How to Deal with a HUGE Tooth Gap

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I have a large tooth gap. I think my dentist said it was about 8-10 millimeters between my front two teeth. I didn’t want braces, so he suggested snap-on smile. I paid for the x-rays and the dentist sent everything in to the company. I received a call this week telling me I’m not really a good candidate for that procedure. He said we could look into Lumineers. These cost a whole lot more than the snap-on smile. If it is my only option, I will bite the bullet. Before I did, though, I wanted to get another opinion on how to handle this.

Mike

Dear Mike,

I am glad you wrote. Please, please don’t move forward with the Lumineers plan. First, the gap between your two front teeth is substantial. This is large enough to fit another tooth in. It would take one of the top cosmetic dentists in the country to do this correctly. Your dentist said he would “look into” Lumineers. This tells me that he is not trained in cosmetic dentistry. Lumineers is just one brand of porcelain veneers. While the Lumineers brand is highly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place, most expert cosmetic dentists find the Lumineers brand inferior. Plus, being easy to put on the teeth has nothing to do with the skill required to make them beautiful and natural looking.

You don’t have to have braces to get the gap closed. I would look into getting Invisalign. These use clear aligners to straighten your teeth instead of the metal wires and brackets that are used with traditional braces. Even at a conversational distance, no one would know that you are straightening your teeth.

Invisalign has another hidden benefit. The aligners can double as teeth whitening trays. Your dentist can provide you with whitening gel that you can wear in the aligners at a time that is convenient to you. This allows you to straighten and whiten your teeth simultaneously.

This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.