I get that TicTac-white pearly smiles have lost their gleam, and good riddance to them. Yearning for physical perfection—encouraged by a greedy beauty culture intent on feeding it—is a debilitating waste of energy. But in this case, I think fawning over a rejection of perfection is misplaced. Complimenting Wood and Le Bon solely for an imperfection many people can’t afford to fix is like telling a cash-strapped friend without the money for a car how well-toned she looks because she has to walk 10 miles to work.
As Allure has reported before, even among American adults with private health insurance, only half have dental coverage for basic oral hygiene appointments, much less orthodontic care. Whatever the reason these very talented actresses have chosen not to correct their toothy misalignments, it is a choice. One that a lot of people don’t have. There is a vast difference between the gleaming rows of piano-key teeth that have overtaken our screens in the last decade and basic orthodontia that corrects the wonky bites and crowding that can lead to gum inflammation, jaw pain and headaches, even tooth loss over time. In many cases, “fixing” your teeth is just basic medical care.
Courtesy of HBO
The smiles in question would also perhaps feel like more of a “revelation,” a rejection of stereotypes, if they belonged to different characters. Ask yourself: Why are these two the dentally challenged ones, among a cast replete with examples of the service class as well as the super-rich, all of whom seem to have better access to dental care? The answer is clear: Because their teeth are an instant and powerful cue to their social status: Young, gorgeous, toothsomely turned-out, but not wealthy or sophisticated enough to invest in improving their dental affairs. All of the resort guests with money and agency have exactly the teeth you would expect from their class: straight, white, unworthy of press coverage.
In spite of the positive attention showered on these two Hollywood heroines this month, research shows that for most of us, discolored or crooked teeth have a negative impact on social perceptions, and even on a person’s economic stability. A study published in the Journal of Human Resources in 2010, called “The Economic Value of Teeth,” found that “consumer and possibly employer discrimination [are] the main channels through which oral health affects earnings.”
Of course, aesthetics vary culturally; in Japan (where I live almost half the year), an imperfect smile with slightly crooked teeth (yaeba) is considered by some to be fetching. (Though the young people I know here are Invisalign believers.) It’s worth noting that Le Bon is Canadian and Wood is British—she has said before that she couldn’t convincingly be cast as an American because of her teeth. (The first interaction Chloe has with Chelsea in the show: “I love your teeth. You’re from England, right?”)