Why does this happen? If you want to find out, go to the nearest mirror. Grab your upper lip between your thumb and forefinger on both sides and pull it up (warning: you may feel a little silly doing this). If you look above your front teeth, exactly in the middle of your gums, you will see a small flap of tissue that connects your gums to the inside of your lip. Believe it or not, this little flap actually has a name—it is called a freneulum (or frenum for short), and it can be the reason you have a gap in your front teeth.

If your frenum is the right size and properly positioned on your gum line above your two front teeth, it serves the simple purpose of attaching your gums to your lip, and all is well. Your frenum is supposed to move upward when your baby teeth come in to make room. However, if the frenum is too large, attached in the wrong spot, or fails to move down like it should, it can cause problems. An incorrectly placed frenum can exert a pull or tension that prevents your front teeth from coming together the way they should. What makes this even more of an issue is the fact that braces can’t fix it! With the frenum in the way, your front teeth will never get to meet one another.

Luckily, there is a way to solve the problem. There is a procedure known as a frenectomy, which is just a fancy word for reducing the size of your frenum. This limits the tension that keeps your teeth apart, and opens the door for braces to be placed to bring them back together in the right position. It is a very simple procedure performed by your orthodontist or dentist in the office. Your dentist just numbs your gums, removes a tiny bit of the frenum, and you are on your way. Now that lasers are often used for this surgery, it makes the whole thing even easier. There will be a few days of soreness afterwards while your tissue heals, but it is a small price to pay for bringing your front teeth together. After all, they make such a good pair, it’s a shame for them to be so far apart!

Sometimes however, front teeth are kept apart because of a jaw discrepancy where the lower jaw is bigger than the upper jaw causing the front teeth to spread apart. This is a problem of a completely different nature. If you or someone in your family has a space between their two front teeth that want to eliminate, Braces For Pretty Faces will be able to evaluate the problem and determine the best course of treatment to close the space. It may be much easier than you think.

Feel free to contact our office for a free new patient consultation and find out how we can create a beautiful new smile without an unsightly space between your teeth.

Whether you are a prominent sports figure like San Antonio Spurs player Manu Ginobili, one of the top ten actors in the world like Tom Cruise, or a "diva" like Gwen Stefani…braces are cool at any age.  Read this article recently posted on celebrities wearing braces who are in the public eye every day.  If they can do it… so can you.

Invisalign is a great option if you don't want others to notice you are going through orthodontic treatment to straighten your teeth.  Unfortunately, not every orthodontic problem can be treated with invisible braces.  Some orthodontic problems can only be corrected with traditional braces, whether clear ceramic brackets or metal brackets.  No matter what your orthodontic problem, Dr. Stephen Yao can help you choose your best orthodontic treatment option to create the beautiful smile you deserve.

Leave us a comment and tell us how you feel about wearing braces at any age….

• Whitening
• Bonding
• Veneers
• Crowns

 Our society is very focused on appearance and often we look for the quick fix or instant gratification when looking to create a dental makeover to improve our smile.  At Braces For Pretty Faces, our goal is to educate parents and patients on the best options to attain an incredible smile while maintaining long term dental health. 

Braces, Invisalign, or Invisalign Teen are often the best option when looking to achieve a cosmetic result that will sustain itself over a lifetime.  It is also one of the least expensive alternatives over the long haul when you consider cosmetic procedures often need to be repeated and veneers and crowns must be replaced numerous times throughout life.

Obviously there are pros and cons to everything.  As an orthodontist, my priority is positioning of teeth and sometimes repositioning of jaws to create the best possible occlusion or bite possible for long term good dental health.  During the process, whether it is with Invisalign or braces, an enhanced smile is a benefit of treatment.  If you are going to invest in your smile, orthodontics today is a win… win… all the way around. 

Below is a video produced by the American Association of Orthodontics for YouTube discussing why orthodontic treatment is often the smarter choice, not cosmetic quick fixes, when looking for ways to improve your appearance over a lifetime.  A good bite or occlusion should be the foundation on which a beautiful smile is built for best results.

After watching this video, what are your thoughts on correcting your teeth with orthodontic treatment vs artificially altering their structure to enhance your smile?  Be honest… we can take it!