The Schlachter Gap

In case you haven't noticed, I have gaps in my front teeth. They aren't 'huge', but definitely noticeable. My teeth are straight and I even had braces when I was younger, but the gaps could never eliminated. For awhile after the braces they were better, but then over time they started moving again. Basically, as my dentist tells me, I just have little teeth. The part that he sort of left out...or at least explained a little nicer than how I heard it in my head...is that my mouth is too big (shocking) and my teeth are too small...so there's a lot of extra space on my gums for the teeth to separate. Their suggestion for a 'permanent' fix to this is to get veneers. They said I could try braces again, or a retainer, but most likely my teeth would again separate over time. So I ask for some information on the veneers, as well as an estimate on what it would cost. HOLY MOLY DENTAL WORK IS EXPENSIVE! I always kind of knew this...especially with some of the issues that my poor husband has had over the years, but seriously. $856 per TOOTH and they are suggesting that my top 4 teeth be done. This brings me to a grand total of $3424. The part that sucks about this is that it's cosmetic and therefore insurance doesn't cover any of it. I know this is a self esteem issue rather than a physical ailment that needs to be cured, but it's still important to me and I would love to do it. I could at least then check off one of the many things on my list to improve about myself. Something that I recently noticed, that I probably should have noticed sooner, is just how many people in my family have this same gap! I always knew my Mom had it...in fact we have almost identical teeth. I also discovered that my Uncle, my Mom's brother...and my Grandma, my Mom's Mom, have it too! I think this will just have to be named, the Schlachter Gap!