Nothing bolsters your confidence like a bright smile! However, sometimes the brilliance of your smile can be dimmed by large gaps or pockets between your teeth. While you can fix gaps in teeth using braces, not everyone is keen on getting them, especially adults.
Braces may not be a viable option in some instances due to loss of teeth, gum tissue, or severe oral trauma.
Impacting your smile’s natural appearance, misaligned teeth with gaps can make you more self-conscious and lower your confidence. Gaps in teeth also cause gum disease and cavities as they accumulate food and bacteria.
There are several ways to fix gaps in teeth without getting braces. You need to consult an experienced cosmetic dentist to discover the best treatment option for you.
How to Fix Gaps In Teeth: Types and Causes
Before we move on to the 5 best ways to fix gaps in teeth without braces. Let’s learn more about what causes these gaps between teeth.
Diastema is the clinical term used to describe a gap between two or more teeth. It’s most noticeable when the gap is between your front teeth. Any gap between teeth larger than 0.5 millimeters counts as a diastema and requires treatment for correction.
Aesthetics aside, large pockets between teeth often lead to plaque and bacteria build-up. These gaps can also lead to oral complications like periodontitis, tooth decay/loss, and gingivitis.
Multiple gaps between teeth often result in a misaligned bite that makes chewing, biting, and swallowing more difficult and painful. If left unchecked, it can also lead to ear and jaw pain.
The treatment method employed to fix gaps in teeth varies on the type of gap, its size, location, and associated complications.
Here are the Different Types of Gaps in Teeth and their Location
- Between your front and side teeth
- Gap surrounding your canine on one side
- Between your front teeth
- Between all of your teeth
Let’s explore the factors that create gaps between your teeth.
These are the Key Causes of Gaps in Teeth
- Genetics and Size Issues: Gaps between teeth or diastemas can run in families, and in some instances, children may never grow certain teeth, leading to a wide gap. While the gap looks adorable in little kids, it may seem so once they grow up.
Multiple gaps in teeth also develop when the teeth are too small in proportion to the jaw size. This size discrepancy may be caused by genetics, and that’s why diastema reoccurs in families.
- Gum Disease and Recession: Gum infections can also create gaps between teeth. Swelling or inflammation in the gums can damage the bone that supports the teeth causing tooth migration. As the teeth shift, they may leave extra space or gaps behind.
In severe infections, gum tissue loss or degeneration creates large pockets between teeth, exposing their underlying roots. Timely treatment to fix gaps in teeth can help prevent further gum tissue loss and prevent complications like cavities and decay.
- Bad Habits: Habits like thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, and lip sucky can lead to a gap between the front teeth, especially in children.
- Incorrect Swallowing Reflex: People with a wrong swallowing reflex inadvertently press their tongue against the roof of their mouth or their front teeth while swallowing.
The constant pressure pushes the front teeth, driving them forward and creating a gap as this occurs repeatedly.
- Tooth Loss or Injury: You also need to fix gaps in teeth that occur with tooth loss due to age or injury. The injury may chip off a portion of the tooth in some cases, creating a noticeable gap or extra space.
After exploring the types of teeth gaps and their causes, let’s look at the best treatment options to remove extra space between teeth below.
Discover the 5 Best Ways to Fix Gaps in Teeth Without Getting Braces
While we have listed the 5 best ways to fix gaps in teeth below. The ideal treatment plan for you can only be decided by a qualified cosmetic dentist. The dentist will examine to diagnose the cause behind the gap and treat any underlying conditions like gum disease, tooth decay, and habits first.
Your treatment will depend on the condition of your teeth and age. The cosmetic dentist will also consult you on how you want your new smile to look and formulate a plan accordingly.
- Dental Bonding: Under this method, a tooth-colored resin or composite is applied to the teeth to repair chips or enlarge their size and fill up any extra space. When done well, this is a relatively easy, cost-effective, and long-lasting procedure.
At River’s Bend Family Dental, we have performed thousands of dental tooth bonding procedures. We can guarantee that your closest friends and family won’t be able to distinguish between the teeth bonding material and your natural teeth.
- Porcelain Veneers: Gaps resulting from misshapen, crooked, or chipped teeth can be fixed using composite veneers.
Porcelain veneers are customized teeth-colored shells bonded to your teeth’s surface to cover up any imperfections.
Did you know that veneers are pretty popular in Hollywood? Composite or porcelain veneers are the secret behind the million-dollar smiles of celebrities, including Tom Cruise, Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus, Cardi B, etc.
So, why are you still waiting? Contact the excellent staff at River’s Bend to learn more about getting dental veneers.
- Dental Implants: Surgically-inserted dental implants are used to fix gaps in teeth caused by tooth loss due to age, injury, or decay.
Implants help complete smiles while restoring your ability to normally bite and chew your food. A dental implant consists of a titanium screw inserted below the gum and in the bone. After the screw heals, it’s topped with an abutment and dental crown.
Once in place, dental implants look, feel and act like natural teeth. You can book an appointment at River’s Bend Family Dental to determine if you’re a viable candidate for implants today!
- Dental Crowns: A simple and easy solution to fix gaps in teeth involves using tooth-shaped caps or crowns to fill the extra space. Unlike veneers that cover the teeth only in the front, a dental crown encapsulates the entire tooth, as shown below.
Dental crowns strengthen damaged or decayed teeth by protecting the remaining tooth structure. They help restore your smile, confidence, and dental functionality.
- Dentures: Partial and complete dentures act as removable replacements for missing teeth and tissues and offer a simple, painless way to fix gaps in teeth.
As dentures are customizable. They help fix a single gap in a specific spot or even cover up a pre-existing gap between your teeth. They are an excellent way to cover up gaps in teeth in older patients or those with severe tooth and gum tissue loss.
An experienced dental team like River’s Bend can create natural-looking dentures to give your beautiful and confident smile back again.
Looking for the Best Cosmetic and Implant Dentist in Ramsey, MN? Book an Appointment at River’s Bend Family Dental Today!
At River’s Bend Family Dental, we offer you all the treatment methods listed above to fix gaps in teeth without using braces and more. Our resident dentist, Dr. Andrea Wimmergreen, has extensive experience in aesthetic and cosmetic dentistry and loves to help people smile fully again.
Our team’s passion and expertise mean that you are in safe and reliable hands.
If you would like to book a dental appointment at the most family-friendly clinic in Ramsey, MN, contact us at (763) 576-1855 and start your journey to an unbroken, brighter smile!
