A laser frenectomy near Kirkland is one of the most common procedures parents ask about at Evergreen Pediatric, and most families arrive with a head full of questions and very few reliable answers. At Evergreen Pediatric and Airway Dentistry, Dr. Susan Kim trained at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and holds her LightScalpel CO2 laser certification alongside Vivos and HealthyStart certifications. She has been a Seattle Met Top Pediatric Dentist since 2012 and sees lip tie and tongue tie cases from Kingsgate, Juanita Drive NE, and Bridle Trails every week on Totem Lake Blvd NE.
The fear most parents bring to that first appointment is not the procedure itself. It is whether their child actually needs it, and whether they waited too long or acted too soon. Both fears are reasonable. A lip tie or tongue tie that affects feeding, sleep, speech, or dental development is worth treating. One that causes no functional problem may not be. The right answer is not a referral or a wait-and-see — it is a clear evaluation by someone who has seen hundreds of these cases and knows the difference.
What Is a Frenectomy and Why Do Children Need One?
A frenectomy releases a tight or restrictive frenum, the band of tissue connecting the tongue to the floor of the mouth or the lip to the gum. Tongue tie affects between 4 and 10 percent of infants, making it one of the more common oral anomalies in pediatric dentistry. When that tissue restricts movement, the effects ripple outward into feeding, speech, and dental development.
Lip tie tends to present alongside tongue tie in many cases. Infants with upper lip restriction often struggle to create a proper seal during breastfeeding, leading to air intake, gas, and slow weight gain. Older children with unresolved lip ties may develop gaps between the upper front teeth and difficulty keeping the gum line clean. Dr. Susan evaluates both at every preventive visit, and in her experience, most families never hear about frenum restriction until a problem they cannot ignore is already visible.
What Is the Difference Between a Laser Frenectomy and a Traditional Frenectomy?
A traditional frenectomy uses scissors or a scalpel to cut the frenum tissue, which requires sutures and produces more postoperative bleeding and swelling. A laser frenectomy uses concentrated light energy to release the tissue with precision. There is essentially no bleeding, and sutures are not needed in most cases. At Evergreen Pediatric, Dr. Susan uses the LightScalpel CO2 laser, which delivers a virtually bloodless field. Children tolerate it far better than conventional instruments, and that is not a small thing when the patient is already anxious about sitting in a dental chair.
For an anxious child, the difference between a scalpel and a CO2 laser is significant. Laser-assisted frenectomy produces minimal pain and reduces the need for local anesthesia. Meet Dr. Susan Kim to learn more about her approach and what she looks for before recommending treatment.
What Signs Should Parents Look for Before Booking a Frenectomy Evaluation?
Parents along 116th Ave NE and near Market Street often notice these signs long before any dentist connects the dots. Breastfeeding difficulties in the first weeks of life are the most common early signal. Here is what Dr. Susan watches for at every airway and preventive visit for families in Houghton, Forbes Creek, and across Kirkland:
- Poor latch during breastfeeding with clicking sounds or nipple pain
- Slow weight gain or prolonged feeding sessions in infants
- Gap between upper front teeth that persists past age seven
- Difficulty with certain speech sounds, especially t, d, l, n, r
- Recurrent upper gum irritation or difficulty brushing along the gum line
- Snoring or open-mouth breathing connected to restricted tongue posture
A gap at age five may be completely normal. A gap still present at nine, alongside a high lip tie, calls for a clinical decision. That is exactly why parents from South Rose Hill and Bellevue Highlands come to Evergreen Pediatric instead of waiting another year to see if it resolves on its own.
How Does a Laser Frenectomy at Evergreen Pediatric Compare to Other Options?
How Does a Laser Frenectomy at Evergreen Pediatric Compare to Other Options?Many families arrive having been told to wait and see. Others carry a referral for a procedure that seemed far more involved than necessary. Where you have the frenectomy and who performs it determines the experience and the recovery for your child.
| Traditional Approach | Laser Frenectomy at Evergreen Pediatric |
| Scalpel or scissors with sutures | LightScalpel CO2 laser, no sutures needed |
| Bleeding requires direct management | Virtually bloodless field |
| More postoperative swelling and pain | Minimal swelling and discomfort |
| General anesthesia often recommended | Topical anesthesia sufficient in most cases |
| Recovery measured in weeks | Most children recover in days |
| Multiple providers often involved | Evaluation and treatment in one pediatric office |
The biggest practical difference families from Kingsgate and along 132nd Ave NE notice is that the laser frenectomy at Evergreen Pediatric happens in a single appointment with a provider who already knows their child. That context changes what Dr. Susan evaluates, and it changes how she talks to families about what to expect afterward.
