We’d all love to have perfect teeth like celebrities, and it’s not as difficult to achieve as you might think. Since the Golden Age of Hollywood, icons like Judy Garland and Shirley Temple have relied on the wonders of cosmetic dentistry to achieve their flawless red-carpet smiles. Now, in the 21st century, this type of dentistry is more advanced, less invasive, and more affordable than ever.
What Do Celebrities Do to Their Teeth?
There are three major procedures that a celebrity will undergo to improve their smile: the porcelain veneers procedure, the porcelain crowns procedure, and the dental implant procedure. These and other procedures may be combined as part of a complete smile makeover.
Dental Veneers
Porcelain veneers are the cornerstone of modern cosmetic dentistry, and they’re extremely common among celebrities looking to achieve a beautiful smile.
A porcelain veneer is a thin, ceramic, tooth-colored shell that’s placed over a natural, healthy tooth. It’s usually cemented over a tooth that has some sort of aesthetic flaw, such as discoloration, misalignment, or a crack or chip. This is done with a special bonding material.
A patient may opt for a single porcelain veneer, or they may invest in veneers for most or all of the upper front teeth. This treatment is the simplest way to improve a smile, and the results can last 15 to 20 years with proper care (after which the old veneer can be replaced). It’s easy to see why celebrities love them.
Porcelain Crowns & Bridges
Porcelain crowns and bridges are popular among celebrities who want to achieve the aesthetic benefits of veneers but who don’t have healthy enough teeth to support them. Whereas a porcelain veneer covers just the front of the tooth, a porcelain crown covers the entire tooth—hence the name. This type of dental treatment provides support and reinforcement to compromised teeth while still helping to promote a flawless smile.
When multiple crowns are needed side-by-side, the dentist or laboratory will often design a bridge, which includes two or more crowns fused together. The caps are designed to match the color and appearance of the surrounding teeth, ensuring a radiant smile while helping to preserve the compromised natural teeth.
Dental Implants
Dental Implants have been popular for decades among celebrities with significant oral health concerns (i.e. missing and severely damaged teeth). Missing teeth can be a career-ender in Hollywood, but thanks to advances in implant technologies, you wouldn’t even be able to guess which of your favorite stars have dental implants.
The procedure is threefold: First, the dentist or oral surgeon places a post into the bone. After the post heals, the dentist adds an abutment to the end of the post (this will hold the crown). Finally, the crown is placed.
How Do Celebrities Get Such White Teeth?
Having healthy, aesthetically pleasing teeth is one thing, but how do celebrities get their pearly whites so...well, pearly white? For the most part, the answer is as simple as teeth whitening, and you don’t have to be a Hollywood star to do it.
Here’s the secret, though. For the most part, those picture-perfect celebrities aren’t using the cheap at-home whitening strips that you see advertised on television. They’re turning to experienced Beverly Hills cosmetic dentists who use state-of-the-art teeth whitening procedures.
One perfect example is the Zoom! teeth whitening system. Developed by Philips, it uses blue LED light-accelerated technology combined with a specially formulated gel to both whiten your teeth and protect the enamel. The results are incredible.
The Zoom! system starts with an application of the whitening gel. Then the dentist uses a Zoom! laser lamp to activate the hydrogen peroxide in the gel and facilitate the whitening process. Once the initial treatment is complete, the patient is provided with customized take-home trays to conduct continued treatments at home.
Not only has the Zoom! teeth whitening system proven more effective than alternative teeth whitening solutions, but it’s also much safer than at-home whitening kits. Cheaper kits contain harsh chemicals that can seep into cavities and under untreated dental problems, potentially compromising oral health. When a whitening procedure is carried out by an experienced dentist, they can spot potential warning signs and treat any underlying damage ahead of time, ensuring that your procedure is as safe as it is effective.
How Do Celebrities Fix Their Teeth Without Braces
Not all celebrities have naturally straight teeth, but it’s hard to land a leading role in a Hollywood feature when you have a mouth full of metal braces. So what’s an ambitious Hollywood icon to do?
Some actors have successfully risen above their oral imperfections and established tremendous Hollywood legacies on the basis of their incredible talent alone, but most major performers don’t want to risk losing the role of a lifetime due to a gap or a few misaligned teeth. So what’s the solution? Invisalign.
Invisalign has become popular in the film and television communities because it affords on-screen performers the opportunity to straighten their teeth and improve their aesthetic without unsightly braces.
Invisalign clear aligners are virtually invisible braces that are precisely crafted based on computer-generated images of your mouth. Not only are they less imposing than traditional braces, but they’re more comfortable and they work much faster. The smooth aligners contain no harsh edges or metal brackets, and they’re even removable. And in addition to treating crooked teeth, they also work great for underbites and overbites.
How Much Does a Celebrity Smile Cost?
The price of a celebrity smile can vary significantly depending on the procedures you need. If you have excellent teeth and you just need a couple of porcelain veneers, your new smile may cost as little as two to three thousand dollars. If you need a series of dental implants reinforced by a bone graft, you might pay north of $100,000.
On average, though (and assuming you have reasonably healthy teeth), it’s possible to achieve a Hollywood-caliber smile for about $15,000 to $30,000. This will typically cover a full set of porcelain veneers or crowns as well as teeth whitening (for the surrounding teeth only—porcelain veneers don’t require whitening).
For about the same amount of money, you can undergo a complete Invisalign treatment and then follow up with porcelain veneers for any misshapen or discolored teeth. Again, though, it ultimately depends on the condition of your teeth.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Perfect Smile Like a Celebrity?
The time required will also vary depending on the procedures you need. If you just need dental veneers, you can get the job done in three appointments. The process usually takes about 3 weeks from the initial consultation to the final veneers placement. The same general timeline applies for dental crowns.
If you need implants, the timeline is much longer. It can take up to 6 months for the initial posts to heal, and then the abutment may require a few weeks to heal before the crown is placed. If you need a bone graft, you can add a few additional months to the timeline. The dentist can equip you with a temporary denture while the implant heals, so you’ll always have a smile you can be proud of, even as your mouth is healing.
The average treatment time for Invisalign is 12 to 18 months, but some healthy patients have completed the process in as little as 6 months. It depends on numerous factors like your age and oral health. But the process is always faster than traditional braces.
How to Get a Celebrity Smile
If you’re still curious about the procedures, the costs, and what it will take for you to achieve the perfect celebrity smile, the first step is to speak with an experienced cosmetic or restorative dentist. They can provide you with a custom consultation and help you to better understand your options. They can also go over your payment options and establish a game plan for your new smile.
We would all love to look like Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie on the red carpet. And while we might not all have the hair, the smoldering eyes, or the chiseled physique, we can certainly achieve brighter and more radiant Hollywood teeth. It all starts with a trip to the dentist.
