What Are Some Ways to Close Gaps in Your Teeth?

Gaps can occur between any two teeth, but are most commonly seen between the two upper front ones. The formal name for this problem is called diastema and it is caused when there is a mismatch between the size of the teeth and the size of the jaw bone. Gaps can be a source of embarrassment for some people, and as a result, they may wish to have them pushed together. There are several ways to do this.

Braces

• Braces are metal brackets that are glued to individual teeth and held together with a wire. These brackets stay on the teeth for a period of months, sometimes even over a year, and the wire is tightened at regular intervals by a dentist; the tightened wire forces the teeth into alignment. Often, no matter where the gap is in your teeth, a full set of braces will have to be worn on upper and lower teeth. This is because when you move any teeth, the whole mouth is affected.

Frenectomy

• Sometimes a gap is caused by an oversized labial frenum. The labial frenum is the piece of tissue that extends from the inside of the upper lip up to the gum just above your two upper front teeth. However, if this piece of tissue is oversized, it blocks the natural closing of space between the teeth, and an operation called a frenectomy will need to be performed to rectify the problem. This operation involves removing the tissue; once this is done, the teeth should naturally move back together.

Teeth Bands

• For gaps that occur between the front two teeth, teeth bands are a good solution. These bands are designed to slip over the front two teeth and move them together over a short period of time. They are a relatively cheap and invisible form of treatment for gaps, and when compared to other options like braces, they can prove to be much more affordable and less invasive if you only need to close a small gap.

Porcelain Veneers

• Porcelain veneers are ceramic castings that are fitted to the front of your current teeth to give them a new surface. They are commonly used to close gaps in teeth because they are a fast and effective form of treatment. The veneers are shaped to your current teeth, and then cemented on top -- to close a gap, all a dentist has to do is make the veneers slightly bigger than your existing teeth so when the veneers are glued on top, no gap will exist.