Q:
Via email Wednesday January 20, 10 from Kelly L
Since I can remember I have had a space between my top front teeth (I am 22 yrs old). I would like my teeth to be straight and not have a space between them. When I last visited my dentist he told me that the space is because of the muscle that attaches my lip to my gum tissue below my teeth. He recommended I have this muscle cut and stitched up. Can you explain to me a bit further what this muscle attachment is (why is it there?) and what I can do to bring my teeth together?
A:
Thank you for your question Kelly. The muscle attachment you are speaking about is called the frenum. Throughout our mouths we all have frenums and like you said they attach our cheek to our gum tissue. In most circumstances the frenum has no effect on the gum tissue or the teeth, but in some the frenums are tight or they are attached very close to the teeth where they can cause problems like gum recession or spaces between teeth (like in your situation).
Frenums can be separated from the gum tissue through a dental procedure called a frenectomy. A frenectomy can be done in two ways, with a scalpel which involves stitches or with a dental laser which typically does not need stitches and is bloodless. In our office we use a diode dental laser for all frenectomies and patients report that the tissue heals very quickly and are comfortable the day of the procedure. We do not do scalpel frenectomies as with new technology there is no need to use a scalpel and stitches.
The frenectomy itself may or may not allow your teeth to move together, generally the teeth will not move together by themselves once the frenum is removed, BUT once the frenum is removed tooth movement can be faciliated via orthodontics (braces). As well, once the teeth are moved together after braces they are less likely to move back to prior alignment because the frenum is no longer present.
If you would like more information about diode dental lasers, vist my website at www.drnathanhaas.com
Thursday, January 21, 2010
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After I had my braces off, I noticed that the space bewteen my front teeth got bigger. My dentist said that it was a muscle and could be removed. She took a laser and removed the skin between my front teeth, she then placed a small metal bracking behind my front teeth to hold them together. I am wondering if something happened because it's been many years and the space is back again. It's been like this for a few years I want to get it fixed again. I'm not sure what they will do or if the bracket broke.
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