Celebrities With Perfect Teeth: Natural, Fake, or Something in Between

From watching movies and looking at magazines and social media, you might think celebrities are born with thousand-watt smiles. Almost all of them appear to have been blessed with perfectly straight pearly whites and aligned bites. 

How many overbites, tooth discolorations or crowded mouths did you notice at the last awards show you watched? Probably none. 

However, that doesn’t mean that these A-listers, entertainers, and influencers started off with the smile of their dreams. Many struggled with cosmetic dental problems for years, even throughout the beginning of their careers. But at some point, they took steps to ensure that their imperfect smiles would never again stand in the way of their dreams. 

When looking at a celebrity’s smile, it’s not always easy to tell which cosmetic dental procedures they’ve had or whether they’ve just always had a great bite. But it’s easier to see some A-listers’ paths to their now-stunning smiles, based on interviews, before and after pictures, and what they’ve shared with the public.

Tom Cruise: confident asymmetry

There are few stars more famous than Tom Cruise, and few who have been so open about their cosmetic dental problems and progress.

Cruise bravely put his flawed teeth in the limelight for his part in 1983’s The Outsiders — a classic that also featured the likes of Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Diane Lane, Patrick Swayze, and Matt Dillon. 

To play the role of teenage greaser Steve Randle, Cruise offered to take the cap off a front tooth that had been chipped during hockey. The bold move worked, and it was a breakthrough role for him. The noticeable tooth added authenticity and put everyone’s eyes on Tom Cruise and his smile.

At the premiere for the movie Minority Report in 2002, Cruise (then age 40) openly wore clear braces in order to fix reported alignment and overbite issues.

His smile has continued to evolve throughout the years. The braces seemed to help with cosmetic bite issues, but for many years, his teeth’s alignment remained off, resulting in an off-center smile and what some dubbed as “Tom Cruise’s middle tooth.” 

Still, his confidence and smile improvement showed through. His smile's “imperfections” have never been an obstacle in his career or status as a Hollywood leading man. 

At recent events, Cruise’s smile seems even more improved than before and much more in alignment, with the front teeth lining up more properly to his nose. While the exact procedures he’s undergone remain private, some dentists have speculated that he’s received whitening and porcelain veneer treatments.

Lindsey Lohan: career & smile comeback

Lindsey Lohan hasn’t had the easiest time in the spotlight. Lohan found success as a child star in 1998’s The Parent Trap, then became a teen star with early 2000s hits like Mean Girls and Freaky Friday. 

But the era was ruthless on its celebrities, especially young female ones. During a time when Perez Hilton and the like made a career of cruelly dissecting the personal lives of stars, Lohan was always one of the top stories, known for hard-partying and substance abuse. 

In 2011, Lohan appeared at the premiere for video game Saints Row: The Third with teeth that appeared discolored and damaged. Headlines like “Lindsay Lohan Flashes Yellow, Decayed Teeth on Red Carpet” and “What's Up With Lindsay Lohan's Messed-Up Mouth? Here's What a Dentist Says...” soon followed. Experts chimed in with the explanation that Lohan’s teeth were wrecked from smoking, oral hygiene problems, and too much coffee. 

In 2014, Lohan’s teeth made news again when she insisted upon sedation drugs before undergoing dental surgery to treat a broken veneer on her reality show Lindsey Lohan, on the OWN Network. It was also revealed she had undergone root canal surgery under sedation while in rehab.

In 2021, it was announced that Lohan would be making her film comeback in a Netflix romantic comedy, and fans were thrilled. In recent pictures and on social media, her teeth were looking brighter and more dazzling than ever, perhaps due to bonding and bleaching procedures on her most visible teeth.

Dakota Johnson: gap, come back!

While many people consider a gap in between their front teeth to be a cosmetic “problem,” actress Dakota Johnson is looking for ways to get hers back. Johnson’s slight tooth gap was a recognizable part of her distinct look, but it disappeared unexpectedly after a dental procedure. 

The Fifty Shades of Grey star had a permanent retainer installed in her preteens. Around 2019, she had it removed on the advice of an orthodontist, who believed it may have been causing neck problems. But shortly after its removal, Johnson’s teeth shifted, and her signature gap was gone. 

Johnson expressed sadness about the gap’s disappearance and hopes to get it back through the many options available in modern dentistry.

Miley Cyrus: goodbye gums

Megastar Miley Cyrus had braces when she began her role as Hannah Montana around age 14 but was told to have them removed for the show (a decision she wasn’t happy about). It’s been reported that Cyrus then had lingual braces, which attach to the back of teeth rather than the front, attached. 

Her younger smile was also much more gum-forward, with teeth that appeared small. Experts have suggested Cyrus got porcelain veneers and possibly laser gum reshaping or removal.

Faith Hill: never too old for braces

Throughout her rise to county music stardom, Faith Hill has always donned a showstopping smile. But in 2013, the stunning singer (then 45) appeared at the Grammy’s with a full set of clear braces, and the press went wild. What happened to Faith Hill’s teeth?

Hill quickly set the record straight on a Phoenix radio station interview. She explained that she had braces as a youngster but hadn’t worn her retainer as instructed. Apparently, her teeth had shifted with age, and the clear braces were put on to help guide them back into place. 

“Kids, wear your retainer!” Hill advised.

Other celebrity teeth in the spotlight

Many other celebrities appear to have had some dental work done, including these stars:

• Zac Efron: His ever-changing style has included the disappearance of the gap between his front teeth.

• Nicole Kidman: She also had a gummy smile and is suspected of having some gum removal procedures and porcelain veneers.

• Pete Davidson: He revealed a subtly new smile (one without a noticeable gap in front) and closed out an appearance on Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update” with the announcement: “I got new teeth!”

• Cardi B: After being “trolled” on the internet for her imperfect bite, rapper Cardi B. made a return appearance on the reality show Love & Hip Hop: New York with a brand-new set of pearly whites.

• Hilary Duff: Her teeth have been the subject of some gossip and criticism. After damaging some front teeth on a microphone, Duff got veneers that some deemed too big and long for her face. She seems to have since replaced them with a perfectly fitting set.

• Teddi Mellencamp, Britney Spears, and Gabrielle Union: These stars have all shared selfies on social media wearing retainers or clear aligners.