A smile is an icebreaker, confidence booster, and above all a wonderful gift. A gap between the teeth can ruin your smile, break your confidence, and sometimes raise oral health concerns. For ages, dental intervention to teeth gaps meant only the braces.
However, this scenario has seen tremendous changes so far. Dental science offers a wide range of options to fix these issues, suitable for everyone. Obviously, this article explores the root causes behind these gaps, what its consequences are, and how best to treat them, and prevent them from coming back.
Table of Contents
Fix Your Tooth Gap, Enhance Your Smile: Here’s How.
In the first place, social distancing is the preferred policy nowadays, it’s not so the case with our teeth. A gap in your front teeth, referred to as diastema by dentists, might be killing your smile.
Diastema, though mostly seen in upper front teeth (midline diastema), can occur anywhere in between your teeth. These gaps can be credited to a number of reasons.
Difference in the size of jawbone and teeth
Of course, Have you been wondering why your family has a case of teeth gap running through generations? That’s because the size of the teeth and the jawbone are genetically driven, and the discrepancy in them is often the major cause for these gaps.
Missing or undersized teeth
Here the culprits are the upper lateral incisors that are found in both sides of the upper front incisors. When these are missing or relatively small, gap can occur.
Oversized labial frenum
The gum is connected to the inner lining of the upper lip via a tissue namely, the labial frenum. Enlarged labial frenum comes down to the separation between the front teeth, and thereby diastema.
Gum disease
Gum disease if left unchecked, affects the overall strength of the gum tissues making them move apart and causes gap between the teeth.
Incorrect swallowing reflex and bad habits
As a matter of fact, Swallowing is made possible as a result of the pressure exerted by our tongue against the roof of the mouth. However, the tongue may press itself upon the front teeth, and eventually push them apart. Similar is the case with habits such as thumb sucking.
Why shouldn’t gaps be ignored?
Like vehicle tires, teeth also demand proper alignment.
Without proper alignment, a whole host of dental problems, ranging from aesthetic to hygienic are sure to find their way in. These gaps not only make one self conscious every time they smile, but also create hygienic concerns as they are difficult to clean in a jiffy. Of course, misaligned teeth can cause frequent wear and tear, resulting in chipped and broken teeth.
How to fix gaps in teeth?
All are familiar with (and are mortally afraid of) braces. Let’s see what other options are there to fix these gaps.
Tooth Gap Bands
If your gap is small, then the tooth gap bands are the quickest, most affordable option with the lowest pain quotient. The prerequisite for the tooth gap bands is that your surrounding teeth must be straight.
Alert: May cause gaps between your other teeth.
Dental Bonding
Handy to fix small gaps between the front teeth, dental bonding uses composite resin, that match the color of your teeth, to cover the gap. This is a cosmetic single visit procedure and a low pain option. The bonding material is applied as liquid, moulded, and hardened using a special light.
Alert: Prone to staining.
Porcelain Veneers
These extremely thin, strong, and stable shells that cover your front teeth are perfect for giving a tweak to the size, color, and shape of your teeth. These stain resistant, custom made tooth shells are almost impossible to be distinguished from the natural teeth.
Implants
Large gap? Missing tooth?
A dental implant can make you smile. A surgically placed metal implant acts as a base into which the dentist can insert a replacement tooth.
These are totally secure and stable and require a healthy gum to be placed on. Routine oral inspections and hygienic oral practices are also mandatory for this treatment plan.
Alert: having an implant might burn a hole in your pocket.
Crowns
The gleaming golden tooth that we have often admired in the older people comes under this category.
Also available in metallic, acrylic, and porcelain varieties, dental crown is a cover to the natural teeth cemented upon it.
In general, Maintaining a comprehensive dental health regime is the key to prevent gaps from coming back.
Regular brushing and, breaking bad habits like thumbsucking wouldn’t go amiss when it comes to keeping perfectly spaced teeth.
Information courtesy:
- Aswathy VS,
- Dr.Teeth Family Dental Care,
- Edappally, Kochi.
- Roy, Dental Care Dental Clinic, Trivandrum.