Katrinah’s frenectomy

Katrinah wrote to me earlier this year asking if I can do a frenectomy.

A frenectomy is a surgical procedure where we reattach a frenum … that’s the bit of tissue which attaches your upper lip to your gums near your two front teeth and the bit of tissue that attaches the base of your tongue to the bottom gums near the back of your two front teeth at the bottom.

The frenum usually isn’t attached too high but for some the attachment is so near the base of the teeth, it serves to push the teeth apart!

The trouble is when the attachment is too high, even when you do braces to move the teeth together so there no longer is a gap or if you correct the gap with veneers, the frenum will probably cause the teeth to drift apart again after a while.

So frenectomy is the surgical procedure to reattach the frenum so it no longer has the muscle to push the teeth away again.

Katrinah had come earlier to do her veneers and though she no longer had an unsightly gap, I advised her to eventually do the frenectomy … to make sure her gap doesn’t appear again.

The problem was Katrinah is studying in Kedah in University Utara Malaysia. This pretty lass hails from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah! This meant to see me she had to really plan her visit for the appointment!

Today Katrinah came in … was she nervous? Of course she was!

I have done several frenectomies, I assured her…. so she needn’t worry. I told her that frenectomy looks hard to do but it actually is simpler than wisdom tooth surgery.

The nurses got the necessary equipment ready whilst I assured her she wouldn’t be in pain and even after the surgery she need only use the ointment I was going to provide her … she could eat normaly immediately and shouldn’t have any swelling or pain.

The surgery took just 15 minutes! I released the muscle attachement and reattached the frenum much, much  lower down in her upper lip.

Katrinah was so, so relieved that it didn’t hurt and I placed two tiny stitches so her lip and gums would heal in just a few days.

I asked her permission to post the photos and her story as there are many, many people with over large frenums which can easily be cut or hurt when they eat … let alone push their front teeth apart!

Thank you Katrinah! You don’t have to worry about the gap appearing anymore.

And please remember my promise to you … when you next come into Kuala Lumpur, please drop by so I can make sure your smile is exactly how you want it to be!

Selamat Hari Raya!