It’s common for there to be a gap between two of your teeth. If a gap is wider than 0.5cm, it’s known as a diastema. Diastemas are most frequently noticed between the top front two teeth. The diagram shows what a diastema looks like.
There are many causes of gapped teeth. These include:
Genetics: Gapped teeth can run in the family
Gum disease: If you have severe gum disease, this can result in damage to the jawbone and your teeth may become loose, causing gaps to appear
Alignment issues where your front teeth protrude past your lower teeth
The loss of baby teeth: As these fall out, gaps can appear between a child’s teeth. These sometimes close as adult teeth appear or they can remain permanently
Oversized tissue in the gum: You have a type of tissue between your lip and gum known as ‘labial frenum’. If this is too large, it can cause a gap to form
Pushing your tongue against your front teeth or thumb sucking beyond the age of seven: This can put enough pressure on the front teeth to result in a gap
Generally, a gap between your teeth is nothing to worry about and many people like the look of a diastema. However, if you feel self-conscious about it, you may want to have orthodontic treatment for cosmetic reasons.
Most of the time, a gap in the teeth can be treated with braces, but there are some cases, for example if the gap is caused by oversized tissue, where you may require a minor operation such as a frenectomy to close the gap.
If you have gum disease, this will need to be treated by your general dentist before you can have any type of orthodontic treatment, or you may want to replace the failing teeth instead.
Your orthodontist may discuss the following options with you:
When we contact you, we will ask you if you’d like to have your free consultation in person or over the phone. At your consultation, we will chat through your options and suitability for different treatments.
*Terms and conditions:
1. Consultations over the telephone or a video application are free of professional charges. A COVID-19 safety tariff will not apply to the free consultation but may apply to specific appointments in your treatment, which you will be notified of beforehand.
2. Consultations are to discuss options and suitability for treatment. Subsequent clinical examinations and diagnostic tests required, and any associated costs will be discussed prior to treatment commencing.
3. Consultations subject to availability.
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