Should I Fix the Gap in My Teeth?

Your professional dentist, trained in evaluating your total mouth structure, can best ascertain the answer to whether that gap in your teeth will need repair.  The purpose of this article is to help in closing the gap of knowledge of this dental phenomenon, known as diastema, so you can be a wiser dental consumer.

Gaps In Teeth

Gaps come for a myriad of reasons. Some occur naturally and some are self-inflicted. For example, there is the natural temporary gap of teeth in small children when the young child begins to lose the baby teeth and the adult teeth are coming in. Some gaps come as a result of habits such as over-dependency of a pacifier or thumb-sucking as small child or when an older child through adult years forms habit of pushing the front teeth forward with tongue, bringing gaps to occur. Sometimes there is the inherited problem of a smaller jawbone with normal size teeth and adult teeth do not have enough room to grow as they should bringing about gaps. In jawbones larger than the size of teeth there is, of course, too much space and thus gaps. Gaps come when accidents occur that bring loss of teeth or when by reason of poor dental hygiene there comes decay and tooth or teeth must be extracted.

Tooth gap solutions

There are solutions to teeth gap difficulties — if you wish to fill in that gap! The most familiar solution for teeth growing crooked is orthodontic braces, whether it is the traditional wire type or the latest innovation of ‘invisible’ type braces, allowing the patient more control over the process of straightening his or her teeth. If the gap in the teeth is not too large, a cost effective treatment is that of dental bonding. With that, a resin material similar to cement can fill in the open space.  For teeth or a tooth chipped or cracked in the front of mouth a veneer is commonly used and requires shaving down the original tooth enamel so the veneer can be cemented in place. When there is large damage to an original tooth a crown over the damaged tooth would be best. When gaps are due to extraction of a tooth, a dental implant might be best.

Is filling that gap worth the cost?

Be aware that filling a gap is often cosmetic dentistry and may not be covered by dental insurance. Shop around for the best price in your area. Check https://healthcarebluebook.com to compare prices. If fixing a gap means better digestion of food, when a tooth extraction is cause of gap, it probably would be good to fill that gap. Fixing your own or child’s crooked teeth could be good investment as crooked teeth make brushing harder and the bacterial plaque easier to take root bringing costly decay. If you wish gaps filled for appearance sake of your front teeth, while an attractive smile can build self-esteem, it might not need to be fixed. You would need in-depth discussion of such matter with your Hemet Dental Center: Brian Stiewel DDS, INC..

For more information or to schedule an appointment with Hemet Dental Center: Brian Stiewel DDS, INC., request an appointment in our Hemet dental office here: https://hemetdentalcenter.com. Or call us at (951) 707-4366.