As cosmetic dentists, when we see gaps between the front two teeth, our knee-jerk reaction would be to suggest closing the space, because we assume that's what the patient would be concerned with and want. But Sharon was absolutely against that idea! She really liked the space -- and its unique look --and wanted to maintain it. However, she was not happy with the fact that her teeth were drifting. First we needed to find the underlying cause of the situation. It's not unusual to discover that drifting may be the result of a tongue thrust--what happens when a patient tries to swallow, but have to press their tongue against their teeth in order to make it possible. This places excessive force on the teeth, and induces them to drift out of position. Before attempting any cosmetic correction, we needed to make sure the teeth are solid, without any periodontal involvement. Then, an effective way to correct the drift is with Invisalign, to reposition the teeth in proper spacing. Another option is to place veneers on the teeth. Whichever option is chosen, the teeth need to be stabilized afterwards with a removable or non-removable appliance to prevent further drifting. For Sharon we decided to place four porcelain veneers and then fabricate a removable appliance. Sharon could not be happier with the end result which offered her the best of both worlds -- to retain the gap she wanted, and also stabilized her teeth. Now her son won't tease her about her teeth.
