Association of Labial and Buccal Frenal Attachment with Gingival Recession – A Clinical Perspective

Frenal attachments are thin folds of mucous membrane with enclosed muscle fibers that attach the lips to the alveolar mucosa and underlying periosteum. Most often, during the oral examination of the patient the dentist gives very little importance to the frenum. The frena may jeopardize the gingival health when they are attached too closely to the gingival margin, either due to interference in the plaque control or due to a muscle pull. From the periodontal point of view, however, the evaluation of the frenum-periodontium interrelations would seem to be worthwhile. This study was aimed to record the different types of labial and buccal frenal attachments in different age groups and gender in both maxillary and mandibular arches. Gingival recession was found to be least with papilla penetrating type. Buccal recession was found to be higher than labial recession the correlation of occurrence of gingival recession and frenum type revealed significant correlation [R0.148; P < 0.001].