Frenectomy FAQ

Laser Frenectomy FAQ
(also known as tongue-tie or lip-tie revision)
Dr. Evy is the first pediatric dentist in the Austin and San Antonio area to establish a strong network of healthcare providers (lactation consultants, midwives, speech language pathologists, pediatricians, nurses, etc…) to provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment for tongue-tie and lip-tie.
What is tongue-tie or lip-tie revision?
It is a surgical procedure during which the lip-tie and/or tongue-tie are removed with a soft tissue laser.
Do I need a referral from another doctor?
Yes, we require a referral from a pediatrician, lactation consultant, speech language pathologist, or another healthcare professional that has been working with you to rule out other problems. A study from Australia in 2015 (Nipple Pain in Breastfeeding Mothers: Incidence, Causes and Treatments, Kent et al. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 12247-12263; doi:10.3390/ijerph12101224) reported that “The most common attributed cause of nipple pain was incorrect positioning and attachment, followed by tongue-tie, infection, palatal anomaly, flat or inverted nipples, mastitis, and vasospasm. Advice included correction of positioning and attachment, use of a nipple shield, resting the nipples and expressing breastmilk, frenotomy, oral antibiotics, topical treatments, and cold or warm compresses. Pain was resolving or resolved in 57% of cases after 18 days (range 2–110).”
Therefore it is essential that you and your baby are receiving the most comprehensive care to fully resolve all the problems associated with difficult breastfeeding. If you have additional diagnostic information from another provider please let us know.
How young is too young to have my baby evaluated for a lip- or tongue-tie?
It is never too young to have your baby evaluated. We examine newborns all the time, sometimes babies are only a day old. It is best to have the procedure at a younger age rather than waiting because your baby can form habits that may require additional therapy in the future and a restricted tongue can cause a cascade of events leading to poor development of the oral-facial structures and abnormal breathing patterns. The baby can form habits and compensations which may require your baby to have additional therapy.
Will the first visit be considered a consultation or an exam visit?
It will be an exam visit since it does include a physical examination of the oral cavity, which is needed for full diagnosis and treatment plan recommendations.
Do you have a referral network for bodywork or other therapists?
Will just having the surgical procedure conducted on my baby help correct my breastfeeding issues?
Will any pain medication be given to my baby before conducting the procedure?
Yes, in most cases. Dr. Evy has a low-risk, specially compounded topical anesthetic and local anesthetic available for injection when necessary. Dr. Evy will address this question in a more individualized way once she has examined your baby. For older children, adolescents, and adults, topical and local anesthetic are used for comfort during the procedure.
Can I breastfeed my baby prior to the procedure?
Yes, however, if you are planning on having the surgery done in the same visit, we recommend you feed your baby only a small amount of breastmilk and then wait until after the procedure is completed for a full feeding to prevent regurgitation of the milk.
What options do I have for sedation or general anesthesia for my toddler?
I have a toddler who I think needs to have the procedure conducted, what options do I have as far as sedation or general anesthesia is concerned with the use of the laser?
A child between 14 to 23 months may need to wait until age of two when oral sedation based on your child’s weight can be used. If a child has other dental needs (extensive dental decay) that need to be addressed promptly, general anesthesia may be indicated to treat both decay and any restrictive attachments of the lip and tongue. Dr. Evy usually does not recommend general anesthesia to treat a tongue-tie or lip-tie unless it is absolutely necessary and the benefits outweigh the risks.
Is it possible to treat my child without use of sedation, nitrous oxide gas, restraint, or verbal behavior management?
For children that are younger than 3 years of age or those with complicated medical histories, who require immediate or extensive treatment, it is usually necessary to use general anesthesia since they are usually not candidates for in-office IV sedation due to age and weight.
For the dental examination for babies and infants, it is necessary that they are restrained by you the parent or legal guardian so that the doctor can conduct the dental examination. It is normal for children this age to cry and be guarded. It is important that you remain calm and are supportive following the doctor’s recommendations so that the visit can be as short as possible and your child’s apprehension is short lived. For the frenectomy procedure, the baby will be swaddled.
How long does the appointment usually last?
I recommend stating the appointment time is typically 1-1.5 hours because typically that’s how long those appointments last, that way the 20-30 minutes is not misleading and patients don’t expect this time frame.
The examination may take 20-30 minutes including showing you the stretching exercises, giving you all the information about the procedure, and answering questions you may have. The procedure takes a small amount of time and you will be allowed in the room as soon as the procedure is complete. It is important that you read as many materials as possible prior to your appointment including this FAQ page as it will answer many of your questions.
Am I allowed to stay in the room with my baby while the procedure is being conducted?
you to trust us and know we will take care of your baby, if the procedure takes a little bit longer than anticipated it usually means it is because we are being as careful as possible and properly removing the tie(s), especially when revising a baby that moves excessively and has very thick or deep ties.
Will my baby bleed extensively?
No. The laser cauterizes and since there are no major arteries or veins within the tie (frenum), there usually is very minimal or no bleeding.
