Diastema & Children

Do you have a gap in your teeth or have you noticed one in your child’s mouth?  This gap is called a diastema is often found between the front two teeth.  There are a number of reasons that this would appear in someone’s mouth, and there are treatment plans for each cause.  When it comes to children’s mouths, diastema appear in almost half of their smiles when they are under the age of six.  Typically, dentists watch this space close by the time the child is eight or nine, but it may be permanent after a certain point.  Once the permanent canine and incisors have started to come in through the gums and the gap has not grown smaller, the dentist may encourage you to take steps to help close it.

Diastema Causes

There are a number of reasons adults and children suffer from diastema and here are the most common:

The size of the teeth versus the size of the jaw bone – The child will inherit the size of their teeth and their jaw bone from their parents.  If diastema exist in their parents’ mouths, then they, too, may share that trait.  For others, if the teeth are small and the jaw bone is large, the teeth have too much room to move around on the jaw bone.  The result is a gap between teeth or a diastema.

Habits – If the child sucks their thumb or lip or even thrusts their tongue, the pressure can cause the teeth to move forward.  The poor form of pressing the tongue against the back of the teeth when swallowing instead of the roof of the mouth pushes the teeth out of their original place.  The habits can be modified to less damaging ones, but the diastema will need to be treated in order for the teeth to move back into place.

Overgrown frenulum – The tissue that attaches the upper lip to the gums is called the frenulum.  When there is more tissue than usual, the excess tissue will push the two front teeth apart creating a diastema.  The dentist can address this additional tissue easily and the gap can be addressed with follow-up treatments moving the teeth closer together.  The removal of the overgrown tissue creates more space in the mouth for the teeth and to eliminate the problem gap.

Closing Your Child’s Diastema

If you are concerned about the space between your child’s teeth, be sure to talk to the dentist about it.  The dentist will help determine a treatment plan based on the cause of your child’s diastema.  There are different treatment options for the various causes.  In some cases, as the adult teeth erupt and the mouth develops, the diastema will resolve itself over time.  Typically, once the permanent incisors and canines are in place, the diastema will start to close.  If you find that the gap persists, then the dentist has a variety of options.  If your child has an overgrown frenulum, then the dentist can perform a frenectomy to remove the excess tissue.  The teeth may even start to move together over time once the piece of tissue is no longer there to maintain the gap.  In other cases, the dentist may recommend braces, retainers or other orthodontic measures to align the teeth properly.  Finally, the dentist may even recommend veneers, crowns, or dental bonding to adjust the size of the teeth to remove or minimize the gap.

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