Filling Dental Spaces: How to Fix a Gap Between Front Teeth

When you think of smile flaws, you likely imagine tooth stains or cracked teeth. However, those aren’t the only sorts around. It’s also possible to have a gap between your front teeth. Should that happen, your grin will look uneven and skewed. Luckily, cosmetic dentistry can fill these nasty spaces. Your local La Porte dentist will even explain how. So, read on to learn about diastemas, what causes them, and their dental solutions.

What Causes Gaps Between Front Teeth?

For starters, a tooth gap is called a diastema. The term describes a space wider than .5 millimeters between any of your teeth. When said space occurs, though, it’s normally harmless; it won’t affect your oral health.

For both kids and adults, diastemas have various causes. They include:

• Bad Oral Habits –Thumb sucking, lip sucking, and tongue thrusting put pressure on front teeth. In doing so, these habits can create a gap between them.
• Undersized Teeth –If any of your teeth are smaller than other ones, diastemas may form. They’re even more likely when the tinier tooth is an upper lateral incisor.
• Jawbone Size –Tooth gaps can form when a person’s teeth are too small for their jawbone.
• Gum Disease –In some cases, gum disease erodes the bone that supports your teeth. The result is that your pearly whites loosen and spread apart.

How Cosmetic Dentists “Close the Gaps”

Of course, cosmetic dentistry can close diastemas. Several of its treatments are known to fix tooth gaps.  As for the specifics, these procedures include:

Direct Bonding

If you didn’t know, direct bonding is a mild cosmetic option. It uses tooth-colored resin to cover up minor smile flaws. Therefore, it’s ideal for hiding small stains, chips, and cracks.

Naturally, dental bonding is also a great fix for tooth gaps. Its resin can fill the unwanted space between your teeth. From there, you’ll get to enjoy a prettier grin!

Porcelain Veneers

Put simply, veneers are thin shells placed on the fronts of teeth. They aim to hide dental faults – tooth stains, chips, fractures, and more. Since they’re often made from porcelain, they blend seamlessly with adjacent teeth.

In reality, veneers can hide misaligned teeth as well. That means they can cover up your diastema. That way, your peers would only see pretty chompers without gaps.

A gap between your front teeth shouldn’t hold you back. Therefore, talk to your dentist about the treatments listed above!

About the Practice

Region Dental is based in La Porte, IN. Led by Drs. Berquist and Ornelas, our practice provides the best in comprehensive dental care. We thus offer preventive, cosmetic, and restorative work, as well as urgent oral procedures. As such, our team is able to treat diastemas and fill in your tooth gaps. For more details or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (219)-362-8980.