Another procedure that is being implemented is called a frenectomy. Like its brother the fiberotomy procedure, a frenectomy also severs tissue in your mouth called your frenulum. A frenulum is a fold of tissue that either lets parts of your body move or restricts movement. There are 5 different areas of oral frenulum: the tissue connecting your upper lip, connecting your lower lip, connecting your tongue to the base of your mouth, and the two connecting your cheeks to your gums. The most common frenulum being severed in a frenectomy is the one connecting your upper lip to the gum above your front teeth. This is specifically called a labial frenectomy, to get the terms straight (the one removing the frenulum under your tongue is called a lingual frenectomy and is sometimes used to correct speech impediments that developed due to too much tissue around the tongue).
This procedure can be prescribed while you have braces, long after you have braces or before you have braces. The overall cost is around $3,000 as it is also a cosmetic surgery (see fiberotomy) and is not covered by insurance. So one should consider carefully whether to go through with this procedure!
Here are a few links about the specific details of a frenectomy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labial_frenectomy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenectomy
http://nyp.org/health/frenectomy.html
The necessity of a labial frenectomy is that the frenulum attached to your upper lip can sometimes pull the gums away from your front teeth and make it so your front two teeth never close the gap. For this procedure it is generally recommended to wait till you have your permanent canines and permanent incisors (around 11 years old or so). This is to make sure that the gap in your front teeth don’t close naturally since if they did you wouldn’t need the procedure!
Now there are two different methods of snipping those frenulum out there. One method is using a scalpel. The other is using a CO2 laser. In 2006, there was a study comparing the two methods and it found that the laser method, when done correctly had a shorter recovery and less pain for the patient (http://www.joponline.org/doi/abs/10.1902/jop.2006.060043). In both cases it is necessary for your surgeon to put in a few stitches to close up the tear.
Here is a video of the procedure using a laser and it is not for the faint of stomachs. We could not find a video of the procedure using a scalpel but we assume its similar.
We warned you!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q68fuAELcJA&feature=related
Next post we will discuss the pain level, recovery, setbacks, and risks of the frenectomy procedure along with our opinions so look for it next Wednesday!
-Amanda and Erik
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