Diastema (dentistry)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diastema is a gap or space between two teeth. The term is most commonly applied to be an open space between the upper incisors (front teeth). It happens when there is an unequal relationship between the size of the teeth and the jaw. Many species of mammals have diastema as a normal feature, for example the gap between molars and incisors in rodents.

Diastema is sometimes caused or exacerbated by tongue thrusting or the pulling action of a labial frenulum (the tissue around the lip), which can push the teeth apart.

In the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote of the "gap-toothed wife of Bath." As early as this time period, the gap between the front teeth, especially in women, had been associated with "lustful" characteristics. Thus, the implication in describing "the gap-toothed wyf of Bath" is that she is a "middle-aged" woman with insatiable lust. This has no scientific basis, but it has been a popular assumption in folklore since the Middle Ages.

Les Blank's Gap-Toothed Women is a documentary film about diastematic women.

One of the main characters of the cartoon Ed, Edd and Eddy, Edd, has a prominent gap between his upper incisors. In one episode, "Key to My Ed", he gets a key stuck in the gap, and proceeds to ramble for several seconds about how he will not submit to the resultant mortification of such an incident.

Gap-Toothed was a popular online humor magazine devoted to diastematics.

Tribe.net has an online community of gap-toothed supporters.