fact of suturing and the individual characteristics of the body. Wounds in the mouth heal the fastest (4-5 days) after plastic surgery of the upper lip frenulum with a laser.

Advantages and disadvantages of laser and scalpel trimming

In modern clinics, the patient is given the choice of method of operation - using a laser cutting device or conventional surgery.

Operation with a scalpel		Laser excision
Advantages	Flaws	Advantages	Flaws
Can be carried out in any hospital or dental clinic.	Mandatory sterilization of devices to avoid infectious contamination.	No need for stitches.	Not all modern hospitals have laser devices.
Relatively minimal list of contraindications.	The need for anesthesia.	Bloodlessness due to vascular coagulation.	Wide list of contraindications.
Financial inclusion.	The need for sutures after the incision.	Speed of implementation.	Relatively high cost.
Minimal influence of external stimuli that frighten the child.	The duration of the operation is from 30 minutes to 1 hour.	Sterility of the incision operation.	The laser device may frighten the child.

A person can independently decide on the choice of technique for the upcoming operation. A common but slightly outdated technique of performing plastic surgery using a surgical scalpel in some cases is the only possible one.

Trimming or laser removal of the frenulum of the upper lip is a less invasive way to solve the problem. During laser correction, healthy tissue is not affected, and the healing process is accelerated.

What happens if you don't trim the bridle?

Among the consequences of ignoring the process of correcting the cord of the upper and lower lip in adults or children are:

a short upper frenulum in infants can provoke a disruption in the process of sucking milk and adequate weight gain according to age;
violation of the normal dimensions of the fold in childhood leads to the formation of a diastema, which can only increase over the years;
formation of malocclusion;
severe upturning of the upper lip and the occurrence of symptoms of its abnormal position, which affects the appearance of a person, his speech, etc.;
exposure of tooth roots;
gingivitis and periodontitis;
deterioration of diction and inability to pronounce certain sounds correctly.

Without plastic surgery of the frenulum of the lower lip in adults and children, caries develops and progresses very quickly, the gums become inflamed, and the bite may become distorted. Dentists, comparing the condition of teeth before and after plastic correction, came to the conclusion that this procedure is very effective and can significantly improve the condition of patients.

What to do if a child has torn the frenulum on the upper lip

In every person's mouth, there is a special bridge of mucous membrane on the inside of the upper lip called the frenulum. Its main function in babies is the ability to suck, and it also affects the formation of the speech apparatus. When a child begins to take his first steps on his own, he is often injured. This happens especially often with children under one year old. If you do not have time to protect yourself with your hands, you fall forward and hit your face, resulting in injuries of various kinds. The fact that a child has torn the frenulum on the upper lip is indicated by a number of symptoms that cannot be ignored. With such an injury, you need to consult a doctor as soon as possible to prevent negative consequences.

Cost of upper lip frenuloplasty

The price of the procedure is quite affordable for patients with different income levels. It can hardly be called budgetary, but it is not one of the expensive manipulations either. Laser plastic surgery of the labial frenulum requires the largest financial investment. This is the most modern method, so special equipment is required to implement it. The average cost of plastic correction of a lintel is approximately 20-60 USD. e.