Upper lip Frenulum...

My DD is 19 months old and last night I wanted to get a good look at her teeth because she never lets me look at her top teeth and hates when I brush the top. Well I noticed the upper frenulum is really low. Like its is attached right above her two top teeth. I feel horrible that I didnt notice this before? I now have concerns about how her teeth will form I dont want a gap or will this affect her speech? Does anyone know if I should see my ENT or a pediatric dentist?

Re: Upper lip Frenulum...

You should probably go to an ENT first. They usually deal with this stuff. As an adult my lower frenulum was very high and I had to have it snipped. I'd rather it were done as a baby!

Re: Upper lip Frenulum...

Definitely go to an ENT. DS had a frenulectomy of the frenulum under his tongue and it was a VERY quick and easy procedure done in office. I know that they said the older the child, they may have to do it under general anesthesia, but an ENT will be able to evaluate and determine what needs to be done.

Re: Upper lip Frenulum...

My DS has the same thing. I noticed it when he was about 8 months old. We took him to a pediatric dentist & he said that as long as it wasn't interfering with his feedings, then it wasn't anything to be concerned about......Yeah right, I'm a 1st time mom & I want him to not have anything abnormal. But what the dentist said made sense. He also said that sometimes the skin will just thin out over time, and sometimes detaches on its own. It's not the same as a frenectomy that's under the tongue where it can interfere with speech and eating.

I was worried because my DS' is so low that it is in between his top two teeth, causing a big gap. I didn't want him to have any dental issues later on. Our dentist said he's seen it time & time again. If it doesn't correct itself by the time they're @ 5 yrs old, then they just do a tiny snip in the office. Nothing like where they need general anesthesia or anything. But I felt if they might have to do it later on, when he's old enough to be afraid of what's going on, then why not do it now, while he's young enough & won't remember? He said it's because a lot of times it just detaches on its own over time.

It bothers us as moms more than it bothers our kids. DS doesn't know it's there. I know this is long, but when I was dealing with this, I was frantic looking for any info to ease my mind. In the end, if the baby is happy & healthy, then this is a minor issue. There was another mom on here whose son had the same thing.

I would call your pediatrician & get the name of a pediatric dentist. Or if you want, I can FM you the one we used. (DS didn't even cry once while the dentist was examining him! He was so great!) Hang in there!!

Re: Upper lip Frenulum...

I wouldn't worry for now. My daughter was around 1 when I noticed the same thing and hers was completely down between her 2 front teeth. You couldn't even see her top teeth when she smiled :(
But, now she is 3 and a half and it has almost completely separated on it's own. I had taken her to a pediactric dentist and they told me to just wait it out. If it didn't separate by 4 years old, then, at that point, they would have to determine what the next step would have been.
HTH! Good Luck!