Frenectomy Ruined My Smile? Get the Facts Here

Frenectomy ruined my smile… you might have heard this from people describing their experience with frenectomy. 

But what’s the truth behind it? Is frenectomy harmful to your teeth and can leave behind a gummy smile? 

Let’s find out more about frenectomy and its impact on oral health. 

Seek professional consultation for Frenectomy and Tongue Tie Release Treatment at Palm Valley Pediatric Dentistry & Orthodontics in Arizona. Our advanced laser technique ensures minimal to no bleeding post-operation.

What is Frenectomy?

A frenectomy, or frenuloplasty, is an oral surgical procedure for removing a frenulum, a band of soft tissues in your mouth. The presence of frenum might be the movement of the tongue or lips.

Frenectomy is a treatment for problems like tongue-tie or lip-tie. It is an oral surgical procedure that can help people eliminate language problems.

This procedure is for both children and adults.

2 Types of Frenectomy

Frenectomy is of two types, including:

1- Labial Frenectomy

Labial frenectomy is also known as maxillary frenectomy, which removes the frenum connecting your upper lips with your front teeth.

A maxillary frenectomy is a standard treatment procedure for lip-ties. 

2- Lingual Frenectomy

Lingual frenectomy is a type of frenectomy suitable for the treatment of the tongue tie.

The condition affects infants, causing problems in breast-feeding and speech delays in later years.

Lingual frenectomy removes the tissues connecting your lower tongue to the mouth floor.

Who Needs Frenectomy?

Frenectomy is a simple procedure suitable for infants and adults when the tissue in the mouth hinders eating, swallowing, or speaking.

Your dentist may recommend frenectomy in the following cases:

• Lip-tie – The Patient has restricted lip movement
• Tongue-tie – Restricted tongue movement
• Diastema – Visual gap between your teeth
• Discomfort – Pain, tenderness, or swelling of the area
• Gum recession can lead to gum problems such as cavities, etc.

What Happens During Frenectomy? Step-By-Step Procedure

Many patients are concerned about whether frenectomy changes their face or can cause a gummy smile.

Though frenectomy changes the alignment of teeth in your mouth, it doesn’t necessarily change your face.

To understand it better, let’s examine what happens during the frenectomy procedure.

• First, the dentist will open your mouth and apply anesthesia to numb the area.
• Once numb, they will use surgical scissors or scalpels to remove or modify the frenum tissues. 
• Sometimes, they might need a few stitches to close the incision.
• The procedure generally requires 15-30 minutes.

What Happens After Frenetomy? Post Surgical Recovery

As you go for the frenectomy, you might be worried about the short and long-term effects of a frenectomy.

You might wonder what the difference is between before and after frenectomy.

Well, the procedure usually resolves the speech or feeding problem in infants and adults and transforms your smile. Here is what post-frenectomy healing looks like.

After the surgery, the healing process begins. Initially, you might experience signs and symptoms, such as swelling, pain, or blood in saliva, which is your body’s normal reaction.

After 2-3 days, the blood in saliva usually disappears, and a white patch appears at the site.

The swelling usually lasts for another week, and stitches tend to dissolve. Two weeks later, the healing patch starts to shrink and completely disappears after four weeks, leaving behind a reduced or modified frenum.

If you just went through a frenectomy, make sure to follow your post-surgical recovery plan.

Possible Side Effects

If you are going for a frenectomy, several questions may cross your mind.

What if you have drooping lips after the frenectomy, or what if you end up telling people that the frenectomy ruined your smile? 

But this is not entirely true. Though there is a risk of complications, frenectomy doesn’t leave you with a gummy smile. Some possible side effects of the procedure are:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Salivary duct injury present near the tongue tie

Sometimes, patients may experience rare side effects of the frenotomy, such as reattachment of the frenum and reaction to anesthesia.

Get Rid of a Lip or Tongue Tie with a Frenectomy!

Frenectomy is a surgical procedure that is a standard treatment option for patients suffering from the lip-tie or tongue-tie.

The growth of frenulum tissue hinders infants’ feeding or swallowing process and can cause gaps between adult teeth. 

This oral procedure modifies or reduces the tissue, resolving these problems. The procedure is for both infants and adults.

Frenectomy transforms your mouth, and you can easily spot the difference between before and after frenectomy pictures.

During a frenectomy, doctors make an incision and shorten or modify the frenum. In some cases, patients also need stitches.

The surgery usually takes 15-30 minutes, but patients may require up to 4 weeks to recover fully.

Despite popular belief, frenectomy doesn’t ruin the smile or leave any permanent signs of damage, so it’s completely safe.

FAQs

Are There Any Disadvantages of Frenectomy?

The procedure is completely safe and comes with little or no side effects. However, some patients may have an increased risk for complications.

What are the Alternatives to Frenectomy?

Laser frenectomy is the new alternative to a surgical frenectomy that offers a lesser risk for complications and has a shorter healing time.

In laser frenectomy, the laser produces the incision and separates the frenum.

How Painful is Frenectomy?

Patients usually experience a mild discomfort during the procedure. The pain, swelling, and bleeding stay for a few days after the surgery, but symptoms get better with time.

Complete healing takes 3-4 weeks.