Causes of Diastema?

If you have a gap in your teeth but are not sure how or why its there, the dentist can help you narrow down the reasons.  Diastema can be the result of genes, habits or even health problems.  And if it is something that bothers you, talk to the dentist and see what the treatment options are for your specific cause.  Here are some of the typical sources for diastema:

The size of your jaw bone and the size of your teeth

You inherit jaw bone size and tooth size from your parents, so if have the combination of a large jaw bone and small teeth, then you are likely to suffer from diastema.  The teeth have more room to move around the jaw bone when the teeth are not proportional to the rest of the mouth.

Small or missing teeth

If you have knocked a tooth loose, were born without one or even lost one to gum disease, then you may have a gap develop between the remaining surrounding teeth.  For other people, some of their teeth are smaller in size compared to others in their mouth and the result is a gap between teeth.

Overgrown Frenulum

Some people have too much tissue where the lip attaches to the gum and this is referred to as the labial frenulum.  When there is too much tissue it can push the front teeth apart resulting in a diastema.

Gum disease

If you have untreated gum disease, the inflammation and infection can lead to tooth loss.  Without addressing the gum disease with professional dental care, the gums will no longer be able to support teeth.  Sometimes, the teeth can even develop decay and fall out from lack of treatment.  When you lose a tooth in one place in your mouth and do not address the tooth loss, the surrounding teeth will migrate and create spaces where there were none.  When the gum disease is advanced enough, the gum inflammation damages the tooth-supporting bone.   In this case, the diastema can be preventable.

Tongue Thrust

If you swallow by pressing your tongue to the back of your front teeth instead of the roof of your mouth, the pressure from swallowing can push your teeth out of place.  While this diastema only develops slowly, over time, the repeated habit will result in spaces between teeth eventually.  You can practice better swallowing technique to prevent further damage.

Habits

If you were a child who sucked their thumb or you are an adult who repeatedly sucks their lips, the habit over time will push the front teeth forward and out of alignment.  The diastema will appear over time from the habitual pressure.

Loss of baby teeth

As children lose their baby teeth and their adult teeth come in, a diastema can develop.  In many cases, the gap will close and the diastema will resolve itself as the child develops into an adult.  Most dentists consider this to be a normal part of development and monitor the gap as the child grows.

More on Diastema : Diastema & Children