The World Loves a Gap-Toothed Girl

I’m starting to notice a trend. And it’s kind of a weird one.

Looking through the pages of fashion magazines I see more and more models with a gap between their two front teeth. What is this obsession? Lauren Hutton popularized the gap-tooth look in the 70s and it’s gone in and out of style since then.

The current “gap tooth IT girl” is Lara Stone and she is everywhere. See her in all her gap-toothed glory here: http://models.com/models/Lara-Stone

One of the first dental anatomy terms I learned in Dental School was “diastema”. What does that mean? A gap between two teeth. Even my husband now knows what a diastema is and loves to point them out on other people (even though he has them himself!). I think it’s just a fun word to say and not one that you hear every day.

I have patients all the time asking me about closing their diastemas, but maybe we’ll see that shift as this look becomes more and more popular!

Yours in good (dental) health,

Dr. Stefanie Shore, DDS