There can be many reasons for spaces between teeth. These spaces may affect just two teeth or all of your teeth. They may be narrow and barely noticeable, or they can be as wide as a missing tooth. Gapped teeth can affect your appearance, but they don't always affect your health.
Your dentist or orthodontist can tell you whether a gap may be a sign of another problem and discuss treatments if you want to make changes to your smile. Spaces between teeth are known by dentists and orthodontists as diastema. This condition can have many possible causes, which your dentist will aim to identify so they can plan appropriate treatments.
It's perfectly normal for children's teeth to have gaps when they first come through. This can be most noticeable between the upper front teeth and it can affect both the primary teeth milk teeth and permanent adult teeth.
Gaps between milk teeth help to maintain space in the jaw for the permanent teeth that come along to replace them. Gaps between permanent incisors usually close by themselves once the canine teeth have erupted. Not everyone's teeth and jaws are a perfect match. Teeth may appear spaced apart if they are disproportionately smaller than the jaw. As teeth and jaw sizes are influenced by genetics, gapped teeth often run in the family. The labial fraenum is the fold of skin above the front teeth that connects the upper lip to the gum.
If this is further down than normal, this can wedge the teeth apart and leave a gap. If the lingual fraenum on the lower gum restricts tongue movements, this can lead to a tongue tie which forces the lower teeth apart. Thumb and finger sucking doesn't normally cause problems if it stops early, but children who continue to suck their thumbs after the age of 4 risk forcing their teeth apart.
This can lead to gaps and other alignment issues. A tongue thrust is when the tongue pushes against the teeth when you swallow, rather than against the roof of the mouth. This pressure on the front teeth can lead to gaps forming over time. Gum disease occurs when bacteria infect or irritate the gums, leading to inflammation. In its early stage gingivitis , gum disease can make the gums red, swollen and itchy, but more severe gum disease periodontitis can cause permanent damage to the gums and tissues supporting the teeth, leaving gaps.
A gap can also be left by one or more missing teeth, which may be lost naturally in childhood or due to a dental disease or injury. This is the same procedure you would have experienced if you ever chipped part of a tooth and had it fixed. A tooth coloured resin is applied to your teeth and shaped to match their natural look. Bonding usually only takes one office visit and there is no need to remove any natural enamel, which means that the process can be reversed if required.
However, it also means that bonding is not a permanent solution and requires maintenance, as it will wear off over time due to impacts from eating and brushing. Porcelain veneers are another cosmetic approach to fixing gaps in between front teeth. They require more work and planning than dental bonding, but the procedure is still relatively simple and the results last for many years. A veneer is a thin piece of porcelain that has been shaped in a lab to match the shape and color of your teeth.
Like a mask, it is placed and bonded over the front of your tooth, covering up any imperfections or gaps in your teeth. Once bonded, the thin piece of porcelain becomes very sturdy and difficult to break. In order to create surface space for the veneers to be attached to, a thin and sometimes substantial layer of enamel needs to be removed from the front of your teeth.
Without that enamel, your teeth require veneers for protection, as they would otherwise become exposed and painfully sensitive. Veneers can correct many cosmetic issues, but depending on the cause of the gaps in your teeth, orthodontics might be required. For more severe cases of teeth gaps, an orthodontic approach may be the best solution. Out of the two options, invisible aligners are very often the easiest, most pain-free and affordable option to close gaps.
By adjusting the shape and size of your dental arches, the teeth are moved into their ideal alignment, closing the gap. Because the dental aligners are made from durable yet flexible plastic, they can be removed and cleaned, leading to a healthier smile than when fixed braces are used. Even though orthodontic treatment takes longer than dental bonding or veneers, it is an effective and long lasting solution. The bonding material can discolour and become weaker over the years, starting to break away, while veneers require the destruction of your natural protective enamel and can come at great financial cost.