What Should Parents Expect During and After the Procedure?
Dr. Susan begins every evaluation with a functional assessment, not just an anatomical one. Anatomy alone does not tell the full story. Families from Finn Hill and North Rose Hill often arrive not knowing if the diagnosis is functionally significant, and in Dr. Susan’s experience, that is the conversation most families needed to have years earlier. It happens before any treatment decision gets made.
The LightScalpel CO2 laser releases the tissue in minutes with minimal discomfort. There is no bleeding to manage and no sutures to remove. Recovery involves gentle stretching exercises starting the same day, which Dr. Susan demonstrates and sends home in written form. She connects families with myofunctional therapy through the pediatric dentistry program at Evergreen when the tongue or lip needs retraining. And most families who go through the full process leave wishing they had done it sooner.
Your Child Deserves a Thorough Evaluation Before Any Decision Gets Made
Parents who arrive at Evergreen Pediatric wondering whether their child needs a frenectomy leave with a real answer, not a referral and not another year of watching and waiting. They leave knowing what is there, whether it matters, and exactly what the next step is. At Evergreen Pediatric and Airway Dentistry on Totem Lake Blvd NE in Kirkland, Dr. Susan Kim brings Columbia-trained expertise and more than a decade as a Seattle Met Top Pediatric Dentist. She serves families from Juanita Drive NE to Finn Hill and across Kingsgate.
Call 425-814-3196 or book online at evergreenkidsdentist.com to schedule a frenectomy evaluation. You will know what is there, whether it causes a problem, and what to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common is tongue tie in children and does it always need treatment?
Tongue tie is more common than most parents expect. A review in the Canadian Medical Association Journal confirmed that prevalence in newborns ranges from 4 to 10 percent, making it one of the more common oral anomalies in pediatric dentistry, as documented in a systematic review of ankyloglossia prevalence. Whether it needs treatment depends entirely on whether it is causing a functional problem. A tongue tie that interferes with breastfeeding, speech, dental development, or airway posture warrants evaluation and likely treatment. Dr. Susan at Evergreen Pediatric makes that determination at the evaluation, based on how the restriction actually affects your child’s function.
Is a CO2 laser frenectomy safe for infants and young children?
Yes. CO2 laser frenectomy is well-established in pediatric dentistry and is preferred for young children because it produces minimal bleeding, requires little to no injectable anesthesia, and reduces postoperative pain significantly compared to scalpel techniques. Research confirms that laser-assisted frenectomy reduces stress for both children and caregivers while delivering reliable outcomes, as documented in the PubMed record for the 2025 Cureus frenectomy study. Dr. Susan uses the LightScalpel CO2 laser specifically because of its precision, its safety profile in young patients, and the quality of healing it produces in soft tissue.
Will my child need speech therapy or myofunctional therapy after the frenectomy?
Many children benefit from myofunctional therapy after a lingual frenectomy because the tongue needs to learn new movement patterns once the structural restriction is gone. Without retraining, the tongue may continue compensatory patterns it developed around the tie, limiting the functional gains from the release. Population data on frenotomy outcomes confirm that results are most consistent when the procedure is part of a coordinated care plan, as documented in a population study on ankyloglossia and frenotomy trends published in CMAJ Open. Dr. Susan discusses this at the evaluation and refers to myofunctional therapy when the clinical picture calls for it.
How do I know if my child’s front tooth gap is caused by a lip tie?
A gap between the upper front teeth is normal during the mixed dentition years. The concern arises when the gap persists after the permanent lateral incisors are in place, typically past age eight or nine, and when the upper lip tie is visibly pulling tissue into the space between the incisors. Dr. Susan evaluates the lip tie functionally to determine whether the frenum attachment is the cause or whether other factors are driving the gap. A lip tie that creates a midline diastema is a documented indication for frenectomy, as confirmed in a 2025 Cureus clinical case series on laser frenectomy.
