They say that a smile is worth a thousand words, so it’s no wonder that so many celebrities choose to improve their teeth with dental work. But what about Taylor Swift – has she fallen victim to Hollywood’s high beauty standards?
Taylor Swift doesn’t wear a retainer, but she did in the past. After having braces as a young teenager, Taylor wore a retainer to maintain the alignment of her teeth. Since then, however, Swift has permanently perfected her smile with veneers.
Taylor is not the first pop star to get veneers and she certainly won’t be the last. But, unlike some, she’s opted for a subtle, natural look that is difficult to detect. How did Taylor decide to get veneers? Keep reading, because in this article we’ll be exploring the timeline of Taylor’s dental work.
Braces
Taylor has never explicitly confirmed whether she has had braces, but there’s a handful of evidence that suggests she has. Looking at photos of Taylor as a child, we can see that she once had quite crooked teeth.
Here’s where it gets confusing. There are no photos of Taylor with traditional train track braces, but when she first came onto the music scene in 2004 she had a perfectly straight smile. So it’s unclear how, or when, Taylor’s teeth transformation occurred.
It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that Swift comes from an affluent background. Perhaps she had invisible braces such as Invisalign or lingual braces that sit on the reverse of the teeth? This would explain why there’s no documentation of Taylor with braces.
Retainers
When it comes to Taylor’s teeth, the one thing she has clarified is her use of a retainer. In a video from 2011Taylor is captured in a dental surgery getting a mold of her teeth taken. She goes on to say that she has lost her retainers as she left them in a hotel room.
Further evidence comes from a video posted on Tumblr that shows Taylor teaching fans how to tie a bracelet. In the video, Swift speaks with a noticeable lisp, which leads to the belief that she is wearing a retainer.
It’s unclear whether Taylor wore retainers to maintain the alignment of her straightened smile, or if she wore invisible retainers, such as Invisalign, to straighten her smile. With a net worth of $360 million, perhaps she had both?
Veneers
Despite already having a red carpet ready smile, Taylor went on to get porcelain veneers fitted to her teeth. Porcelain veneers are bonds that are put on top of the teeth to improve their appearance.
Again it’s unclear when this happened. But if you compare photos of Taylor’s teeth in 2007 with photos from 2020, you’ll see there’s a noticeable difference. In the past Swifts canine tooth was positioned higher than the rest of her teeth, creating a noticeable step between her incisors and her canines. Nowadays, Taylor’s teeth are fuller and accurately positioned, which makes the bottom line perfectly straight.
Eagle-eyed fans have also spotted that Taylor has a habit of licking her teeth a lot, which is a common trait in people with veneers. Porcelain veneers feel dryer than regular teeth, creating a foreign sensation in the mouth.
Accidental Damage
Further confirmation that Taylor has veneers comes from an incident that took place in 2013. Whilst performing in Pittsburgh as part of her sold-out Redtour, Taylor chipped one of her front teeth on her microphone.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, she said:
“I try to be really quick with the microphone […] so I really quickly pulled my mic up to sing and basically uppercut punched myself in the tooth.”
Swift went on to admit that she saw the tooth fall onto the stage and spent the rest of the gig wondering about the extent of the damage. In any case, Taylor decided to Shake It Off and her smile was pristine again by the next tour date.