Thick Labial Frenulum in a baby- anyone have experience of this?

[IlanaK]

My ds3 (9 months old) has a very large gap between his front teeth which someone pointed out to me today was caused by a thick labial frenulum. I have looked into it today online and there is very little info on what to do about it. It can cause breastfeeding problems, and of course dental problems. It is related to tongue tie.

Anyone?

His facial features will grow and change as he becomes a child rather than a baby so the alignnment of his teeth to the frenulum will change.

Gaps between baby teeth are generally of no importance because of this and it is not unitil his second teeth come through that you get a goos idea of what his adult jawline and tooth spacing will be.

If there is a problem at 12 years (aaprox) then dental work will solve any issues.

month old thread here which could be of interest?

My DS has this too ilana, and I've been advised by my GP to adopt a wait and see approach once his teeth are through. It caused me endless problems getting BFing established with several bouts of mastitis and blocked ducts and nipple blisters due to his poor latch.

Things have settled now (at six months)regarding the feeding although his latch is still very shallow. I did speak to a BFC about it, and she said that it's one of those things that is easier to sort out now than later so we are unsure what to do. Doc says we're not a priority on the NHS as feeding is fine, but the BFC said it can be done privately for not too much money.

Not sure if it's related to tongue tie; certainly DS doesn't have any tongue tie, only his top lip.

thanks furball for linking my old thread...too brain numb to find it myself

Thanks everyone - I only just got back to this thread. I certainly do not want to take a wait and see approach - it is defiantely affecting breastfeeding and also the dental issue worries me. Why on earth wait until they are 12 years old to correct a gap that can be corrected now?

Lackadaisycal - have you seen this site ? He states quite catagorically that gaps will NOT close on their own. And according to the ABM, he is the expert on the subject.

ASFAIK it is generally accepted that dental work is fairly intrusive on tiny children and as the teeth move constantly in the mouth the work would have to be constantly revised.

And as the facial bones change with development the alignment of the teeth will change all the time - but settle down around 11-12 so the dental work can be more permanent then.

But we are talking at cross purposes..I thought you meant you wanted your little baby to have braces, tooth extractions and jaw re-alignmnet work! That's why I said 12 years- when his face has stopped growing so quickly.

But you are talking about a quick snip of the frenulum? No problem!

Oh god no! NOne of that. Just the snip.

I had the quick snip at around 11 years old -I then wore a brace for about 2 years to close the gap.....a really painless procedure as long as you don't mind dentists !

Is that the presentation with the not very nice forensic slides in it? If so, then yes I have.

Think I might need to chat with the doc about this again and see about a referral.

Hi, I'm still around and my daughter (nearly 2) has a tight and thick frenulum. It seems to be hereditary as she is the 9th person in the family with it. No one else has had it treated and they all have a big gap now (all aged between 1 year and 60 years old)

I really want to have it snipped but can't find anyone that will do it now. Most say wait until 10 etc but I don't know why that is any benefit. We had horrible problems breastfeeding but I guess as that isn't an issue now I don't know what I will need to do to get it done. Anyone got any further?