Symptoms and Causes. Not everyone with gap teeth is bothered by their appearance. The gap only becomes a concern when it affects a person’s self-confidence. The main cause of gap teeth is a difference in size between the teeth and the jawbone. Studies have shown that gap teeth can be hereditary, with children often inheriting the features of their parents. If your biological parents have a gap, you have a higher chance of developing one as well. Other causes of gap teeth include a large labial frenum, thumb sucking, and gum disease.
Gap teeth treatment, also known as diastema, are spaces between the front teeth. They can be unsightly and often lead to low self-esteem for those who have them. While gap teeth do not have any adverse health effects, having straight and white teeth can greatly impact a person’s self-esteem and perception of beauty. Many people with low self-esteem due to gap teeth have tried various treatments, but unfortunately, they are not always effective.
A misaligned jaw may result in an open bite, where a person closes their mouth only for the teeth on the side to touch in the back of the mouth, and not the front teeth. Attrition, also called teeth grinding, can also cause gaps in teeth. Teeth can become worn over time, transforming a normal-sized tooth into a smaller, misshapen tooth, leaving spaces in between. The gaps close when teeth are ground down over time. Bruxism, another condition, can cause an open bite, while aggressive tongue thrust and reverse swallow can push the teeth in a forward position, causing open/tooth gapped teeth. Large teeth on a smaller jaw can also cause gapped teeth, due to genetically-sized teeth fitting in an inadequate space. If these factors aren’t enough to convince patients to close a minor gap, the misalignment of the teeth not only leads to difficulty in biting, chewing, and speaking clearly but creates susceptibility to gum and periodontal disease, as the teeth are not providing the intimate contact that is needed to seal out food and harmful entities.
Besides genetics, other factors can cause misalignments and could lead to gap teeth. Gap between teeth and gums treatment that are underdeveloped, and a small frenulum (the piece of tissue that extends from the inside of the upper lip) are three of the most common reasons. Each of these issues can cause other teeth to shift into an open space left by a gap, as well as cause periodontal pockets, which could lead to gum disease. Over time, this simple gap could eventually result in more serious dental problems, such as damage to the bone and surrounding tissues, and even loss of teeth.
Before the gap between teeth and gums treatment, often problems resulting from gum disease, thumb-sucking, a misaligned jaw, or genetics, can seriously impact self-confidence and affect the functionality of the mouth, including chewing. The good news is that they can be corrected using braces, caps, or even veneers or bonding. Each of these treatments has its own set of criteria, so let’s take a closer look at some of the most effective teeth gap treatment.
Gap tooth—or Diastema—gaps between the top front and center teeth, the bottom front and center teeth, or both gaps. The majority affected by this issue choose to fix this minor aesthetic problem. Teeth gaps can be fixed with several kinds of methods and it can be fixed easily without being too costly, risky, or invasive. However, if the patient wants or needs to have the problem fixed by the orthodontist advanced, the cost will be high. The needs of orthodontists vary depending on the teeth gaps. They can use treatments such as braces, retainers, and bands to get rid of large gaps or bite adjustments to fix braces and gapped or extra teeth. What treatment is required for diastema differs depending on the patient? The brightest patients, however, receive beautiful smiles in the end and that is by closing the space between the teeth. The conscious colored bands and the bracket size of the teeth issue with the main concern of the conscious adults, children, and adolescents. They invest time, effort, and money to correct it. It is considered ugly to have gapped teeth because they do not look ugly and cause embarrassment in the region. This issue, however, can be solved by the teeth gap treatment that has diastemas. The main choices for the patient are colored brackets that are a little interesting. The clear retainers are practically invisible and if the visible presence of brackets causes insecurity. Clear aligners are made by using the same materials to make the product more invisible. Clear aligners are easy to remove when eating and when brushing and flossing teeth, unlike other approaches that do not mean the painful removal of the braces used for straining.
A gap tooth, also called diastema, is a dental condition in which the teeth are separated by wide spaces. In their childhood, many people have naturally spaced teeth. This is often temporary when they start losing their baby teeth and get adult teeth. However, in some circumstances, the gap between the two front teeth does not close. Such a gap can grow large and be unsightly. Many practitioners call this problem a disease or an abnormal condition, but it is often a natural occurrence. This aesthetic problem is neither caused by disease nor an abnormal condition, nor does it cause pain. However, self-esteem problems can be created as a result of aesthetic concerns. Many people with gap teeth try to correct the problem either in their teens or adulthood.
In a research study that evaluated the effect of fixed labial and lingual retractive mechanics on the dimensions of incisors, gap teeth treatment cases of diastema closure with other than anatomical retention have not been reported. The effects of fixed orthodontic treatment on intercanine and intermolar widths have been reported to be predictable, regardless of space closure of the mandibular arch with maxillary and mandibular first premolar extractions or maxillary second premolar extractions for the treatment of angulated class II.
Of the several gap teeth treatment, the most effective and predictable is still patient-specific planning. All patients with gap teeth or diastema, plus an edge-to-edge bite, exhibit upper incisor proclination. Upper incisor proclination can be reduced through fixed appliance therapy, and over long periods, partially independent of fixed appliance therapy. However, this treatment is related to the establishment of an edge-to-edge bite. In recent years, the approach of using a temporary anchorage device (TAD) as an anchorage offers new treatment possibilities, although one always has to consider anchorage loss. Closing maxillary gap teeth through mandibular growth is a fantasy and not a reliable and predictable treatment.
Orthodontic treatment to correct maxillary lateral incisor diastemata offers wider scope for treatment than the existing therapeutic modalities and the advantage of developing ideal proportions functions and esthetics. There is no established method that can be universally provided for all patients. Treatment planning usually involves a multifactorial decision-making process that involves extraction therapy, space closure, filing the space between teeth adding composite restorations, or directly or indirectly adding a restoration bonded to the teeth. Orthodontic teeth gap treatment of gapped teeth usually involves some form of treatment that is related to the area of the diastemata and may involve maxillary upper or other teeth. Often, there may be overlap between treatment plans that take into account different goals such as restoration of function, development of esthetic harmony, and management of tooth size or shape. Orthodontists should be familiar with all teeth gap treatment options and be in a position to discuss with patients who are motivated to have these spaces closed. In this sense, smaller incisors for central incisors, better values for Emily’s proportion, the sum of the widths of the maxillary central plus lateral incisors, offer the most esthetic results. Furthermore, distinctive clinical conditions are described in which size alterations may be important.
This review reveals the lack of any high-quality evidence as to the effectiveness of the known treatments of diastemata and reports that current knowledge is based on historical, anecdotal, or observational data. This review uncovers a scarcity of evidence relevant to the numerous conservative therapies in use. Several conditions affect the size and form of the teeth and spacing such as complex genetics, and family lip habit, muscle attachment, and thumb-sucking pattern. What is usually stated as a cause or influence is a sensorimotor behavioral response to some other requirement. Many behaviors contribute to influencing spacing including heredity, oral muscle tone, musculature of the oral vestibule, skeletal relationships, the airflow, and functions that disrupt spatial equilibrium balance. Children spend a lot of time evaluating their teeth and sometimes request treatment to eradicate the spaces. It is important to study the etiology; therefore, it is hoped that some of the information gathered will be helpful in the deliberation of the need to provide the patient with the gap teeth treatment desired.
