I Want to Address My Smile’s Gap
April 9, 2018
A gap between two teeth is also known as diastema. It often appears between the two front teeth, but extra spacing can occur between any two teeth. Spacing between teeth can be caused by a wide variety of issues. Depending on the cause, a gap in your smile typically causes no harm to the health of your smile. Gaps that are caused by an issue like tongue thrusting or periodontal disease may need to have the cause treated in conjunction with cosmetic dentistry. For other issues that do not affect the smile’s health, cosmetic treatment is typically enough to address the gap. If a gap in your smile makes you feel self-conscious, you may be ready to address it, and there are several options to do so.
Cosmetic Bonding
In some situations, the cause of the gap lies with the size or shape of one or more teeth. Unevenly shaped or sized teeth can create irregular spacing between the teeth. Adjusting the tooth or teeth’s structure(s) may help to close the gaps. Cosmetic bonding is a tooth-colored composite resin, which your dentist can customize to match your healthy tooth color, that is permanently bonded to the front of the tooth or teeth.
Porcelain Veneers
A veneer is a wafer-thin shell of natural-looking dental porcelain applied permanently to the front of your tooth or teeth. Veneers are custom-designed to meet your smile goals, and can be applied to one or both teeth that surround a gap to close it.
Dental Crown
If a tooth is significantly smaller than those around it or if it has suffered damage, it may leave space between it and the neighboring teeth. To fix and restore the tooth, your dentist may suggest capping it with a custom-made dental crown. A crown can restore the health of that tooth (as well as restoring your entire smile’s health) and close the gap that the tooth was causing.
We Can Help You With Your Gap
If you want to reduce or eliminate a gap in your smile, we can discuss different options to do so. To learn more, or to schedule a cosmetic consultation, call Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.