What are gapped teeth? How can they be treated? Gapped teeth or diastema is a gap between your teeth, and this condition can appear on both children and adults. One of the most popular orthodontics brands that you can use to treat your gapped teeth is Invisalign.
Gapped teeth
Gapped teeth, also known as diastema, refers to a gap between the teeth. This condition both appears on children and adults. There is fifty to sixty per cent of children under the age of five years that have gaps and will close on its own by the age of eight or nine years old. If it does not close after the adult incisor and canine appears, it may not close at all. The gaps can form anywhere inside your mouth, but it is sometimes more visible between your upper front teeth. Some gaps are small, and some are larger and maybe a cosmetic issue for others. With the gap between your teeth, food may be stuck in it and may cause you problems on your oral health.
Treatment for gapped teeth or diastema is not typically necessary for medical reasons. But if you do not like your appearance when you have gapped teeth, you can opt for orthodontic treatment. Click on this link here for orthodontic options.
Causes
There are a lot of causes that gapped teeth may occur on an individual, and we have listed it for you. Here are the causes that gapped teeth or diastema may appear on you, and these are as follows:
• An undersized or missing tooth can develop into diastema. In this state, your upper lateral incisors, the teeth on your two upper front teeth, are involved. And if your upper lateral incisors are undersized or missing, then gaps can appear or develop between your two front teeth.
• If the size of your teeth is too small compared to the size of your jawbone, then diastema or gapped teeth can develop between your teeth. Diastema or gapped teeth can run in families, as tooth and jawbones sizes are genetic.
• Gapped teeth can develop on you if you have gum disease. One typical sign of advanced gum disease is tooth migration. If you have to gum disease, will inflame your gums that results in damaging the bone that supports your teeth. And eventually, your teeth become loose, and then gaps appear between your teeth.
• When you have an oversized labial frenum, then gapped teeth can develop between your teeth. The labial frenum is a tissue that can be found inside your mouth, and if it becomes big, gaps between your teeth can be formed.
• An incorrect swallowing reflex can result in a gap between your teeth. Repetitive pressure on your front teeth due to incorrect swallowing reflex can result in gapped teeth.
• Loss of primary teeth on children can result in gapped teeth. Dentist considers this condition a normal developmental process for children, and treatment is not necessarily needed.
• Habits like lip sucking, thumb sucking and tongue sucking can pressure your front teeth and push them forward, results to gapped teeth.
Disadvantages
When you have large spaces and gaps between your teeth, you can put your oral health in danger and risk you to certain complications. And when you have this condition, orthodontic treatment can effectively and easily solve this. Here is the list of oral health problems you can watch out for and seek orthodontic treatment.
• If you have gapped teeth, it is most likely that you will develop tooth cavities or decay. As the gaps between your teeth are deemed to be housed by plaques, it will result in decay in your tooth.
• As you know, gum disease is one of the causes of gapped teeth and prevention of this will not put your oral health at risk. And this will not also put at risk of acquiring health disease.
• When you have a missing or space between your teeth, it will inflict damage on your other teeth. And treating missing teeth right away will prevent you from damaging your other teeth.
• When you have a misaligned bite that leads to problems on your jaw joints, then you are risking yourself to chronic headaches.
• Having gapped teeth will result in you to have a lack of self-confidence.
• Gapped teeth or diastema will complicate your way of eating and digesting of food.
Diagnosis
A dentist can easily diagnose if you have gapped teeth through examining your teeth. You can also notice and know that you have a diastema when you brush or floss your teeth.
Treatment
A treatment for gapped teeth usually is not necessary, but if your mental and oral health is at risk, then may need orthodontic treatment. Here are some options you can choose from to treat gapped teeth.
• Braces
• Veneers or bonding
• Dental implants or a bridge
• Surgery
• Gum disease treatment
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