Imperfect Is In
Date: February 6, 2015Category: Author: Infinity Dental Web
The “London Gap” has been popular in the world of modeling since roughly 2010. It refers to the gap between the two front teeth some models now sport. No one is able to take full credit for starting this trend which seemed to become ubiquitous all at once, but instead a host of women all sporting midline diastema (the medical name for the gap) get credit for mainstreaming the look. Anna Paquin of “True Blood”, and Elizabeth Moss of “Mad Men” led the TV charge, while Vanessa Paradis and Madonna brought the look to the singing world. In the fashion world Georgia May Jagger (daughter of Mick), Lara Stone, Lindsey Wixson, Ashley Smith and Abbey Lee Kershaw all proudly possess smiles with “London Gaps”, refusing photoshop touchups or a veneer to hide their imperfection. Fashion execs say they flocked to this new look because it was “quirky”. It was a way of skirting around the given standards for beauty.
Now people actually go to the dentist to have a gap put in between their teeth. Fortunately, there is no real harm in this procedure, from a dental standpoint, as long as you have enough room in your jaw to accommodate the gap. As many things in the fashion world are, this trend seems to be fleeting. The number of gap toothed models is no longer increasing, probably because it is no longer looked at as the ‘it’ thing. Eyebrows are now big, but who knows for how long.
In Japan a different type of dental flaw has slowly been gaining popularity, so much so that there are now many dentists that are offering a new type of procedure. It has become fashionable to have a snaggletooth, or snaggleteeth. This means that your canine teeth stick out of your mouth a little, snagging your bottom lip when you close your mouth. To achieve this look, referred to as the ‘yaeba’ look in Japan, a dentist will glue a temporary or permanent crown onto your tooth that is specially shaped to stick out of your mouth just a tiny bit.
Proponents of the procedure say it gives girls an “impish” look that many find attractive. Like the “London Gap” trend, nobody is really sure who started it. They point to Japan’s odd obsession, at least from a Western perspective, with cuteness as a possible starting point. However it probably also stems in part from a deeper class and cultural background that is too murky to navigate. This trend has yet to leave Japan, and there is a good chance that it will never catch on in the Western world, but the “London Gap” did open the fashion world up to teeth that aren’t perfectly aligned, so we will have to wait and see if the snaggletooth can travel across the ocean. It makes you wonder if it will one day be fashionable to have crooked teeth? I doubt it.
Dr. Mike Malone and his team practice expert cosmetic dentistry in Lafayette, LA. Dr. Malone is the former president and current accredited member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is also the official Cosmetic Dentist of the Miss Louisiana USA and Miss Louisiana Teen USA pageants. Check out his website for more information.