What will happen if I do not conduct the post procedure exercises?
recommend them to increase the success of the revision. At Green Apple, we have seen how proper exercises have produced better results vs no or improper exercises. At the one-week follow-up visit, Dr. Evy will give you feedback on how your baby is healing and make recommendations accordingly. If Dr. Evy suspects re-attachment has occurred already, she may mechanically separate or open the revision area which may set you back another week in healing time. The stretches are meant to be quick, effective, and with gentle to firm pressure. Dr. Evy and/or her team will show you how to do these exercises during your visit.
Is my baby going to be in pain after the procedure? What can I use for pain management?
On the day of the procedure babies don’t usually experience discomfort. The discomfort usually sets in on day two and can last up to day five post-revision. However, every baby is unique and therefore every baby experiences the healing process and the level of discomfort differently. We recommend skin to skin contact with your baby and allow your baby to latch on your beast as much as possible whether for feeding or just for soothing/comfort. You can freeze some breast milk and place small shavings of it in your baby’s mouth and allow it to melt. Some parents report using Hyland’s teething gel/tablets, rescue remedy, or arnica with success. We have a tongue-tie remedy available at our office that contains several herbs to help your baby with discomfort. In addition, based on your baby’s weight, you will have a calculated dose of infant’s Tylenol in your post-op instructions should your baby develop a mild fever or need it for pain management.
What else can I expect post-surgery?
Some babies may sleep more in the days following the revision and breastfeed less often, we suspect this is their way of dealing with the healing process. Some babies may have shorter and more frequent breastfeeding episodes. You may notice a great latch on the day of the revision and then not as great during the days following the revision due to soreness setting in and new oral musculature starting to be used post-revision when the tongue has more freedom to move. This is similar to training for a marathon with one leg having restrained musculature, if those muscles are freed you will not be able to run the same way until you re-train and strengthen those muscles that have now been freed. Many times the tongue needs time to adjust or even needs retraining if it has been compensating for a while. Remember, sucking begins in-utero so even though your baby may be a newborn, he/she may still need time to adjust or he/she may need to have therapy to strengthen the oral musculature.
In addition, your baby may also cry during the stretching exercises and this is normal considering you are stretching tissue in an open wound. You may see minimal bleeding during the exercises but this is usually not a concern since it stops quickly, very few parents have reported bleeding. Increased drooling has been observed as a side effect of the surgery but it returns to normal as the wounds heal.
Does my insurance cover the procedure?
contacting your insurance plan, have them look at dental code coverage. We are NOT contracted with any medical plans including any HMOs and do not file any medical claims.
Please understand that we file dental claims as a courtesy. We do not have a contract with your insurance company, only you do. We are not responsible for how your insurance plan handles its claims or for what benefits they pay on a claim. We can only
assist you in estimating your portion of the cost of treatment. We at no time guarantee what your insurance will cover in your dental claim. We cannot be responsible for any errors in filing your insurance as we file claims as a courtesy to you.
We highly recommend you contact your insurance plan to check the status of a claim. Please remember any estimates in your treatment plan are just that, an estimate, and we will not know how much your insurance reimbursement is until your insurance plan processes your claim.
Does my baby need to be active on dental insurance for the procedure to be covered?
Does medical insurance cover the procedure?
Will you bill my medical insurance?
We are a dental office and we do not have medical contracts with your medical insurance plan and therefore we are unable to file a claim for you. However, we will provide medical superbills upon request. A medical superbill will have the dental
procedure codes translated to medical codes, which you can then provide to your medical insurance for possible reimbursement. We encourage you to contact your insurance plan for any additional questions.
Helpful Articles and Videos on Frenectomy
- An overview of a typical visit with Dr. Evy for tongue-tie/lip-tie evaluation and surgery.
- For a variety of articles from Dr. Kotlow, a dentist with 30+ years of experience in treating tongue-tie and lip-tie, please visit his website here.
- In their Spring 2004 Newsletter, the American Academy of Pediatrics talked about how tongue-tie can affect breastfeeding in a negative way. Read more.
- More research can be found in the article on “Short Lingual Frenulum and Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Children” Huang et al. Int J Pediatr Res 2015 in a 2015 issue of the International Journal of Pediatric Research
- “Association of breastfeeding and three-dimensional dental arch relationships in primary dentition” Sum et al. BMC Oral Health 2015
- “Histological Characteristics of Altered Human Lingual Frenulum” Martinelli et al. International Journal of Pediatrics and Child Health 2014
- O’Callahan, et al., The effects of office-based frenotomy for anterior and posterior ankyloglossia on breastfeeding, Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. (2013)
- “Biomechanics of milk extraction during breast-feeding” Elad et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1319798111
- “Frenulotomy for Breastfeeding Infants With Ankyloglossia: Effect on Milk Removal and Sucking Mechanism as Imaged by Ultrasound” Donna T. Geddes, Diana B. Langton, Ian Gollow, Lorili A. Jacobs, Peter E. Hartmann and Karen Simmer Pediatrics 2008;122;e188; originally published online June 23, 2008; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-2553
- About Frenectomy
- Tongue Tie Laser Surgery
- Laser Tongue-Tie Release
- Tongue-tie procedure providing relief for some babies
- The Effects of Lip and Tongue Tie on Breastfeeding (Dr. Kotlow Interview)
- Laser lip and tongue ties surgery on infants with breastfeeding problems (Dr. Kotlow)
