Closing a diastema (tooth gap) using dental crowns.
About this cosmetic dentistry makeover:
When you look at the "before" picture portion of this cosmetic dentistry makeover simulation you might notice the following features:
This person has a gap between their center two teeth. (A dentist would term this gap a "diastema".)
The center two teeth seem narrower in width and shorter in length than one might expect.
Instead of being straight across the biting edges of the upper teeth seem to slant upwards, towards the center of this person's face.
We would anticipate that the shortness and beveled shape of the center teeth is related to a habit of teeth clenching and grinding (a dentist would term this activity "bruxism"). And
if this guess is accurate the long-term success of this case will
depend on providing both a pleasing cosmetic end result and controlling (and therefore minimizing the effects of)
this person's tooth grinding.
About our approach to this cosmetic dentistry makeover simulation...
Using dental crowns to close the diastema (gap) between the teeth:
The fact that the two center teeth appear somewhat narrower than one would expect provides an opportunity to
close the diastema (gap) between these teeth by way of placing dental crowns that produce a widening effect for each individual tooth.
The dental crowns can also restore some of length that has been lost from these teeth.
Upon examination we would expect to find that the positioning of the center two teeth is such that these teeth are actually rotated in
towards each other just slightly. This would explain the pronounced beveling of their biting edges.
Dental crowns can be used
to change and perfect the apparent positioning of teeth. In this case doing so would provide the room needed to make
the dental crowns as long as we have illustrated in our "after" picture.
When a dentist uses dental crowns to close a diastema they often struggle with how the crowns need
to be shaped down by the gum line. Patients usually want all of the space between the teeth filled in. The dentist realizes
however that in doing so that they might create an anatomy that is not easy to clean. If plaque cannot be removed effectively
from between the teeth tooth decay or gum disease can form.
Our "after" picture illustrates leaving a small amount of space between the teeth at the gum line.
Aligning the biting edges of the teeth:
The classic alignment of upper front teeth is that the biting edges of the two center teeth (the central incisors)
and the eyeteeth (cuspids) are similar in length. Usually the teeth lying between these teeth (the lateral incisors)
will be just a little bit shorter.
Our "after" picture illustrates how the shape
of the lateral incisors could be idealized so to give this smile a somewhat more classical appearance.