Lingual Frenectomy in 3-9-Year-Old Children Using Diode Laser: A Case Series

Ankyloglossia, or tongue-tie, not only causes speech impairment but also causes problems like difficulty in breastfeeding in infants, restricts tongue movement, which affects its mobility to clean teeth, restricts mandibular growth, and results in a reverse swallow pattern. Conventional surgical techniques for frenectomy can be difficult in children. However, with diode laser, there is controlled bleeding and surgery is painless. The purpose of this article is to present five cases of lingual frenectomy using the diode laser in young children with moderate-severe ankyloglossia. Five children aged 3-9 years with a short lingual frenum, restricted tongue movement, impaired speech, and reverse swallowing pattern were treated using a laser frenectomy procedure. Complete blood count and bleeding time, clotting time tests were carried out in all the patients before treatment. Tongue mobility exercises were taught to patients, and follow-up was taken till recovery and for one year. A satisfactory outcome of tongue mobilization was evident in four cases, but in one case, reattachment/adhesion was noticed six months after the frenulum was treated with laser tongue-tie release.