It’s that time of the year again when we are thankful to the royal family for our Queen’s Birthday Monday holiday off.  In showing our royal appreciation this year The Smile Team takes a closer look at a couple of smiles that have interested us, and which may also be interesting to you.

Kate and Meghan have been popular additions to the royal family.  Both are beautiful individuals with beautiful smiles who are accomplished and respected.  Both are at the same age, but with differences in personality and style. Their teeth, smile, and dental treatment or lack of thereof also subtly shape how we unconsciously perceive them.

Firstly, lets analyze Kate’s smile. There are minor irregularities in the alignment of the upper teeth with signs of wear and tear on the edges of the teeth that we consider to form a natural pleasant smile.  Very few people have a completely symmetrical unworn smile.  What is slightly more obvious in terms of her dental alignment is the crowding of the lower teeth. Lower teeth crowding is very common among individuals, with teeth tending to get more and more crowded with age. Thankfully for most individuals any lower crowding is not very noticeable in the real world, and if you had picked out Kate’s lower crowding prior to this article then you’ve got a sharper eye than us as we’ve hadn’t noticed it prior to trawling through a few images in detail.

Other celebrities such a Will Ferrell show much more of their lower teeth, where the crowding is also much much more obvious. Whether or not to treat lower crowding that may or may not be visible is a very personal decision for each individual. If treatment is sought, Invisalign invisible braces is usually a great treatment solution. Our apologies too for somehow squeezing in a Ron Burgundy image in the middle of a royal article.

Another aspect of Kate’s smile is that she has colour variations within and between the teeth. For example the front teeth appear to be slightly whiter than the some of the back teeth.  This is again a totally natural characteristic of a healthy smile. The reason for this is to do with different teeth having different thicknesses of the inner (dentine) and outer (enamel) layers of tooth structure, reflecting light in such a way that it appears they are different in colour. Most individuals will have their 4 front teeth slightly whiter than the back teeth, and the eye teeth (number 3 from the front) usually appear as one of the darkest teeth because of this phenomenon.

It has been reported by The Telegraph newspaper that Kate’s dentist is a London based French dentist Dr Fillion who specializes in ‘harmonious asymmetry’.   It means that his treatment philosophies are to create and maintain smiles that are not 100% perfect, with a degree of asymmetry, perhaps different colours between teeth and within teeth.    This is to give off the appearance of natural life like teeth with individual character, and is certainly what we see in Kate’s smile.

Meghan’s teeth on the other hand, are bright, broad and straight.  However her teeth wasn’t always this perfect.  Going through high school Meghan had a large gap between her teeth, similar to those we have seen in celebrities such as comedian Dave Hughes, supermodel Jess Hart.  Gap teethed celebrity alumni also include Elton John, Madonna, Chris Martin, and oh, one Bridget Bardot.  Gaps are just an example of a natural variation in a smile that can add character to a smile and not necessarily detract from a smile.

Like Meghan, Zac Efron is another celebrity who once had a gap, but now doesn’t.  When closure of spaces are required on the front teeth, there are usually a couple of options that are a that are best.  Such gaps can be typically closed via orthodontic treatment, including Invisalign treatment.  Another way to close these central gaps is via porcelain veneer treatment.  Porcelain veneer treatment are carried out typically in pairs of 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 and are a little bit like having white porcelain contact lens for the teeth.

The bright white colour to Meghan’s smile may be as a result of either tooth whitening or veneers.  We know that dental colleagues are divided in whether they think the colour of Meghan’s smile is from tooth whitening or porcelain veneers.  The colour of Meghan’s teeth in some recent photos hint at porcelain veneer treatment which can achieve a whiter shade than what tooth whitening alone can achieve.  However, it could just be some royal photoshopping that is misleading us.

Whether you prefer Kate’s or Meghan’s smile may simply depend upon which part of the world you live in and the values you carry.  Most natural smiles are not perfect, and that’s totally okay because often the teeth are healthier that way for the long term.  Kate’s smile tends to be favoured in Europe where there is a greater appreciation of individuality for a fulfilling life (comparatively speaking and broadly generalizing).   Meghan’s smile is the quintessential American smile that signifies affluence, youth, health and career success, but is sometimes thought of as being fake in Europe (once again broadly generalizing).  These are just variations of different cultures, with absolutely neither being right or wrong.

What do you think about Kate and Meghan’s smiles? We would love to hear which one you prefer and why.  If you have found this article interesting, please like this article or The Smile Team Facebook page.

Whether it’s a gleaming Meghan Markle smile, or a natural Kate Middleton result, The Smile Team are the experts to help you maintain or achieve the smile you’re after. For your porcelain veneer, porcelain crown, whitening, Invisalign and general dental treatment, contact The Smile Team dentist in Balwyn North for personalized caring dentistry.

Here is a final image of just some of the considerations we take into account when creating smiles for our patients.  On top of this, understanding our patient’s personal preferences is an essential part of getting fantastic treatment results.