Frenectomies have increased 4-fold between 2003 and 2012. One of the reasons given is prevention and treatment of sleep disordered breathing in children and even adults. The other reason is ankyloglossia contributes to disturbances in growth and development. Part of this increase in interest in frenectomies are studies from Dr. Christian Guillemenott and his group at Stanford promoting these viewpoints along with several other published articles. This has led to recently published "white papers" by AAO, Otolaryngology, AAP, AAPD and the Breast-Feeding Association as to the validity of these statements. Dr. Mintz will critically review these research articles and present an opposing view to the means of diagnosis and reasons for surgery on the lingual as well as buccal frenum attachments. He will show some of the deleterious effects along with an illustration of a congenital anomaly refuting these assumptions.
Learning Objectives:
After this session, attendees will be able to:
Critically review the literature on frenectomies.
Properly evaluate whether a lingual frenum is ankylosed to an extent that it may present a problem with an airway, malocclusion or breastfeeding.
