The Gap Between Us
- — A Reflection on Inheritance, Identity, and Imperfect Design*
When I look at a child born with a noticeable gap between their front teeth—a diastema—I don’t just see a dental anomaly. I see a living example of how nature mixes and matches the building blocks of two people, sometimes with beautiful imperfection.
This child might have inherited a wide jaw from one parent and small teeth from the other. Neither parent may have had the gap themselves, but in the hands of genetics, the combination paints a new picture. That’s one of the first lessons we learn from cases like these: traits don’t blend like paint—they combine like puzzle pieces, often in ways we can’t predict.
We also learn something humbling about nature: it doesn’t design for beauty; it designs for survival. A mismatched jaw and tooth size might not hinder one’s ability to eat, speak, or thrive—so evolution lets it be. Nature is efficient, not always elegant.
But in this mismatch lies opportunity—especially for awareness. Understanding how traits pass down helps families anticipate dental issues early. That awareness can shape not just smiles, but confidence and health.
More than anything, this child is a lesson in individuality. Their gap isn’t just a space between teeth—it’s a space where two lineages met and expressed themselves in a new way. In that space, there is uniqueness. There is identity. There is story.
And sometimes, what we call a flaw is just a feature waiting to be understood in a different light.