A frenectomy is a minor surgical procedure to remove or divide a frenum, a small ligament that regulates the movement of an organ or muscle group in the body.
The upper labial frenum is a ligament that attaches the muscles of the upper lip from the inside mucosa to the gingivae (gum) above the upper central teeth. Where the attachment is high, occasionally running in between the two upper central teeth on older children, it is sometimes referred to as a lip tie. During breastfeeding, a restrictive ligament can affect a baby’s ability to flange their upper lip to create an efficient vacuum seal, often losing attachment, allowing air to be sucked in resulting in wind and reflux like symptoms. Due to their poor sucking action, these lip tied babies often don’t get an adequate milk intake, tend to tire easily and therefore tend to feed for longer time periods and feed more often making the problem worse.
The lingual frenum is part of a complex ligament structure that essentially attaches the tongue to the floor of the mouth and lower jaw. When this attachment is close to the lower central teeth this is commonly called being tongue tied. The tongue tied baby is restricted in the ability of their tongue to move fully with resulting reduced function.