A diastema – which is a fancy term for a tooth gap – is common between the upper two front teeth. Other teeth can have wider spaces between them too. Many children have gaps in their teeth that close during normal tooth development. But sometimes these gaps don’t go away. If you don’t like how they look or they’re causing problems, we can help here at Your Community Smile!

SHOULD I GET MY TOOTH GAPS FIXED?

Tooth gaps don’t often cause serious issues, but there are a few reasons why you might want them closed. Gaps can catch and hold food, making your teeth more vulnerable to decay. Gaps may also affect your speech and cause unintentional whistling or spitting. Even if you’re not currently experiencing problems with your tooth gap, your teeth may shift and make the gap wider and more troublesome as you get older. If you just don’t like how a gap looks, that’s a reason to close them too.

HOW TO FIX A GAP IN TEETH

Closing a tooth gap isn’t usually too complicated. Clear aligner therapy is very effective at closing gaps and correcting mild to moderate alignment issues. At Your Community Smile, we offer both Invisalign^® and SureSmile clear aligners. The smaller the gap, the faster the treatment. It can take between 3-18 months. After your consultation, we can let you know a more accurate estimate of how long your treatment will take.

We can also address gaps with treatments like bonding, crowns, or porcelain veneers. Which solution works best depends on factors like how wide the gap is and which teeth are affected.

At our office in Lansdowne, VA, Dr. Abtahi and our team provide a variety of cosmetic dental services that can fix a tooth gap and improve your confidence in your smile. Contact Your Community Smile today to schedule a consultation or to learn more about our comprehensive dentistry!