Tooth Gap

As the other teeth come in around the front two, they will likely move together. At times it is because the frenulum, a small muscle attachment under the upper lip, is too thick or low (close to the teeth). This would be determined in a few years and if necessary, the frenulum can just be "snipped" to prevent the pull from the muscle separating the teeth. I wouldn't worry yet. Hope that helps!

First of all, I highly recommend Dr. Singer from ABC dentistry, in Voorhees. He is amazing with children! My daughter was scared to go to the dentist, and he actually makes her look forward to what used to be a dreaded visit. It's worth the 20 minute drive!

Secondly, my daughter has gaps between all of her teeth. He said that actually is healthy, because baby teeth take up less room. So, perfectly normal!

Hi T.! My daughter had the same issue with the large gap and I was also worried. Now at 3.5 years old, they are close together, so I wouldn't worry about it until she is a bit older. I would wait until Kaelyn is 3 before taking her to the dentist. With my oldest, I tried to go to the dentist when she was 18 months. It was not a nice experience and I did not repeat it with my second. I waited until she was 3. Good Luck!

The bigger the gap the better, when they lose their baby teeth the adult teeth are bigger and that means that there will be plenty of room for them to come in. V.

hi i took my daughter to the dentist when she turned three and i had a 6 month old then and he recommended to start at 1 year old because they can help you with tips on how to prevent decaying and cavities. so if you feel you should take her i would. i wish i would of taken my daughter before three she has one little cavity and he said it's in the middle of the front tooth, it could have been avoided by starting to take her sooner. well i hope i gave you a little bit of good advice. Amber S

i've taken both of my boys around thier first birthdays.and then every 6 months. just so when something is needed they arent freaked out. my dentist suggested this while i was pregnant with my first.

This totally normal. Baby teeth are seperated because 1- they are small and 2- this speration leaves space for adult teeth to come in later in life.
And age 3 is a very acceptable time to see the dentist for the 1st time.

find a pediatric dentist they do start earlier just to get them use to it slowly.

you actually want gaps so that when she 6 and she starts getting her adult teeth she has the room for it.

No you shouldnt be worried. Spaces between baby teeth are good it give the adult teethmore room to come in. No worries and if you wanted to you can bring ur daughter to the dentist when she gets more teeth it cant hurt

Sorry, I didn't read all the advice that you got so I may be repeating what others have said.
I have 4 children and they all see a pediatric dentist. The pediatric dentist recommends seeing them starting at 18 months. I actually just asked him for sure a few months ago because I remember my pediatrician saying 3 years old. U should go sooner than 18 months if you see or suspect a problem.
Also, gaps in baby teeth are actually a blessing. My daughters teeth were PERFECT when she had all baby teeth. Now she is almost 10 and is going on her 3rd and 4th appliances to make more room.

my son also had a gap when his teeth came in. I thought he would always have it because I did as a child and had to have braces. He is three now and as his other teeth grew in it closed the gap. his teeth now look completely normal. No gaps or crooked teeth. I don't know if your daughters will grow together or not, but at least you know there is hope. good luck.

she will get other teeth in her mouth and the front two will probably shift together. i would not worry unless this happens when she gets her grown up teeth.

Hi T., My daughter is now almost 8 years old. And I actually started introducing her to the dentist very early. I would go for a cleaning and they would allow me to have her site on my belly to see what was going on. It was great. She actually saw the dentist the first time when she was 2 years old. They just counted teeth, did a simple cleaning and such. I think this has been the ticket for us....I was a child who grew into an adult terrified of the dentist. To this day I refer to my ped dentist as Dr Drill and Fill!! My daughter will go back by herself now, and she just had to have a pallate expander put in and she had no anxiety what so ever. My suggestion is start bringing her with you, so she can see what is going on, before you try to put her in that big chair by herself. One other thing we did is when she did have her first appt at 2 yrs. She laid down on me instead of in the chair by herself. That also helped the first 2 visits. Now she is a pro!!! Good Luck!! Kim

