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. Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... Incisors are the first kind of tooth in heterodont mammals. ... Human jaw front view Human jaw left view Human jaw top view The jaw is either of the two opposable structures forming, or near the entrance to, the mouth. ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... A molar is the fourth kind of tooth in mammals. ... Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as 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. A frenulum (or frenum, plural: frenula or frena, from the Latin frēnulum, little bridle, the diminutive of frēnum ) is a small fold of tissue that secures or restricts the motion of a mobile organ in the body. ...

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. Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ... Geoffrey Chaucer (c. ... The opening page of The Wife of Baths Tale from the Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, circa 1405-1410. ...

In Nigerian society, diastemata are regarded as attractive, and some people have even had them created through cosmetic dentistry.^[1] Cosmetic dentistry is a discipline within dentistry in which the primary focus is the modification of appearance of a patients oral cavity and surrounding structures, in conjunction with the prevention and treatment of organic, structural, or functional oral disease. ...

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

See also

• Cosmetic dentistry
• Tooth veneers

Cosmetic dentistry is a discipline within dentistry in which the primary focus is the modification of appearance of a patients oral cavity and surrounding structures, in conjunction with the prevention and treatment of organic, structural, or functional oral disease. ... In dentistry, a veneer is a thin layer of restorative material placed over a tooth surface, either to improve the aesthetics of a tooth, or to protect a damaged tooth surface. ...

References

1. ^ Oji, C. (1994). Diastema in Nigerian Society. Retrieved June 23, 2007.