Gaps Between Teeth: Causes and Solutions
Gaps between teeth are commonly seen among adults and kids. Though not harmful, the undesirable space may make one self-conscious, especially when they smile. If the gap is large enough, your teeth may become misaligned, causing problems with your bite or trigger pain. There are multiple dental treatments that can treat the condition and give you an aligned dental arch.
The Advantages & Disadvantages of Dental Veneers
Dental Veneers are one dental treatment option to correct dental imperfections. There are a few other procedures that have the potential to fix your smile quite like porcelain veneers. You should know that dental veneers are not for everyone. Your dentist will check your teeth and determine whether dental veneers are suitable for you.
Treatment for Chipped or Broken Teeth
One common dental emergency is chipped or broken teeth. You may crack, chip, or break your teeth due to an unforeseen accident or injury. You can exercise caution while playing sports or during any other recreational activities, but it is highly unlikely that you will be able to completely protect yourself from getting hurt or damaging your tooth. If you happen to face such a situation, there are dental options to restore your chipped or broken teeth and restore your smile.
Dental Health Care for Seniors
The advancing age puts many seniors at risk of numerous oral health problems such as gum disease, sensitive teeth, tooth loss, tooth and root decay, dry mouth, denture-induced stomatitis. We just get one set of permanent teeth, hence it is critical to take care of them for our entire lives.
Restore Your Smile With Cosmetic Veneers
What exactly are dental veneers?
Dental veneers are basically wafer-thin, custom-made shells made of porcelain or composite resin which is designed to cover the front surface of your existing teeth to enhance its appearance. The veneers help provide a natural look. Porcelain veneers can also resist stains, hence porcelain surface is completely smooth.
Embarrassed To Show Teeth When Smiling?
Are you embarrassed to show your smile due to crooked, stained teeth, gum disease or bad breath?
Think about the following options:
1. Teeth whitening – It is a way to remove stains, bringing your teeth to a whiter color. Many dentists use in office whitening such as zoom, but there are also take home options available
2. Braces – Many people did not get orthodontic care growing up due to various factors. Now that they are adults, they may want to correct crooked teeth. Traditional braces or Invisalign are options available
3. Treatment for bad breath – No one wants to admit they have bad breath and sometimes we don’t even realize we do. The causes of bad breath can be from a variety of reasons, whether it be gum disease, tooth decay, sickness or personal habits. Each of these can be treated; if you come in for an appointment we can diagnose the best course of action, whether it be gum disease treatment, filling, root canal treatment, diet management or even to be referred to a specialist. Bad breath shouldn’t stop you from smiling anymore.
4. Veneers – Sometimes we don’t want to have to go through the whole process of braces just to close a gap and so an option to achieve a closed gap is to use porcelain veneers. Veneers can be used not only for closing a gap between teeth, but can also whiten stained or dis·col·or teeth or cover cracks, chips or serrations.
5. Regular dentist visits and teeth cleaning – The general perception of a dental visit is that the experience is painful and ends up being expensive. The thing is, the longer we leave an appointment the worse our dental hygiene becomes; meaning a higher likelihood of decay, gum disease, bad breath etc. The more regularly we visit a dentist the higher the likelihood of identifying problems early or potential problems
As can be seen, many of the things that keep us from smiling can be easily avoided or fixed. You don’t have to live in pain or discomfit as there are many options available to make you smile again. Not everybody is eligible for zoom, Invisalign, or veneers. For more information regarding your dental health, contact Expressions Dental.
How to Fix Gap between Front Teeth?
- A mismatch between the size of the jaw bones and the size of the teeth can cause either extra space between teeth or crowding of teeth. If the teeth are too small for the jaw bone, spaces between the teeth will occur.
- Sometimes some teeth are missing or undersized. This happens most often with the upper lateral incisors. That can cause spaces to develop in the upper teeth.
- Habits can also lead to gaps between the teeth. Thumb sucking tends to pull the front teeth forward, creating gaps.
- Spaces can develop from an incorrect swallowing reflex. For most people, the tongue presses against the roof of the mouth (palate) during swallowing. Some people develop a different reflex known as a tongue thrust. When they swallow, the tongue presses against the front teeth. Over time the pressure will push the front teeth forward. This can cause spaces to develop.
Children may have temporary gaps as their baby teeth fall out. Most of these spaces close as the permanent teeth reach their final positions.
Treatment:
- Some people get braces, which move the teeth together. If your lateral incisors are too small, your dentist may suggest widening them using crowns, veneers or bonding.
- If you have a space because you are missing teeth, you might need more extensive dental repair. This might include dental implants, a bridge or a partial denture.
- If the gap is caused by periodontal disease, then periodontal treatment by a dentist or gum specialist (periodontist) is necessary. When gum health is restored, in many cases braces can be used to move the teeth into place.
In many cases, a gap between the front teeth in the upper jaw will close by itself. An oral health professional or orthodontist should be able to advise about the need for treatment for a child from about 10 or 11 years of age.
If you have a space between your teeth or see one in your child’s mouth, contact Expressions Dental™. Our general dentists will help determine the reason for the space and will provide treatment options.