Thanks to innovative advances in teledentistry, this method also cuts out the hassle of having to make dentist appointments, giving you your most naturally straight smile at a fraction of the clinic cost. In this situation the best solution is to restore them to their proper size, which will rebalance the proportions of your smile. Properly-aligned teeth are key to overall health. After all, your mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body; keeping them clean and healthy is extremely important for the lifelong health of the rest of you!
Luckily, gaps between teeth are treatable with careful intervention by an experienced orthodontist, and one of the many conditions licensed orthodontists are specifically trained to address. There are several different treatment methods for correcting gaps between teeth: Invisalign is very effective for this condition, as are metal and ceramic braces.
A retainer will also be used to keep gaps from re-opening. Braces are an effective, convenient, and affordable method for correcting gaps between teeth. Orthodontists have used braces to help many thousands of people close their gaps.
Invisalign is a reliable, effective, and comfortable way to treat a gap between teeth, when supervised by an experienced Invisalign doctor. Clear aligners are growing in popularity across the country, since they can achieve the same results as traditional braces without the appearance of metal in your mouth, are less invasive, and can successfully correct gaps in teeth for teenagers and adults alike. Mail-order companies use tele-dentists, which can have serious consequences for your treatment, since you lose the benefit of in-office supervision and face-to-face care.
Thousands of consumer complaints have been filed against mail-order aligner companies , and the American Association of Orthodontists recently issued an advisory warning against their use.
Think carefully before entrusting the health of your smile to a video screen. Dental bonding is sometimes necessary to fully close gaps between teeth. This is typically the case when gaps are caused by having very small teeth. For dental bonding to be effective, teeth need to be positioned properly before the bonding procedure can happen.
Orthodontic treatment is therefore usually required prior to dental bonding for best results. Because gaps will re-appear if not tended to after treatment, most orthodontists recommend a bonded retainer glued behind your teeth to keep aligned teeth in place.
Gaps can appear even in adult teeth where there was no gap before, particularly between the two front teeth, which is called a diastema. Sometimes, an overgrowth of tissue on the border between your gum line and your two upper front teeth will cause the teeth to push apart, resulting in a gap.
If you notice a gap appearing, consult a licensed orthodontist who can recommend treatment to close the gap. Every case is unique, so it depends on the specific of your condition and the gaps themselves.
A single small gap can be closed in months using braces or Invisalign; multiple gaps may take from 12 months to 2 years to fully close, in a safe, effective, and long-lasting manner. A gap can — and likely will — increase over time. This is especially likely if a tooth falls out or is removed, and other teeth start to move into the space left behind, leaving more gaps. Gap may close naturally only in children whose baby teeth are still falling out.
As their adult teeth grow in, the gaps may close on their own. For younger patients still growing their adult teeth, orthodontists will generally wait to see how the teeth come in, using x-rays to predict the future growth of new teeth. If the gaps do not close naturally, then orthodontic treatment may be necessary. Yes, braces are an excellent solution for gaps between teeth. Metal or ceramic braces can both be used to close a dental gap, either in the front or gaps in the side teeth.
Braces are affordable, comfortable, easy to maintain, and provide excellent, long-lasting results. Depending on the suitability and ability a proper treatment option can be chosen.
Ankita Gada is a dental director alliances with SabkaDentist. She is a highly skilled dental Surgeon and Implantologist with an experience of more than 10 years. She is a highly- skilled dentist in implants and planning full mouth rehabilitation cases. She is well versed with all the advanced technology and materials of dentistry that allows her to keep up with the constant changes in the field of modern dentistry.
Your email address will not be published. Your email will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Book an Appointment. Treatment Prices. Ankita Gada February 17, Have you ever felt the same because of the gap you have in your front teeth? If you thought you were the only one facing this problem, think again because you are not alone!
Smile is the first thing that people notice about you. But, what if the natural teeth are interrupted by a small gap right in between your front teeth? Embarrassing right? What Causes Gap in Front Teeth? There is never a sudden gap between front teeth in an individual.
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