Large gap in front teeth + nervous patient - Options?

[Hanny]

Hello, Im pretrified of the dentist but have decided the large gap in my front teeth has got to go. Its made me so depressed over the last few years & has even affected my career.

The gap is large (half a centimetre) Ive had it since I was a child and most of the women in my family have it. The reason Ive never done anything about it is because I have a phobia of needles & medical procedures.
I lost an upper tooth a few years ago and since then the gap has started getting even bigger.

My aunt had veneers but the gap was so big her front teeth now look too wide so I dont think I want this method.

I was thinking of having something put in the gap like a jewel or gold filling but I havent been able to find any dentists who can do this.

What are my options to get rid of this gap? Its ruining my confidence & life
Any help appreciated. Im in Stafford if anyone can reccommend a dentist?
Thanks

[davidbloom]

Hi

Your options to close the large space (diastema) are as follows

1/Veneers - if the correct number of teeth are treated this may be an
option but would most likely involve treating more than just the front 2
teeth or they would be too wide. If more teeth are treated it may be
possible to re distribute the space by making all the teeth treated a
little larger.
A diagnostic wax up can be completed by a laboratory to see what
proportions the proposed veneers would have. This could even be used to
do a visual try-in in your own mouth so that you could see how things
would look. This would not at that stage involve any tooth preparation
and so would be purely diagnostic

2/Braces - either as the final treatment to close all spaces or to
redistribute the spaces prior to veneers so that the final restorations
had better proportions if veneers alone would not produce an
aesthetically pleasing result

It is likely that the space is too big to close via cosmetic bonding
with plastic filling material

Putting something in the gap is unlikely to look correct from a smile
perspective

The first stage is a full consultation with a dentist that can assess
all of these options and discuss them fully. This will not involve any
treatment and so is not something that you should be unduly nervous
about. I would suggest searching for an accredited member of the British
Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry or at the very least a full member.
www.bacd.com

When it comes to treatment, it depends on the reasons for your
nervousness but sedation is always an option if sympathetic care with
good anesthetic technique is not enough

Regards

David Bloom
Past President BACD
Accredited member BACD

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[Hanny]

Hello, thankyou for the detailed reply
I dont want to have my teeth filed down for veneers as the thought of that worries me quite abit. Mainly the thought of filing away my real teeth, as apart from the gap they are straight and white.

I will visit a dentst for a consultation. I was hoping the problem could be sorted with Lumineers, meaning my teeth would be left intact.