My child has teeth with a gap – will this eventually close?
Having teeth with a gap is normal for a baby, and preferred, as this allows enough room for the larger and wider adult teeth to erupt and line up straight beside one another. Usually, the gap in the teeth will close when the adult teeth fully erupt; however, if a thick frenum (yes, it’s time to learn another big word!) is present, this could prevent the gap between the two front teeth to close.
A frenum is a band of tissue that connects the lip to the upper jaw. If the frenum is very thick and fibrous, and, moreover, connects the lip to the jaw between the two front teeth, the frenum will cause a gap to form between these two teeth that cannot be closed even with braces. The teeth will simply drift apart again once the brackets are taken off. Usually a frenectomy can be performed, where this band of tissue is removed before braces are applied to permanently close this gap. This would be performed when the child is about 8 or 9 years old.
Need some visuals? Here you go:
If you’re concerned about teeth with a gap between them for you or your child, please contact us at Kits Family Dental!
