Fix Teeth Gaps Without Braces (Easier Than You Think)

Gaps can form anywhere along your smile. They're often most noticeable when they crop up between your top two teeth. The gap gleams each time you smile, talk, or eat. And sometimes, that space allows fluids to fly out of your mouth at the most inopportune times.

Braces can help to correct gapped teeth. But there are several competing tools, including crowns, bonding, veneers, and aligners that can do the job just as well. And sometimes, these alternative treatments come with a lower price tag and less pain than braces.

What Causes Gapped Teeth?

A gap between your teeth can develop for a variety of reasons, including some you can prevent and others you can’t. 

Common issues that can cause tooth gaps include the following:

• Excess tissue: A labial frenum is a band of tissue that starts on the underside of your lip and attaches to the gums between the front teeth. If this band is too large, it could cause a gapping in your teeth.

• Habitual behaviors: Doing things like sucking your thumb or thrusting your tongue against the back of your teeth can cause a gap.

• Dental problems: If you’ve lost a tooth due to infection or accident, your other teeth could move, and a gap can appear.

Why Fix your Gap Teeth?

In some cultures, gaps are considered lucky, unusual, or beautiful. But in the United States, many people opt to fix a smile with gaps. In one informal study, a dentist reported that 6,000 new patients in one year requested a gap closure.

Gaps are attention-getting. If you want people to notice your beauty, rather than homing in on one part of your mouth, seeking out smile help makes sense.

Gaps can also lead to problems, such as these:

• Trapped food: A gap can collect tiny particles of each meal you eat. That material can break down and cause gum irritation, gingivitis, or even periodontitis. Your gums may feel sore, they might look red, and they could bleed when you brush them. If left untreated, this condition can lead to deep infections.

• Decay: Just as trapped food can harm your gums, it can hurt your teeth too. Food trapped close to your teeth can break down and provide sugars that plaque cells need. Your decaying teeth could require fillings or root canals.

• Speech disorders: Tongues tap on teeth. When the muscles hit dead air — like the space between gapped teeth — hard consonants and other sounds don't come through clearly.

• Chewing disorders: Gaps often mean teeth don't meet correctly, and that could make biting tough. Jaw muscles that work too hard can become strained, leading to headaches and upper backaches.

• Weakened enamel: If the gaps in your teeth are caused by misalignment, it could mean that your bite is off. Malocclusion (teeth misalignment) can cause enamel wear if teeth aren’t aligning properly and it’s causing tooth abrasion. Weakened enamel can increase your risk of tooth damage, decay, and even tooth loss.

Braces aren't Always Necessary

Experts say that braces are common solutions for gapped teeth. Doctors glue brackets to the front of your teeth, and that hardware is connected by wires that tighten. Sign up for this treatment, and your gap will disappear. But it isn't right for everyone.

Braces come with significant risks, including:

When Do Braces Make Sense?

Dentists have plenty of other options they can use to treat a gapped smile. In fact, in a study of treatments for gapped teeth, five methods were mentioned. Not one of them involved braces.

Braces are good solutions for people with significant dental problems, dentists say. If your gaps are compounded by significant crowding of your other teeth, for example, or you have multiple gaps all along your jawline, you might need significant smile interventions. Braces could be a smart choice.

But braces aren't right for every mouth. And you have plenty of treatment options to choose from.

5 Common Ways Experts Treat Gaps in Teeth Without Braces

Walk into a dental office, and ask for a better smile. The person you talk to has an array of options to share with you.

Your dental expert might recommend:

Aligners for Gap Teeth

Aligners offer the opportunity to amend a gap between teeth without a significant cash outlay. You could get the smile you want without breaking your budget.

Doctor-supervised aligners, like those prescribed through the Byte telehealth platform, can come with a small price tag of under $2,000.

Aligners work well for people with small to medium gaps in otherwise healthy teeth. And it's easy to get started. Often, you can make impressions of your teeth at home and send them in to get custom aligners made. For those hoping for corrections with a low price tag, this could be the right solution.

Will Insurance Cover Treatment for Fixing a Gap in Teeth?

Whether or not your dental insurance will cover treatment of your gap teeth will depend on your policy and the cause of your tooth gap.

If you have coverage for orthodontic treatment, and your gap is caused by an orthodontic issue like teeth misalignment (malocclusion), some or all of your treatment may be covered, particularly if it’s braces or aligners.

Treatment coverage may also be available if the gap is causing dental problems, like gum irritation or tooth abrasion, or in cases requiring the restoration of missing teeth.

While orthodontic and restorative treatment may be at least partially covered by some dental insurance plans, cosmetic procedures will most likely not be covered. An exception to this may be cosmetic procedures that are used to fix a gap that has been caused by an accident or injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions we often hear about how to fix gap teeth: