Lasers applied to frenectomy in pediatric patients with ankyloglossia

Tongue-tie or ankyloglossia, is a condition whereby the lingual frenulum attaches near the tip of the tongue and may be short, tight and thick. Tongue-tie has been cited as a cause of poor breastfeeding and maternal nipple pain. Frenectomy, which is commonly performed, may correct the restriction to...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Nunes, José Edson Pavini, Silva, Ayrthon Lucena da, Nunes, Guilherme Pavini, Fagundes, Caroline Ferreira, Souza, Matheus Rodrigues de, Navarro, Ricardo Scarparo
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Federal de Itajubá (UNIFEI)
Repository:Research, Society and Development
Language:Portuguese
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/10434
Online Access:https://rsdjournal.org/index.php/rsd/article/view/10434
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Frenectomia lingual
Anquiloglossia
Laser.
Anquiloglosia
Frenectomía lingual
Aplicaciones láser.
Ankyloglossia
Lingual frenectomy
Laser applications.
Description
Summary:Tongue-tie or ankyloglossia, is a condition whereby the lingual frenulum attaches near the tip of the tongue and may be short, tight and thick. Tongue-tie has been cited as a cause of poor breastfeeding and maternal nipple pain. Frenectomy, which is commonly performed, may correct the restriction to tongue movement and allow more effective breastfeeding with less maternal nipple pain. Traditionally, surgical intervention is performed using a scalpel, however in the last years there has been an important advent of using lasers in this procedure. Objective: carry out a systematic review on the use of lasers as therapy for ankyloglossia. Methods: systematic review of randomized clinical studies with a score ≥ 6 on the PEDro scale (Physiotherapy Evidence Database) published in the databases including PubMed, Cochrane and SciELO. Studies that evaluated the use of laser in the treatment of children with ankyloglossia were selected. Results: In total, 7 studies using laser (Diode or CO2) as one of the techniques for frenectomy were analyzed. In 401 patients underwent lingual frenectomy the benefit between performing the laser technique over the traditional scalpel technique is clearly described. Conclusion: Frenectomy surgery using lasers provides a more efficient and comfortable treatment for the child patient compared to traditional scalpel/blade methods. However, there is no consensus or evidence to indicate the type of laser to be used.