Celebrities with Braces
“Stars—They’re just like us!” That’s what celebrity magazines and websites like to say when they run pictures of stars doing ordinary things. “They go for bike rides!” “They shop at grocery stores!” “They play with their dogs in the park!”
And there’s one more thing the magazines should point out: “They go to the orthodontist and get braces!”
In actuality, it’s not hard to find images of celebrities with braces. Braces are common among the famous and non-famous alike.
Teenagers
Adolescence is an ideal time for orthodontic work, because it’s when adult teeth have come in but jaws and bites are still forming. More than 70% percent of American children will wear braces by the time they’re 18. It’s also estimated that 75% of current orthodontic patients are teenagers. Therefore, it’s not surprising that teenage celebrities or those who have grown up in the public eye have had braces. Some of them include:
- Emma Watson – Best known for her role of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films, Watson wore braces when she was around 15.
- Dakota Fanning – The film actress, who had her big break at age 7, has been seen in braces, headgear and retainers.
- Prince Harry – The British royal had perhaps a decade of orthodontic work. His brother, Prince William, wore braces too.
- Taylor Swift – Before and after pictures reveal that this chart-topping singer certainly had orthodontic work done.
Adults
If three-quarters of Americans currently in braces are teenagers, that means that one-quarter of orthodontic patients are adults. And naturally, some of these adults are celebrities.
- Faith Hill – The singer was seen in braces at the 2013 Grammy Awards.
- Gwen Stefani – This rock star’s family couldn’t afford braces when she was a kid, but it wasn’t a problem for her once she hit it big.
- Tom Cruise – As one of the first A-list stars to appear in public wearing braces, it made the news in 2002 when Cruise was 40.
- Faye Dunaway – This glamorous, Academy Award-winning actress, whose peak of fame was in the ’60s and ’70s, got braces at the age of 61.
Other stars that have been in orthodontic treatment as adults include Katherine Heigl, Oprah Winfrey, and Heidi Klum.
Celebrities conduct their careers in the public eye so a straight smile to them means more than good oral health and self-confidence. It’s their livelihood. With advances in inconspicuous treatments like Invisalign and lingual (behind-the-teeth) braces, your favorite star could be in braces now and you might not even know it.