Subject(s)
Breast Feeding/adverse effects , Dental Caries/etiology , Female , Humans , Infant , Milk, HumanABSTRACT
Successful breastfeeding is dependent upon an infant's ability to correctly latch onto a mother's breast. If an infant is born with oral soft tissue abnormalities such as tongue-tie or lip-tie, breastfeeding may become challenging or impossible. During the oral evaluation of an infant presenting with breastfeeding problems, one area that is often overlooked and undiagnosed and, thus, untreated is the attachment of the upper lip to the maxillary gingival tissue. Historically, this tissue has been described as the superior labial frenum, median labial frenum, or maxillary labial frenum. These terms all refer to a segment of the mucous membrane in the midline of the upper lip containing loose connective tissue that inserts into the maxillary arch's loose, unattached gingival or tight, attached gingival tissue. There is no muscle contained within this tissue. In severe instances, this tissue may extend into the area behind the upper central incisors and incisive papilla. The author has defined and identified the restrictions of mobility of this tissue as a lip-tie, which reflects the clinical attachment of the upper lip to the maxillary arch. This article discusses the diagnosis and classifications of the lip-tie, as it affects an infant's latch onto the mother's breast. As more and more women choose to breastfeed, lip-ties must be considered as an impediment to breastfeeding, recognizing that they can affect a successful, painless latch and milk transfer.
Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Mouth Abnormalities/diagnosis , Mouth Abnormalities/surgery , Ankyloglossia , Humans , Labial FrenumABSTRACT
In breastfeeding infants, an abnormal attachment of maxillary frenum has the potential to become a significant factor in contributing to facial caries formation on the maxillary anterior teeth. This is in part due to the inability of infants to remove residual milk from the area between the lip and facial surfaces of the maxillary central and lateral incisors at the completion of nursing. Early diagnosis and treatment of an abnormal frenum attachment with the simple and quick revision technique using the Erbium: YAG or Diode laser can prevent these from occurring and does not present any significant risks to the infant.
Subject(s)
Breast Feeding , Dental Caries/epidemiology , Lingual Frenum/abnormalities , Maxilla/anatomy & histology , Tooth/anatomy & histology , Breast Feeding/adverse effects , Dental Caries/etiology , Humans , Infant , Lingual Frenum/surgeryABSTRACT
Pediatric dentistry's mission in delivering care to our young patients is simple: provide optimal preventive, interceptive, and restorative dental care in a stress-free environment. Lasers such as argon, diode, Nd:YAG, CO2, and now the erbium family enable minimally invasive dentistry for hard- and soft-tissue procedures. This article offers an understanding of treatment planning in the pediatric practice and demonstrates the procedures that dental lasers can perform on younger patients.
Subject(s)
Dental Care for Children , Laser Therapy , Lasers , Child , Child, Preschool , Humans , Infant , Low-Level Light Therapy , Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures , Mouth Diseases/radiotherapy , Mouth Diseases/surgery , Tooth Diseases/surgery , Tooth Diseases/therapyABSTRACT
It often is suggested that using a dental operating microscope on children cannot work because of their inability to sit still. Not only is this premise incorrect, but also using the microscope can improve the ergonomics of practicing dentistry and, in some cases, reduce the potential for head and neck strain.
