An ideal tooth alignment enhances your confidence and gives you a perfect smile. However, having a gap between your teeth can make everything seem awkward. This includes the significant gap that occurs on the front teeth visible when you smile or open your mouth.
A gap between teeth, also known as diastema, is a common dental disorder in adults and children. In most instances, the gap occurs between the front teeth, creating a space between the right and left sides of the topmost part of the teeth.
This gap can lower your confidence, especially when making a speech in front of people or talking to your friends. However, if you have a gap, you should not stress yourself or let the gap lower your confidence. Several remedies or treatment options can help fill up the gap, giving you that confidence and smile you deserve.
Although there are some natural ways that you can use to fill the gaps, they are not long-lasting or effective. However, when you visit the best dentists in AZ and its surroundings, they will provide you with an ideal treatment option that will fill the spaces naturally and give you a perfect smile.
What is a Gap between Teeth?
A gap between teeth is also known as a diastema. The gaps can occur at ant place of the mouth, but they mainly occur on the two front teeth on the upper arch. The dental disorder affects both children and adults, but it may disappear after the growth of permanent teeth in children.
Gaps between teeth vary in size. Some are barely noticeable and small, while others are big gaps that cause lots of cosmetic discomforts. If you have issues with the gaps between your teeth, there are several ways in which you can reduce or close the gaps.
Causes of Gap between Teeth
Several reasons might determine why people have gaps between their teeth. This includes reasons such as dental procedures, facial trauma, genetics, and age.
Baby Teeth
It is pretty standard and entirely normal for children to have spaces between their teeth. This is usually because of the small developing teeth in comparison to the jaw bone. However, if your child has no outgrown gap between teeth after developing the adult molars, contact your orthodontist before the problem escalates.
Aging
Unlike kids who develop out of diastema, older adults grow into it. When people grow old, their teeth naturally shift. This creates a gap between teeth, and sometimes it even leads to other dental problems.
Bad Habits
Several old habits can lead to the creation of gaps between your teeth. Thumb sucking, inappropriate chewing habits, long-term use of pacifiers and bottles, and irregular mouth breathing and swallowing can create pressure on the teeth, causing them to separate.
Large Frenum
Everybody has a tissue strip known as the maxillary labial frenum, connecting the gums with the upper lip. Sometimes, this strip of tissue might be extra-large and develop between teeth, creating a gap.
Large Jaw Bone and Small Teeth
If you have too small teeth to fill the jaw bone, they can create gaps to prevent the teeth from merging. This can result in diastema, and failure to resolve the issue might lead to dental complications.
Missing Tooth
If you remove your tooth, it creates a space on the jaw bone. After some time, the surrounding teeth will fill up the space created by the pulled-out tooth, creating spaces between multiple teeth. Therefore, to prevent the occurrence of diastema, you should always replace pulled-out teeth with a dental implant or bridge.
Gum Disorder
When gum disease worsens, the gum retrocedes, forcing the jaw bone to lose density. This can make the teeth move quickly since the teeth have no supportive base to root into. Thus, if you have a gum disorder, using your tongue to hit the back of your teeth can make your teeth move forward, creating a gap between teeth and other dental issues.
The Best Treatment Options for Gap between Teeth
Depending on the patient’s need and overall health, the medical personnel can recommend using Invisalign, dental implants, veneers, crowns, or dental bonding to fix the space between teeth. However, the dental expert might also recommend the patient to go through a frenectomy if the need arises.
Dental Bonding
It is an effective way of filling small spaces on the front teeth and even solving aesthetic issues. During this process, the doctor cleanses and prepares the front tooth and then applies a bonding material. The dentist then applies the teeth with a colored resin and later hardens the resin with a special light, giving it a natural look. The dentist then polishes the bonding solid shielded tooth to prevent it from irritating the lips.
The advantage of using this treatment option is that it does not enclose multiple dentist visits. You can visit the dentist once and get your issues solved by going back. However, this treatment option is not ideal for patients with crowded or crooked teeth or people with a misaligned bite.
Veneers
They are tooth-shaped shells that are highly effective and reliable in filling gaps between teeth. There are two types of veneers: porcelain veneers and composite veneers. Dentists across AZ use porcelain veneers to seal more significant gaps but with an option of using cosmetic dentistry since this process exposes the teeth to various modifications. In comparison to composite veneers, porcelain veneers are stronger for areas where you must consider the bite load.
However, composite veneers are ideal sealants for small gaps that range between 1 to 3 mm. Furthermore, they are fast to fix since they require less tooth preparation and are cheaper than porcelain veneers.
Invisalign
It is a kind of brace that dentists and other dental experts use to close the space between the teeth. Although you can use veneers and dental bonding to fix small gaps, Invisalign plays a significant role in reducing the gap permanently. They are clear aligner braces that assist in modifying the teeth without illuminating their existence. However, this treatment option is expensive compared to the use of traditional braces. But it is an effective option for patients with crooked teeth who want to fix their teeth gap issues.
Retainers
People often use retainers to align their teeth. Nevertheless, retainers are also an excellent treatment option for people with gaps between their teeth. If you have a gap between your teeth caused by shifting of the teeth, retainers can be the best solution for your problem.
Thanks to AL technology, dentists can now visualize the gaps between teeth using automated software and learn how to fill the gap with more accuracy and precision. The main advantage of using this treatment option is that it is a cost-effective process and takes less time than other treatment options.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are an ideal treatment option for big gaps caused by missing teeth. Dentists use implants to replace missing teeth paired with dentures, dental crowns, and bridges. However, dental implants exist as fixed or removable teeth that match with your teeth. During the treatment process, the dentist inserts an artificial enamel tooth into the bone or gum, and once it heals, the dentist then places an artificial structure on the post or screw.
Remember, gaps between teeth can expose your dental part to harmful bacteria, resulting in substantial dental health issues. Therefore, if you have missing teeth, you should consider dental implants as the best permanent solution for closing the gap between teeth.
Orthodontic Treatment
Sometimes, the dentist may ask you to undergo orthodontic treatment depending on the gap between multiple teeth. Doctors recommend using this process mainly when they want to close one large gap that may lead to another large gap. In this situation, the doctor may opt to use braces if the teeth have gaps and are not aligned precisely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are spaced teeth unattractive?
Unfortunately, beauty is subjective and what most people find attractive is what turns out to be a trend. Fashion varies, but for the past years, people have associated gapped teeth as a beauty hallmark.
Can spaced teeth merge naturally?
Sometimes, spaced teeth put their differences aside and close naturally. This mainly occurs in children who are yet to have fully grown teeth. When children develop teeth, the gaps between their teeth can close without any treatment intervention. That is why your child should always visit an orthodontist from an early age to monitor their dental well-being and note any changes that can occur naturally.
Final Remarks
Visiting the best dentist in AZ is vital if you want to get the perfect treatment option for space-filling in your teeth. Imagine Dental is a well-known dental service provider in Ahwatukee, AZ, that will offer you ideal services at a very affordable price. We have qualified, experienced, licensed, and well-trained orthodontics that can help you retain your smile and confidence back. Visit us today to schedule an appointment.