Don't worry about it at all. Dentists actually like to see a little gap in the baby teeth. That way there is plenty of room for those adult teeth when they come in. My daughter had gaps between all of her baby teeth, but now she's almost 8 and has severe crowding on the bottom and crowding on the top as well. She is already seeing an orthodontist. My youngest son has even larger gaps in his teeth. The front teeth have a huge space between them (top and bottom), but I'm hoping that the extra space will be enough to prevent crowding later. Of course genetics play a roll in how crowded your child's teeth are, but regardless you should not be worried by gaps. They are generally a good thing in baby teeth. :) So don't worry! If it would make you feel better, take her to a pediatric dentist for a consultation.

Hi: My 18 month old daughter has sort of the same issue where her two front teeth look like they are coming in crooked (they look chipped). I take my 4 year old to a pediatric dentist and ran the situation by him, being concerned (as you are) that this was abnormal and would be permanent. He said that we should not worry about how the teeth come in as babyteeth, and that they are younger than 3, the teeth still develop and grow in gradually, which is why they don't want to see kids until they are 3+ years old.

Depending on where you live, I can give you the name of the dentist--they are very well-known. I live in Main Line in PA.

hi T.,
My daughter and HER daughter both had gap front teeth ..as well as, Madonna , Jewel etc... [ it is cute]
better to have a gap than NOT ENOUGH ROOM IN HER MOUTH.
MY daughter and grand child are great big smilers ! NEVER NEEDED BRACES and had a perfect set of teeth for all the dental office employees to ck. out !!!for educational reasons .
gap moved together .
I took my child @ 18 mo to dentist ..
have FUN w/ gap .. use it as a fountain in the tub , all kind of silly gap games .. chuckle ..
take her to a dentistfor peace of mind .they count her teeth , can tell if they are straight , crowed, etc ...
grammy

My daughter's teeth came in with a gap too. My mother works at a dentist office and I had my mom's dentist check it out (free)when she was two. He found that the flap of skin connecting your lip to your gums was actually down to her teeth, which was causing her gap. The only way to fix it was to snip it. As luck would have it (at least in our situation) she had to have her tonsils out so the doctor did it during that surgery. She is now three and a half and still has the gap but we are hopeful that when her teeth fall out and her permanent ones come in the gap will be gone. Hope this helps! May not be your daughter's problem but never hurts to look. It is actually something you can see if you check it out yourself. I just never thought to look.

Hi T.! My 15 month old daughter also has a gap in her front 2 teeth. I don't have any "great" advice, but I've been told not to worry about it yet. Once her permanent teeth come in, I will deal with it. I figure that since she doesn't even have a full mouth of teeth yet they won't settle where they need to be yet. Anyhow, even though they aren't perfect, they are adorable everytime she gives me a big smile!! Best of luck!

My four year old has the same issue the Karen B was telling you about. The dentist told me the same thing. Some day we are going to have to take her to get that area snipped. You can actually see a small bump in the gums between the two teeth.

T., Relax!! There will be gaps...there has to be space for the larger adult teeth when they come it. You can start taking her to a ped. dentist around the age of 2 or three (I started at age two with all three of mine). I recommend Dentistry for Kids, they have offices all over the area...the dentist's are all great and the staff is just amazing! My girls actually enjoy their dentist visits. Best wishes.

No worries, My daughter had the same gap. She is getting her adult teeth now and they are coming in beautifully! There is plenty of room for them and they are just right.

R.
http://jewelrymama.blogspot.com

Hi T.,
Relax, it could be nothing or something cosmetic. My 7 year old has it too. It's not uncommon for it to look that way as their teeth come in. However, Sarah's never changed. At her first appt. which is around 3-4. the dentist showed me that the skin between her lip and gum is a lot longer then normal. NOt that it's not normal but that is what causes the gap between the teeth. If I wanted to solve the gap that would have to be snipped. I don't know how involved that would be but I will ask at her appt next week. She doesn't want it done. It's not a braces thing it's that skin that needs cut or cut back. Sarah is my6th child and none of the other kids have had this so this is my first round. If it is simple I may consider it if it turns out to be a big deal to "solve" I will probably wait for her to make that choice. If it's cosmetic that's going to be her call but if it would turn out to impact health I'll decide. Such as all the other teeth will be too crowded then you have te cavity issue. I will weigh the options when I get more details. I hope this helps but don't be too worried about it either way it's not a big deal. Have a wonderful week.

