What is a Frenum?

In the mouth or the oral cavity of the human beings, there are two bands of tissues which are known as frenum. The frenum is located around the gums and the teeth. The frenum is divided into two basic types.

1. Lingual frenum – This is located between the base floor of the mouth and the base of the tongue.
2. Labial frenum – This tissue is located in the upper arch which helps in connecting the gum to the lip.
   
   

What is Frenectomy or Frenum Correction ?

There are two abnormal situations that can arise with the frenum which are as follows.

1. The lingual frenum comes in different sizes and in some of the cases, it happens that the movement of the tongue is restricted by the frenum. This situation is known as “tongue-tied”.
2. On the other hand, if the labial frenum is of abnormal length or width, it may result in connecting through to the tissue of the gum between the teeth which might be extending to the front portion of the mouth’s roof. Due to this, space can be created between the two teeth in the front.
   
   

Now, a correction of the two abnormal situations is essential for bringing everything back to normal so that no problem arises in speech or appearance of the lip and the teeth. This corrective procedure is referred to as frenum correction also known by the name of frenectomy. This correction is done by surgical methods which are again of two types. One method is the traditional surgical method and the other is laser frenectomy.

Learning About Laser Frenectomy or Laser Assisted Frenum Correction

Laser-assisted frenum correction is nothing but the use of lasers for the correction of the abnormal lingual or the labial frenum so that it can be brought back to a state where no problems remain. With the help of the lasers, the tissue of the frenum is reduced in width or length according to the requirements in the patients by removing some parts of the tissue of the frenum. The lasers emit infrared optical energy which is used for the precise cutting and coagulating of the soft oral tissues of the frenum resulting in the correction of the frenum. With the advancement of laser technology, the frenum correction can be done with more accuracy and precision without any kinds of additional collateral tissue damage due to the thermal radiation taking place. In the recent times, the two of the most common lasers used for frenum correction is as follows.

1. Er: YAG laser
2. CO2 laser
   
   

Top Benefits of Using Lasers for Frenum Correction

There are a number of benefits of using the laser technology for the correction of the frenum as compared to the traditional surgical methods of correction.

• Process of much quicker
• Pain is minimised
• Recovery time is reduced
• Bleeding is almost absent

Thus, it can be clearly understood that why the laser-assisted frenum correction is preferred over the traditional surgical methods.

Authored by DR.NIRANJAN P