What Causes Big Gaps Between Teeth?
Do you have one or more large gaps between your teeth? You are not alone. Dentists refer to tooth gaps as diastemas. Tooth gaps occur for various reasons, so dentists are familiar with treating patients to remove gaps between teeth.
Here are some of the reasons why tooth gaps occur and how your dentist can treat those specific gaps.
An overly large frenum
The frenum is the piece of oral tissue that connects the upper lip to your gums between your upper two incisors. If your frenum is a little too large, it may be pulling at the gum tissue between your two front teeth, which creates a gap between the teeth.
To correct this problem, your dentist can remove or alter the frenum so that it no longer pulls at the gum tissue. But to close the gap after surgery, you may need orthodontic treatment. You could opt for Invisalign if you wish to close the gap discreetly.
A large jaw
A hereditary issue that some patients have is a large jaw. If your jaw is large, there may be more than enough room to accommodate your adult teeth. This can lead to gaps between teeth.
You can correct this issue with cosmetic dentistry. Porcelain veneers can increase the size of your teeth, which can reduce the size of the gaps. Composite veneers are similar to porcelain veneers but cheaper and more prone to chipping and staining.
Small or narrow teeth
Another hereditary condition some patients have is small teeth. For instance, some people have peg laterals, which refer to smaller-than-normal lateral incisors (the teeth on either side of your central incisors).
If you have small or narrow teeth, you can increase their size with porcelain or composite veneers.
A missing tooth (or teeth)
Missing teeth create space in the jaw. A newly opened space in your jaw can cause the teeth around the space to shift toward that space. Shifting teeth then create new gaps between teeth that didn't have gaps before.
For this issue, you could undergo orthodontic treatment to open up the space where the missing tooth was, and then place a dental implant there. This would close the space and help close the gaps between your other teeth too.
You can also treat this problem by increasing the size of your teeth slightly, with veneers.
Gum disease
Gum disease attacks the gum and bone tissue that surround your teeth. The gaps that occur from gum disease start at the roots of the teeth and create what dentists call "black triangles".
Your dentist first needs to treat the gum disease before they close the gaps between your teeth. You can then opt to close the gaps with gum grafting. You can close the gaps with composite resin if you can find a skilled cosmetic dentist.
If you have gaps between your teeth, speak to your cosmetic dentist about these treatments.