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Question:
Best Treatment for Wide Gap: I have a gap in my two top teeth about 1/4 inch wide and one of the front teeth is slightly crooked.
I'm at an age where I'd like the fastest option of closing the gap and making them normal without making them look big and fake. What is my best (quickest) option. ...Visitor from NY
Answer:
A diastema (the space between the teeth) is one of the most common challenges that the field of Cosmetic Dentistry faces. 1/4 inch would be a large space, 1/4 millimeter would not be as large. I will answer this question on the assumption that we are speaking of the larger space.
The first thing that needs to be done is to diagnosis why the space is there. The space can be caused by Para functional habits (such as tongue thrusting, nail biting, thumb sucking,etc) ; pathology (cysts growing, extra teeth in the gums, periodontal or gum disease, tumors,); or developmental and genetic conditions. Ruling out any harmful pathology and correcting any habits, we can now talk about options to minimize the space.
The options vary from braces to full cover crowns (caps on the teeth), with the most common being Porcelain veneers (a thin piece of porcelain place on the front and sometimes side and biting surface of the teeth). You had asked for the quickest method possible, so the veneers and/or crowns will get the results fast.
There are some rules which must be followed for the result to be pleasing to the eye. Most teeth that we see which we consider beautiful have a few things in common. The top central (middle) teeth are often between 10 and 11.5 millimeters long and 77.5% of the corresponding length wide. 80% of the length width is often acceptable.
In the smile, when seen from straight on we must also follow fixed proportion to have an even and balanced look. This is often referred to as the Golden Proportion and is stated as if the width of the lateral teeth (the teeth on the side of the front teeth) is assumed to be of a value of 1 then the front teeth would be of a proportion of 1.62% in width and the canines (the eye tooth or the next tooth back from the laterals) would be of a proportion of 0.62% of the lateral when seen straight on.
Remember that we are viewing from the very center face on when seen in a photograph. This tooth (the
canine ) may be wider if viewed from the side. The teeth (bicuspids) then follow a decreasing proportion as the smile retreats to the back of the mouth.
So when considering closing the space in the front you may need to consider more then just the front two teeth and include the front ten to get the desired effect.
Editorial Staff
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