Labial Frenulum
Definition
The fold of mucous membrane attaching the upper (or lower) lip to the anterior gum margin. Tearing of the upper labial frenulum in a pre-mobile infant is a sentinel injury for inflicted trauma.
- Location
- Fold attaching upper or lower lip to gum margin
- Forensic significance
- Sentinel injury for inflicted trauma
- High-risk group
- Pre-mobile infants
- Field
- Child abuse recognition
Common questions
Why is a torn labial frenulum treated differently in a pre-mobile infant than in an older child?+
A pre-mobile infant cannot generate the falls or impacts that commonly tear a frenulum accidentally, so the injury carries much higher suspicion for inflicted trauma, such as a blow or forced feeding, than the same injury in a mobile toddler or older child.
What else should be checked when a torn labial frenulum is found on examination?+
The examiner documents a full skin and oral survey for other injuries, since a sentinel injury is meant to prompt a broader abuse screen rather than being assessed as an isolated finding.
Related terms
- Dental Neglect
- Failure by a parent or guardian to seek dental care for a child's untreated oral disease (pain, infection, decay) when such care...
- Patterned Oral Trauma
- Oral or perioral injury whose distribution, shape, or multiplicity is inconsistent with random accidental injury and instead suggests a specific object or...
- Perioral Bruising
- Bruising on the lips, philtrum, or surrounding skin. It can indicate forced feeding, a blow to the face, or gagging, and its...
- Rampant Caries
- Rapidly progressing decay affecting multiple teeth simultaneously, often all accessible surfaces, in a young child. When untreated in a child with clear...
- Sentinel Injury
- A minor, often subtle injury in a young child that, on investigation, is the first detected sign of ongoing abuse or is...