How Kate Middleton Gets Her Practically Perfect Smile
Princess 19 on 14 Dec 2011 at 5:00pm
What is the secret to the new Duchess of Cambridge's perfect smile? A French doctor in the UK is behind the exclusive technique.
The idea is to not have the perfectly aligned smile, but a slightly imperfect one. Dr. Didier Fillion has pioneered a procedure he calls "micro-rotation." To get Kate's royal grin, he uses a combination of invisible (behind the teeth) braces and slight teeth-shaving OR traditional veneers. The process is topped off by polishing and whitening.
"You know why they [Kate's teeth] look so good? Because they are not absolutely aligned," explained Dr. Bernard Touati, a friend of Dr. Fillion, to The Times.
The doctor explained that the American way of fixing imperfect teeth tends to make it more obvious when one gets work done - as their grin is too perfectly aligned. (Well, honestly, when have we ever been subtle?)
So, the fact that the Duchess' pearly whites have been transformed with no apparent explanation? Well, that was the goal.
"The problem in the United States is they have a very artificial vision. He [Dr. Fillion] did some little micro-rotations on Kate Middleton [to produce] something which is natural," he added.
"That is what we like; a natural healthy smile, but not artificial."
Natural-looking, indeed.
Dr. Fillion has yet to - and may never - confirm that the Duchess of Cambridge was his patient. Good thing his friend called him out, though, as that'll likely help the his practice immensely. (Of course if the future Queen of England is your patient, you probably don't need much help to begin with.)
If you are set on getting that royal gleam, it will set you back about $6,000-$17,000 and may take up to 2 years, depending on how naturally-enhanced you want to look in the end. Just remember that the price tag does not include airfare.
I kind of get the point, because you don't want to look like you have fake, ultra-reflective white teeth. But I think dentistry has come far enough that people can get perfect results without looking "done"... not unlike the old collagen lips look and how it has been replaced by the more subtler look of fillers like Juvederm, et al. You can get something done now without looking DONE.
So true!
Maybe it's my Americanism, but I'm so surprised by that "not quite aligned" idea. Particularly for a Royal. Maybe it's to make her seem more approchable? Will and Kate do seem to encourage that idea about themselves.
I think my teeth fall into the "almost perfectly aligned" category, but I sure wouldn't gripe if I had a Hollywood-worthy smile :)