Would you like to know how to close a gap in your teeth at home?
If so, then you have come to exactly the right place, because this article is going to cover everything you need know to know about gapped teeth and the best at-home treatment options if you have a gap in your teeth.
We are also going to be talking about why closing a gap in your teeth is a good idea – not only cosmetically, but also for your oral and overall health.
What causes teeth gaps
There are multiple underlying causes that can lead to you having a tooth gap – or multiple tooth gaps.
Genetics
Genetic factors can play a major role in determining whether or not you end up with tooth gaps. Chances are, if one or both of your parents have gapped teeth, you do too. You, in turn, are highly likely to pass gapped teeth onto our children.
Thumb sucking plus tongue thrusting
Small, seemingly insignificant habits can lead to spaces between the teeth. And while sucking your thumb or thrusting your tongue against the backs of your teeth occasionally is completely harmless, doing so habitually can cause problems in the form of crooked or gapped teeth.
Missing teeth
Whether you have lost a tooth or several due to bad oral health, gum disease, a fight or an accident, having a missing tooth or several missing teeth can clearly be a cause of tooth gaps.
Whenever possible, you should always try to keep your natural teeth, and as a second choice get prosthetic teeth implants. The large gaps left behind by lost and missing teeth are often harder to fill than the much smaller gaps caused by genetic factors or habits that impact your teeth.
Why gapped teeth can be risky for your health
Small gaps between two teeth are really no issue at all. In fact, having a small gap between your two upper front teeth can make you look interesting and unique.
You only need to be concerned if you have multiple or major gaps between your teeth. Why? Because tooth gaps make it easier for bacteria and plaque to build up and cause problems, ranging from gum disease to tooth decay and even tooth loss. In this way, gapped teeth may contribute to bad breath as well.
What are your options for closing teeth gaps at home?
We live in wonderful and abundant times – and this is also true where dental treatments are concerned. In fact, if you want to close the gaps in your teeth without even seeing a dentist in person or showing up anywhere physically, you can.
Here is a rundown of your best options for treating teeth gaps, at home or at the dentist’s office.
Orthodontic treatment
Orthodontic treatment is your best solution if you are adamant about correcting gaps from the comfort of your home in the most natural way possible. Orthodontic treatment involves wearing braces or clear aligners for a set amount of time in order to correct gaps and misalignment issues.
If you want metal or ceramic braces, your only option is to make an appointment to see your dentist – but if you want clear aligners (And trust us, more and more people do), you can go through the entire process, from start to finish, from the comfort of your own home.
The clear aligner treatment process involves ordering an impression kit from a reputable provider, making accurate moulds of your teeth according to the instructions provided with your impression kit, sending these back to the aligner company, approving and paying for your treatment plan, and wearing successive sets of custom made clear aligners until your treatment is completed.
Orthodontic treatment requires more patience than the more instant but also more invasive options available from your dentist, which include dental bonding and dental veneers. On the upside, opting for clear braces means that you can cut out the in-person dental visits.
Straightening and closing the gaps between your teeth with clear aligners can also be considered a more natural way of treating teeth gaps, since nothing is added to your teeth and there is no surgical intervention. Orthodontic treatment works by applying firm but gentle pressure on your teeth in order to move them into better alignment – this includes moving teeth that are spaced out closer together, in order to close the gaps between them.
FAQ: How to close a gap in your teeth at home
Can you naturally close gap teeth?
The only safe and guaranteed ways of closing gaps between teeth is orthodontic treatment, dental bonding or veneers.
Out of these options, orthodontic treatment could be considered the most natural since it works with your teeth as they are, and moves them closer together by putting pressure on them. Orthodontic treatment also offers the advantage of being something you can do completely from home, without any dentist visits needed.
By contrast, dental bonding and veneers both require the hands-on help of a professional dentist, and both of these treatment options involve adding prosthetically to your existing teeth. If you opt for dental bonding, the dentist will be adding a tooth-coloured resin to your teeth in order to bulk them up and close the gaps between them. If you choose veneers, the dentist will be adding a porcelain front to your teeth, which also has the effect of extending your teeth slightly in order to close the gaps between them.
How can I close my teeth gap fast at home?
If you want to close teeth gaps from the comfort of your home, orthodontic treatment is your best solution.
Orthodontic options include traditional metal, ceramic or lingual braces, or clear aligners. While traditional braces require you to show up at your dentist’s office so they can install and adjust the braces for you at various points during your teeth straightening treatment, clear aligners are available from online providers that do not necessarily require you to show up anywhere in person.
In fact, there are plenty of tele-dentistry companies that operate completely remotely, meaning everything about the process is streamlined, from ordering an impression kit to your door to receiving your custom-made clear braces and follow-up. Some of the best clear aligner providers on the market right now include Straight My Teeth, NewSmile, Byte and SnapCorrect.
How do you fill a gap in your teeth at home?
While it is possible to order tooth coloured resin and use it to fill gaps between your teeth at home (what you might call a DIY approach to dental bonding), the only safe and reliable option is to sign up for clear aligner teeth straightening treatment, which does not only close gaps between teeth but also straightens your pearly whites at the same time. Now, that is a pretty good deal if you ask us.
How do I get rid of a gap in my teeth?
Whether you have one gap between two teeth or multiple gaps in your two rows of teeth, several treatment options are available to you when you are ready to do something about the issue.
These treatment options include dental bonding, also referred to as cosmetic bonding, which is a relatively simple procedure where the dentist adds a tooth-coloured resin to your gapped teeth in order to fill them out and close the gaps that exist between them. The dentist uses a special light to dry the resin, so as soon as you get up from the dentist’s chair your new teeth will be ready to use.
Another instant solution is to get porcelain veneers. For this procedure, the dentist adds a thin piece of porcelain to the fronts of your tooth. Similar to cosmetic bonding, adding veneers to your teeth has the effect of making them broader and effectively filling any gaps.
Finally, orthodontic treatment offers a more holistic approach, one that comes with the added benefit of straightening your teeth while also pushing any teeth with gaps closer in order to correct and close the gaps. Of course, orthodontic treatment, whether you opt for traditional braces or clear aligners, requires quite a bit of patience compared to bonding or veneers. For reference, the average teeth straightening treatment with traditional metal braces takes anywhere between one and three years, while the average treatment time with clear aligners is six to twelve months.
Takeaway
Gapped teeth are not only cosmetic issues – they can also pose a risk to your oral health and well-being, by leaving you more exposed and vulnerable to gum disease, tooth decay and bad breath. In other words, if you have gaps in your teeth that are more than just one or two minor gaps, you should make it a priority to get them fixed.
Fortunately, there are several effective treatments available, including composite bonding and dental veneers. But if you want to treat your gapped teeth easily, comfortably, safely and as naturally as possible without the hassle and expense of involving a dentist, clear dental aligners are the best treatment option.