What is this???
From the desk of Dr. Smith
A frenum is part of the normal anatomy of the mouth. There are actually several frenula in the
mouth, the two most prominent being one under the tongue and a second between
the upper incisors. Both can vary in
size. It was once thought the upper
incisor frenum, called the labial frenum, would interfere with the positions of
the permanent incisors if allowed to retain after the age of seven. There is some validity to that, but we are
far less aggressive in our reduction of that frenum than twenty years ago. That frenum is of concern to many parents of
infants, as it is appears extraordinarily large and bulky in a young mouth. But as the mouth develops and the teeth
migrate downward, the frenum is left behind and appears relatively smaller with
age. I am very conservative about its
reduction.
The frenum under the tongue generates more controversy in
pediatric dental circles. Generally, my
rules of thumb is the frenum should attach under the tongue about ten
millimeters from the tip of the tongue, and it should not pull down on the gum
tissue behind the lower incisors. Rarely
do we reduce either of these frenula.
