Assessment, photographs and 3D scan
We measure the space, check whether the teeth are stable, examine the gums and bone, and look at what is happening further back in the mouth before suggesting anything.
About this treatmentDental condition · Wimpole Street, Marylebone
Gaps between teeth: when spacing is harmless, when it matters, and how it is closed
A space between two teeth is one of the most variable features in dentistry. For some people a central gap is a family trait they would never want to lose. For others a space that appeared in their forties is an unwelcome sign that the teeth are drifting. Spacing also comes in several forms: a single gap between the upper front teeth, small spaces spread through the whole arch, or a wider hole left by a tooth that has been lost. Each has a different cause and a different remedy, and the first task of a consultation is to work out which you have. Some gaps trap food and inflame the gum; some let the opposing tooth drift into them; many do neither and are purely a question of how you feel about them. At Wimpole Street we treat spacing with orthodontics, bonding, veneers or tooth replacement, and quite often we advise no treatment at all.
Recognising it
How it usually feels
A visible space between the two upper front teeth
A midline diastema, often present since childhood and frequently inherited.
Small spaces throughout the arch
Generalised spacing, usually because the teeth are narrow relative to the jaw.
A gap that was not there a few years ago
Drift, often driven by bone loss from gum disease or by a missing tooth further back.
Food packing between the same two teeth at every meal
A contact that has opened up and no longer protects the gum beneath.
A space where a tooth has been removed
Neighbours tilt into it and the tooth above or below can over-erupt.
Behind the symptoms
What's going on
- 01
Teeth narrower than the arch
Tooth size and jaw size are inherited independently. Small or peg-shaped teeth in an average-sized jaw leave room to spare, and the spaces distribute themselves along the arch. This is the mirror image of crowding and is just as common.
- 02
A low or thick fraenum
The small fold of tissue between the upper lip and gum sometimes runs right down between the front teeth. Where it does, it can hold them apart and cause a midline gap to reopen after orthodontics unless it is trimmed.
- 03
Missing or undersized lateral incisors
The teeth either side of the front two are the ones most often absent or peg-shaped from birth. The result is spacing around the front teeth or a canine that has drifted forward into the space.
- 04
Gum disease and bone loss
When periodontitis has destroyed part of the bone that holds the teeth, they become free to move under the pressure of the lips, tongue and bite. Front teeth typically tip forwards and spread apart, producing new gaps in adulthood.
- 05
Tooth loss elsewhere
Removing a back tooth does not just leave one gap. Neighbours tilt, the opposing tooth grows down into the space, and chewing force shifts forwards onto the incisors, which respond by splaying. Spacing at the front is often the visible sign of a problem at the back.
Before your appointment
What you can do today
- Clean the gap daily with floss or a suitably sized interdental brush so that trapped food does not inflame the gum.
- If you have a retainer from earlier treatment, resume wearing it at night to prevent further drift.
- Do not attempt to close a gap with elastic bands or online kits; teeth moved without supervision can be lost.
- Book a gum health check if the gap is new; drifting teeth in adults are often the first sign of bone loss.
These are holding measures, not a substitute for an examination. Use any pain relief exactly as directed on the pack and check with a pharmacist if you take other medicines.
In the chair
How we treat it at Wimpole Street
Composite bonding
Resin added to the sides of the neighbouring teeth widens them fractionally and closes a small gap in a single appointment. Reversible, drill-free and easily maintained.
About this treatmentClear aligners
Where the gaps are larger, multiple or the teeth are tipped, aligners slide them together over several months and give a result that does not rely on added material.
About this treatmentVeneers
For teeth that are also small, discoloured or worn, porcelain or composite veneers close the space and reshape the teeth at the same time.
About this treatmentReplacing a missing tooth
A gap left by extraction is filled with an implant, a bridge or a partial denture, which stops the neighbours tilting and restores chewing on that side.
About this treatmentGum treatment and retention
Gaps caused by bone loss are stabilised by treating the gum disease first, then closed and held with a bonded retainer so they do not reopen.
About this treatmentFees
Costs to expect
A consultation at Wimpole Street with photographs and a digital scan is expected to be £95. Closing a single small gap with composite bonding is from £395 per tooth, and a midline gap normally involves both central incisors. Clear aligner treatment for spacing across the arch is indicative from £2,950, including retainers.
Porcelain veneers are from £1,095 per tooth and composite veneers from £595. Where a missing tooth is the cause, an implant with its crown is from £2,950, a bridge from £995 per unit and a partial denture from £795. If gum disease is driving the spacing, periodontal treatment from £850 comes first and is quoted separately.
Figures are indicative prices for Wimpole Street and are confirmed in a written plan once a dentist has examined you. Fees match our South Kensington and St Paul's clinics.
Don't wait if
When to see a dentist
- A gap has appeared or widened in adulthood.
- Food lodges between the same two teeth at most meals.
- The gum between the teeth is red, sore or bleeds.
- Front teeth appear to be tipping forwards or feel slightly loose.
FAQ
Common questions
Bonding suits a gap of up to about two millimetres between well-aligned teeth and is finished in one visit, but it adds width to the teeth and will need polishing or refreshing over the years. Aligners take months and cost more, but they move the actual teeth, so the proportions stay natural and there is no material to maintain. Many patients combine a little of both.
New spacing in adulthood most often means the bone supporting the teeth has reduced, usually through gum disease, or that a missing back tooth has shifted the load forwards. Both are worth investigating promptly, because the drift will continue until the cause is treated.
It will if nothing holds the teeth, since the tongue and lips continue to push. A fixed wire bonded behind the front teeth, sometimes with a removable night-time retainer as well, keeps the closure stable. If a thick fraenum contributed, a minor procedure to release it improves the odds further.
There are two routes. The space can be closed orthodontically by moving the canine forwards and reshaping it to resemble the missing tooth, or the space can be opened to its correct width and an implant or bonded bridge placed. The choice depends on the canine’s shape and colour, your bite and your preference, and we would show you simulations of each.
A stable midline gap in a healthy mouth rarely does. Spacing that traps food can inflame the gum, and gaps left by extractions allow neighbours to tilt and opposing teeth to over-erupt, which changes the bite over time. Whether a gap needs treatment depends on which kind it is, not simply on its size.
Marylebone, W1
Wimpole Street opens 1 October 2026
Leave your details and we will be in touch when the Marylebone diary opens. If the problem cannot wait, the same clinicians are already seeing patients in South Kensington and at St Paul's.
Related conditions
Opening 1 October 2026
Wimpole Street is not yet seeing patients. Until then, please book or call our South Kensington clinic on 020 7183 2362 or our St Paul's clinic on 020 7183 3709. Questions about the new clinic: wimpolestreet@md.co.uk.
Until we open
Need an appointment before 1 October 2026?
The same clinical team already works from two other Medical & Dental clinics. Book at either one now and, if you prefer, move your ongoing care to Wimpole Street once the doors open.
South Kensington
- 20 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3DL
- Open seven days a week
- 020 7183 2362
St Paul's, City of London
- 5 Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7AQ
- Open Monday to Friday
- 020 7183 3709
