Time to go back to the basics. What exactly are you preparing for? What is a frenectomy? Well, frenectomy is essentially a procedure that will remove the restrictive tissue that is connected between your floor of the mouth and the base of the tongue. There will be a picture once we get to anatomy and you can see what the frenum looks like. There's two ways to release this restrictive tissue.

One is with a laser, and another is via scissors. Laser procedures, and scissor procedures can both be done very effectively. And there's a lot of controversy currently as to which is better and many would say the laser However, there are many providers who are Performing traditional scissor fun activities and getting excellent results. The main objective is to make sure that you are released to where you are fully functional types of providers who might perform a frenectomy a general dentist, a pediatric dentist, an oral maxillofacial surgeon, an EMT, which stands for an ear, nose, throat doctor, or an alternative to having it medically released might be to holistically see a body worker, such as an osteopath, cranial sacral therapist or a provider who does myofascial release. These providers work to try to physically manipulate and release some of the tensions in the body. In some cases, people have found relief by doing body work as a opposed to having a medical release.

Some considerations when you're trying to decide whether or not to have a frenectomy How is your provider viewing your frenectomy? Do they view your frenum your thick attachment as a physical barrier or as a functional barrier to you not being able to achieve proper breathing, chewing, swallowing tasks that are integral to everyday life. Functionally, if you are being restricted, it is best to have it released. However, if they're just viewing it as a physical barrier to speech or, or other physical restrictions that it may cause and not necessarily functional, there is a chance that you might not be Fully release which leads me to the next point revision possibilities. No one wants to have the procedure done more than once. So it's important to know that if you are very restricted and you are tied to the tip, you may need more than one revision.

It varies based on the doctors and their preference of how they perform the procedure, whether it is laser or scissors. sutures are also another consideration as well as sedation versus anesthesia. Typically, unless you are having another procedure done, you will not be put under general anesthesia to have your tie released. Your tie will be released while you're awake and under some form of local or service anesthesia and in some cases, merely a topical anesthetic. You want to look into your options and see whether sedation is an option and you can have an oral sedative that you take and it makes you feel calm and relaxed, similar to a value and then you do your procedure or if you want to go in and be fully aware and capable and able to move and understand what is going on around you, as you are having your procedure.

You want to take a look at and take note of what your preferred providers post operative care and instructions are. If your provider does not insist on doing myofunctional therapy exercises before and or after, that is a huge red flag. It is very important and we will discuss this a little later on. For you to exercise prior to having the frenectomy done, and especially immediately afterwards, you want to weigh the benefits first the risk of the procedure. If you're going to have this procedure done, what are the potential benefits for you? Will it improve your speech bullet improve your breathing?

Will it improve your chewing, swallowing tensions that you have any pain in the jaw, head, neck shoulders? What are the possible benefits that you may achieve? versus any possible risks of surgery? All these are things that you want to discuss thoroughly with your provider prior to booking your appointment. Why do you want to do the exercises before and after of relief? Well, let's have an analogy.

This is Jen. Jen is a perfectly happy and healthy woman whose arms have been attached to her body. For as long as she knows, these arms have not had much movement, she can move maybe a little bit at the wrist, and that is the extent of her movement. Well, Jen wants to have a release because she realizes that there should be more movement that she has in her arms. So she goes and she has the release done without having any exercising before after. Well, once she heals, she has a little bit of movement, but there's some scar tissue that winds up forming right in between where it was already restricted.

So now she's got maybe 20% more movement. There's a little space there between her hands. Her body now, however, she is not going to have full range of motion of her arm. She won't know what it's like to lift her hand and say hi, it will be very difficult for her to put her hands behind her head. She will not have full range of motion to be able to do all the things that people who don't have restricted arms are able to do. Now, let's imagine that she envisioned her revision, and she exercised and God working those muscles, the biceps, the triceps, and she very much got control of these muscles that haven't done very much work her whole life because she had no idea that these muscles were even capable doing something.

She's been restricted. All she had was slight movement of her wrist if you recall if she had envisioned Her revision, then perhaps she would have gotten all of that exercising and engage those muscles prior to the release. Because had she done that she would be free, her arms would get full range of motion, she would move them constantly these muscles that have been worked, now realize that they have a purpose and they had a purpose the whole time. It's very similar to your tongue. This hum does not belong low in the mouth. The tongue is a natural framework for our facial dental development for our health.

It's integral for breathing, which is essential for all of us. It's very important to not just free your tongue from being restricted low in the mouth, but to engage it that way. All those muscles that innervate the tongue, know that they have have a purpose and they will start to utilize themselves in the proper way. This is why you're in this course right now. You're ready to free your tongue.