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Median Diastemas

Median diastemas are spaces between the front teeth.They are very common and many people are quite happy with them.Some celebrities such as Madonna have them.

However some people don’t like having median diastemas and want them filled for appearance’s sake.There are different ways of closing median diastemas.Sometimes orthodontics ( i.e. braces) can be used .However the problem with this is it can take a long time -up to 2 years-and there is a tendency for the teeth to return to their original position and the median diastema to re-open.This sometimes necessitates wearing a permanent fixed retainer -a metal wire which is bonded onto the inside surface of the incisor teeth.This can be difficult to keep clean and can sometimes break or fall off in time.

Median diastemas can be closed by porcelain crowns or veneers.These can give a good result but involve taking some healthy enamel off the teeth.In the cases of crowns up to 50% of the crown structure can be removed which weakens the teeth.

Median diastemas can be filled by adding white filling material to the surfaces of the teeth to close the gap.Unfortunately this is notoriously difficult to do from the dentist’s point of view and often leads to a poor aesthetic result when the filling can discolour and chip over time and can cause gum inflammation as plaque builds up around the margins of the fillings.

The best way to treat Median diastemas is with the Bioclear method.Specially designed clear matrices are placed between the teeth and filled with a high quality composite which fills the gap in a realistic fashion.Much of the crowns of the teeth are covered with the composite which-after finishing and polishing -can lead to a great aesthetic result.It is not necessary to trim the teeth down so they are not weakened in any way.

We can provide the Bioclear method here at Riverside so please contact us for more information.