Often young children develop a wide gap between their upper front teeth. Anecdotally, the gap has closed with development of the adult teeth. Sometimes, this does not happen. As the child grows, the gap widens.
A labial frenectomy is a minor surgical procedure done under local anaesthesia to remove the tissue trapped between the upper / lower front teeth. Once this tissue is removed,the gap closes with minor orthodontic work. The above is an example of 9 year old young girl needing the surgery.
This is an example of a 40 year old who did not have the surgery and now is uncomfortable with the gap getting larger as she grows older. Orthodontics will not correct this.