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. Actually, a frenum does not pull the tissue. Rather, it causes a high mucosal attachment and less attached keratinized tissue which is more prone to recession.
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 wife 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.
In Nigerian society, diastemata are occasionally regarded as being attractive mostly among the western regions, and some people have even had them created through cosmetic dentistry. In France, they are called "dents du bonheur" ("lucky teeth").
Les Blank's Gap-Toothed Women is a documentary film about diastematic women.
Notable people with diastema
- Barbara Urie Marshall, Hardcore Nurse and Mom
- Belladonna, Hardcore Pornstar
- Condoleezza Rice, United States Secretary of State
- Elton John, English pop/rock singer and musician
- Elijah Wood, American actor
- Ronaldo, Brazilian footballer
- Louie Anderson, American comedian
- Jorja Fox, American actress
- Michael Strahan, American football player
- Madonna, American singer
- Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian
- Esther Rolle, American actress
- David Letterman, American TV comedian
- Jemaine Clement, musician/comedian
- Kurt Nilsen, singer/songwriter and World Idol winner
- Eddie Murphy, American actor/Comedian
- Laura San Giacomo, American actress
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American politician
- Seal (musician), Singer
- Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
- Lauren Hutton, American supermodel and actress
- Anna Paquin, Canadian-New Zealand actress
- Paul Sheer, American comedian/actor
- Terry-Thomas, British actor
- Vanessa Paradis, French singer/actress
- Dave Foley, Canadian comedian/actor/writer
- Eve Myles, Welsh actress
- Brandi Carlile, American singer
- Davor Suker, Croatian football player
- Eduardo Skinner, Spanish Artist
- Denis Leary, American actor/comedian
- Ernest Borgnine, American actor
- Marga Gomez, Puerto Rican comedian and playwright
- Flea, Bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Rebecca Hintze, Gap-toothed lady of Livingston
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