Maxillary Labial Frenum and Its Relationship to Developing Dentition in Korean Children

This study was performed to evaluate the relationship between the types of maxillary labial frenum attachment and the dental age in children. The maxillary labial frenum attachment levels were examined from the children who visited Chonbuk National University Dental Hospital between April, 2010 and December, 2013. The total number of the examined children was 320 (160 males, 160 females) between the age of 2 and 12. The types of maxillary labial frenum were categorized according to Placek’ s classification and each type was analyzed for its relationship with both Hellman’ s dental age and the eruption stage of permanent maxillary anterior teeth. The observed forms of maxillary labial frenum along with their frequency were as follows: gingival (56.3%), papillary (20.6%), mucosal (18.1%) and papillary penetrating (5.0%). The frenum form showed no significant difference due to gender ( p > 0.05). From IC to IIIB in Hellman’ s dental age, the mucosal type increased significantly (p 0.05).