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Patient Case Study –Close spaces in between teeth from alignment issues or gum recession
Leslie is such a joy to see — she never fails to show up to her appointments with a smile and the most positive attitude! Over time, she felt like her smile had aged. She wanted to close some gaps between her teeth, brighten her overall shade, and create a fuller, wider smile that better matched her youthful spirit and personality.
When there are spaces between teeth — especially near the gumline — it can disrupt the balance and flow of the smile. These gaps, often referred to as black triangles, form when the gum tissue doesn’t completely fill the space between two teeth. They can result from gum recession, natural tooth shape, or minor shifting, and often make the smile look less full, less youthful, and more aged.
In Leslie’s case, she had a large black triangle in between her two front teeth. The two front teeth are the foundations of your smile and so having a black triangle in between them made Leslie unhappy with her smile. She also had:
From her full-face photos, it was clear her smile lacked depth — making the lower third of her face appear more
sunken and giving an older appearance than her vibrant personality conveyed.
We began the process by making a mock-up of her ideal smile design, which allowed Leslie to preview the final look before starting treatment. At her prep appointment, I:
Leslie wore her temps for a few days to "test drive" the look and feel. I brought her back in to review everything together and made detailed adjustments based on her feedback to ensure the final result was exactly what she envisioned.
Working closely with our lab, we designed custom porcelain veneers to match her final temporaries down to the finest detail. Everything was cemented in one visit — a single 3-hour appointment about three weeks after her initial prep.
Leslie’s new smile beautifully closed the black triangles, unified the shade of her teeth, and brought fullness and balance back to her lower face.
As I often say, the two front teeth are the foundation of any great smile. I truly believe women’s smiles thrive when those central incisors are beautifully shaped — long, dominant, but still soft and subtle. When we perfect those, we can build a harmonious smile around them.
For Leslie, we did exactly that. Her result is subtle yet powerful — a natural, confident, and youthful smile that feels just as good as it looks.
