Son Has Enlarged Frenum. Pediatric Peridontist/oral Surgeon in NW Ind/Chicago?

My son had this problem also. The dentist sent us to the surgeon but the surgeon recommended waiting until the rest of his teeth came in. The reason is that the rest of the teeth will likely move those front two into place.

We waited and there was no problem whatsoever. He did end up having to have braces as the 'eye' teeth were 'high' and needed to be brought into proper position. I'd get a couple of second opinions, but at 22 months, he has a lot of teeth to get yet and they will likely take care of much of the problem.

Good luck. D.

My daughter had a huge gap between her front teeth until she was 10. When she was 9, her dentist told me she needed a frenectomy to allow her teeth to come together. The options he presented were to go to an oral surgeon who would give her anesthesia and then cut the frenum out and stitch it back up (she would be out of action for 1 to 2 weeks to heal) OR he could do it in his office with a soft tissue laser and 1 shot to numb the area (with little to no down time for healing).

I opted for the laser procedure. He gave her a shot to numb the area and then spent about 15 minutes removing the tissue. The laser cauterizes the tissue so there's no bleeding and no need for stitches. He told me she could have Tylenol if it caused her any pain - which she never needed. We left the doctor's office, picked up an ice cream cone on the way home, and pretty much had a typical evening. She went to school the next day followed by competitive soccer practice and had no problems whatsoever.

Within a year, her teeth have come together closing a quarter-inch gap.

Since your child is so young, wait another year at least (his permanent teeth probably won't come in until age 4 or 5 at the earliest). And, seek out a dentist that uses soft tissue lasers in their practice who can do this.

My daughter has this as well and had a large gap between her front teeth at that age. Our doctor recommended that we wait until she is at least getting close to getting her adult teeth in (5 or 6 years old). He doesn't want to have the space close up prematurely and then having to correct her permanent teeth with braces if they grow in too close together. According to his advice it is a lot easier to clip it later and close a gap, than clipping it early and having teeth grow in in each others way. We trust him and will wait. As all of my daughter's baby teeth have grown in (all of the molars) that gap has already become noticeably smaller...
Good luck.

My daughter (19 mo.) has one that needs to be clipped as well. Our dentist also recommended waiting on the procedure. And my friend's dentists absolutely refused to even consider it before her daugter was five...she went to two different pediatric dentists. Her daughter's is larger and more noticeable than my daughter's. Neither dentist she visited would do it. And her daughter is about to turn six and they are still having her wait, something about doing it closer to when she will need braces...working with the gap???