HAPPY FRENULUM, HAPPY SMILE
Frenectomies in Columbus, IN
When you stretch your tongue to the roof of your mouth, you’ll notice a chord-like string of tissue connecting from the floor of your mouth to the bottom of your tongue—that is called a frenulum. It stabilizes your tongue to keep it from being hypermobile and helps make tasks like eating and speaking easier. For some people, this connective tissue is either too large or too short to give the tongue normal mobility. When that’s the case, our skilled team can perform a frenuloplasty to improve your tongue’s functionality.
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What Is Functional Frenuloplasty?
This is a minor surgical procedure performed to remove or loosen enlarged, tight, or improperly positioned frenulums. Frenulum complications can cause a myriad of health issues from tongue-tie to breathing problems to chewing difficulty to speech impediments, and more. Frenuloplasty is a relatively simple procedure that can provide patients with long-term relief that positively contributes to their overall health.
Dr. Sitaram received extensive training in Functional Frenuloplasty with Dr. Saroush Zaghi of the Breathe Institute at UCLA School of Medicine
Tongue-Tie in Newborns
Tongue-tie is actually a fairly common condition in newborns. Some of the main concerns with tongue-tie, is that it can cause future speech problems and can also cause feeding difficulties in newborns. With tongue-tie, babies struggle to properly latch during breastfeeding which can lead to low weight gain and constant fussiness. Most babies with tongue-tie grow out of it as the frenulum recedes during their first year of life. However, it’s always a good idea to check with your healthcare provider to see if the issue needs to be treated right away.
Aftercare Instructions for Frenuloplasty
During the healing process, it’s common for patients to feel slight discomfort and experience mild swelling. However, these symptoms are temporary and should be easily managed with over-the-counter pain medications. Once the surgery is complete, our team sends patients home with a detailed list of aftercare instructions to ensure that they have a smooth, stress-free recovery. These instructions will include information on:
Bleeding It is completely normal to experience some mild bleeding during the first few days after surgery. If heavy bleeding persists, please call 911.
Wound Care We will send you home with gauze and lidocaine to sterilize the surgical sight. We recommend that you leave the initial gauze in place for 24-48 hours following your procedure.
Pain Management We will give you a list of recommended over-the-counter pain medications. In rare instances, we may prescribe medications for more complex frenuloplasty cases.
Stitches Our team uses absorbable stitches that will dissolve around a week after the procedure. Before they dissolve, we recommend that you lightly brush the surgical site to avoid reopening the wound.
Oral Hygiene During the healing process, you can rinse your mouth with warm salt water or alcohol-free mouthwash to keep the wound clean and minimize the risk of infection.
Myofunctional Therapy Exercises It’s crucial to perform the recommended exercises to ensure that you get the best results from your frenuloplasty. These exercises may include doing puppy tongue, light suctioning, and pointing the tongue.