If you remember looking at your pimple-faced teenage self in the mirror and smiling with a mouth full of metal, you’ve struggled with teeth gaps. They can be embarrassing whether you’ve never had braces or spaces suddenly appear after years of rubber bands and no gum chewing. We, more than anyone, want you to look at your reflection and be proud of your smile!
Teeth gaps, also called diastema, can happen to anyone. However, we believe an experienced dentist can fix the issue and give you confidence in your teeth. We would like to tell you more about teeth gaps and their common causes. Then, you can look at some potential remedies dentists use to treat diastema.
Causes of Gapped Teeth
You may be like most people, who got teeth gaps when you were young (braces, ugh) but never knew how they came to be. Some dentists will tell you that the spaces in your teeth come from genetics, which is true. However, there are more practical oral health reasons why you have teeth gaps.
Tooth Issue
- Children losing primary teeth: If you think back to when you were a kid, you might remember teeth gaps after losing baby teeth. These spaces will close, and your smile will develop permanent dentition. It is a normal part of growing up, like puberty and adam’s apples, that don’t need dental treatment.
- Tooth Size and the Jawbone: This is where some dentists will point and say that your teeth gaps are 100% genetic. Your teeth may be too small compared to your jawbones and will make room for gaps to appear. This phenomenon can happen if your parents have the same issue and they pass it along to you.
- Missing or Undersized Teeth: You can also get teeth gaps if your upper lateral incisor teeth are too small or are missing. These spaces form precisely between the teeth on each side of the two upper front teeth.
Oral Health Issue
- Gum disease: As straightforward as it is, poor oral hygiene and dental care can cause teeth gaps in your mouth. Gum disease is a prime example where your gums recede, and bacteria infect them. We cannot stress proper brushing and flossing enough to help with these space issues.
- Oversized labial frenum: This technical term refers to a tissue that connects the upper lip to gum tissue between the two front teeth. If the maxillary labial frenum tissue is too big, it will forge a gap.
Human Issue
- Tongue Thrusting: Experts say that you can get teeth gap in your front teeth via tongue thrusting. Putting pressure between both teeth will create unwanted diastema.
- Childhood habits: You’re not paying attention as a baby or toddler to the causes of teeth gaps. But gaps appeared when you used to make bad habits like pacifier sucking, thumb sucking, and lip sucking past the age of 4.
Treatment
A dentist can offer medical advice depending upon your teeth gap’s exact cause. And there may be multiple approaches to closing the space between your teeth where your doctor will ask you to do more than. We recommend these treatments to close the gaps for diastema and “feeling like a teenager with braces” syndrome:
- Braces (which you can use for crooked teeth too)
- Dental bonding
- Veneer fitting
- Dental implants/dental bridge
- Oversized labial frenum surgery
- Regular dental cleanings
- Gum disease procedures
We Can Get Back Your Smile
You have trouble smiling in pictures, speaking at work functions, and loving your teeth. Diastema can ruin your confidence, but it doesn’t have to. We have served 30+ years of Arizonians and know how to correct anything that has caused your teeth gaps.
Our team can give a diagnosis and treatment for your teeth gaps all in the same building. Give our Mesa office a call at (480).838.3033, so we can get your smile back, and you can be proud to show those pearly whites!