L.

T.

My daughter who is 3 has a big gap and I was concerned too so I started taking her to the dentist at 2. She has had 2 visits so far and the dentist doesnt seem to be concerned. He mentioned Laurne Hutton to me and I was like..... o.k?He told me its hereditary...

He counts her teeth and gets her used to being in the chair and the examination and then gives her a toothbrush.

I have heard that its a good thing that it leaves more room for her big teeth to come in. But I wouldnt be too concerned right now its way too early to tell.

Hello! If you have a really understanding dentist, they will just let your daughter sit in the chair just to get used to the whole thing. They really do not need to see the dentist until three, unless you notice a problem. I am speaking from experience, I have a nine year old and he did have dental problems, so I took him when I noticed it. My dentist and hygentist, just recommends that you help brush the teeth and check things as they go, keep them informed when you go for your cleaning every six months too. Also, they gap now is great...mine had perfectly straight beautiful baby teeth, and now we are defiantely seeing an ortho....time will tell, but enjoy that cute grin it all changes when they loose the first few teeth!

Hi T.,

I am a registered dental assistant and just to ease your mind, space between teeth is a good thing. As your daughter grows you may see the space close slightly. You know from experience at about 6 yrs or so kids start to loose their baby teeth and they are replaced by adult teeth. If there is lots of room now, hopefully there will be enough room for all the permanent teeth when they start to come in. Imagine if the baby teeth were tight together now, with more to come in shortly, then at age 6 the front tooth falls out. The permanent tooth is about double in size, there would not be enough room for it to come in properly and then THEY would be all crowded and crooked. SO, space is a good thing. It is always easier to close spaces with braces. If you feel more comfortable you can take you daughter to a pediatric dentist, they will start them around 1yr. Basically they have her sit in the chair and get her comfortable being there. Good Luck, K.

Don't worry about it at this point in time. My daughter who is 8 had a gap and as she grew and her teeth came in the gap lessened over time. She still has a small gap but they won't do anything until 9 or 10 anyway when they have all their adult teeth.

I took her ato the dentist at 3 but make sure you start brushing her teeth now with the finger thing or a very soft small bristle brush to get her used to it.

L.

T.--I wouldn't worry about it. Though there are advocates for braces on baby teeth--I disagree. As she gets more and more teeth the room in her mouth will fill up. I would take her to the dentist at 3 (My dentist said 3 for girls, 3-1/2 for boys). You can start taking her with YOU though so she is used to the equipments, etc at a dentist office. Maybe they'll even give her a little mock-exam in the chair.

I just went through this with my daughter. My triplets went to the dentist for the first time recently at age 4. I would call around to area dentists, unless you know a dentist you'd like to go to in the future, and just ask at what age do they want to see children for their first visit.

"The fraenum (or fraenulum) that attaches the top lip to the upper portion of the gum is called the maxillary labial fraenum. An abnormally low maxillary labial fraenum is the most common cause of gapped front teeth in the upper jaw. This gap is called maxillary diastema. The abnormal fraenum is attached so low on the gum-line that it props apart the two front teeth."

This is what my daughter has. The dentist said not to worry about it now, but before she loses her front teeth we may want to see an oral surgeon, where he will simply numb the area and do a quick snip on that skin. Short and simple.

With your children being so young I wouldn't worry about it right now. It's possible it could still grown closer together as more teeth come in. It can be simply fixed without braces or some other extreme, if your child's gap is like my daugheter's.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

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Hi T.,

Start worrying when she is 18.

Good luck. D.

A gap is not uncommon with the first two teeth -- what is more apt to happen is crowding when she gets her adult teeth.