What is Diastema?

You’ve seen it on other people, even celebrities and historical figures.  Most commonly, a diastema is a gap between two teeth.  The tissue from your lips, or the labial frenulum, can push the front two teeth apart from one another.  In other cases, it can refer to the space between two incisors or between the incisors and the molars.  A diastema can occur in any place between two teeth in your mouth, but it is most noticeable when it is between the front two teeth.  Both adults and children can exhibit a diastema or in the case of more than one, diastemata.   As children’s mouths grow, the diastema may resolve itself, but in the case of adults, the dentist may need to step in to treat the open space.

Most people have some gaps between their teeth and these small sized gaps are not noticeable.  However, when the gaps are large or are prominently featured in their smile, people have a variety of treatment options depending on the cause of the diastema.  There is not one cut and dry reason people have a space between their teeth so there is not one way to treat the issue.  For some, the issue lies with the size of their teeth related to their jaw bone.  When the teeth are too small for the jaw bone, there are gaps between teeth.  The size of your teeth and jaw bone are genetically determined, so families may show generations of diastemata.

For other people, the tissue from your upper lip can grow too large and disrupt the teeth on either side.  The place where your lips attach to your gums or the labial frenulum can cause the teeth to move further apart from each other.  The resulting gap from the overgrown tissue is most obvious between the front teeth.

Still other people have diastemata as a result from childhood habits.  If you were a child who sucked their thumb, then your gap may be a result from the sucking motion.  The pressure generated by sucking causes your teeth to pull forward and can leave a space between the teeth as they move along the jaw bone.  If you are someone who pushes their tongue against their front teeth when swallowing instead of pressing against the roof of your mouth, the pressure can lead to the front teeth separating.  The tongue thrust over time can move the teeth and lead to a gap.

Finally, for other people, gum disease is the root of their gap.  The infection that causes your gums to swell and turn red, can cause your teeth to loosen in your gums as well.  The inflammation from gum disease can cause scar tissue to build up in the gums and around the teeth leaving the teeth without proper support.

If you have a diastema in your smile and would like to talk to the dentist about changing your smile to one without gaps, the dentist can discuss the treatment options for your specific cause.  It does not have to be a permanent problem and you will be smiling confidently in no time!

More on Diastema : How Do You Fix Diastema?