A lot of people delay getting things done due to a fear of the unknown. A few months ago, I wrote about how children might need to get frenectomies. I think that the whole procedure can be better understood through the use of video.
Many people who are tongue-tied don’t want to get a lingual frenectomy because they don’t know if it will hurt, how long it will take, or what will actually happen.
Hopefully the videos below will alleviate those fears. I have embedded three different videos of lingual frenectomies. All of them were performed using laser technology rather than a traditional surgical procedure such as using a high speed drill or using a sharp instrument to cut away the frenal tissue attaching the tongue to the floor of the mouth.
Lingual Frenectomy Videos
This first one shows a young girl getting a lingual frenectomy. The dentist is using an ER:YAG laser to perform the lingual frenectomy procedure. Notice that all the dentist has to do is glide the laser over the tissue and the tissue is mostly cauterized, keeping bleeding to a minimum.
This next video shows the dentist performing a lingual frenectomy with a Periolase Nd:YAG laser.
This final video gives a quick 18-second overview of the whole lingual frenectomy process.
Conclusion
The use of lasers in dentistry has really improved the lingual frenectomy surgical procedure. The laser involves less pain and cauterizes the tissue so that sutures (stitches) aren’t needed.
If you are tongue-tied and you’ve been delaying getting a lingual frenectomy, I hope these videos have helped you. If you have any questions at all about lingual frenectomies, or if you’ve had one and want to share your story, please do so in the comments section below.
Thanks for posting these — the whole procedure seems really simple.
What is the pain like after this and the healing time? My 4 year old needs to have this done.