SMOKER’S TEETH
THE fact that Kate has never had the perfect smile has always been part of her charm — and slightly set her apart from other supermodels.
In fact, according to Vogue, her ever so slightly lop- sided grin is also part of her ‘ineffable cool’.
However, it seems that years of smoking have definitely turned down the voltage on her smile.
Expert say milky white teeth are one of the clearest indicators of youth. So the fact that Kate allowed nicotine to turn hers a yellowy-grey is putting years on her.
With age, teeth also become more overcrowded — due to ‘mesial’ drift — or the natural tendency of the ligaments connecting them to shorten and pull them forward.
Dr Tif Qureshi, former president of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, says: ‘If the teeth are already crooked, they will be become more pronounced.
‘From pictures I’ve seen over the years, Kate has always had slightly crooked teeth and over time they will just get more crooked.’
The passing of the years is another reason her teeth look yellow.
Over time, the enamel starts to wear off, r evealing a softer substance called dentyne, which absorbs stains like a sponge.
Dental surgeon Zaki Kanaan, of Fulham and Hammersmith dentist K2 Dental, goes as far as to say that Kate has the teeth of a woman seven years older.
‘Basically, it’s the partying lifestyle. Let’s say you got drunk one night and don’t brush your teeth. The plaque, which is soft, will start to calcify in your mouth overnight like lime-scale in a kettle.
‘That makes it hard to remove and once that starts to build up between the teeth it starts to stain with tea and coffee because it’s not smooth.’
It’s also l i kely that Kate is becoming a bit ‘long in the tooth’, adds Mr Kanaan. ‘ The phrase is used to describe someone getting older, because as we age the gums r ecede and t he t eeth appear longer,’ he says.
Dentist Tim Bradstock-Smith, of the London Smile Clinic, says that in younger models, such as Cara, you will see about 3mm to 5 mm of front tooth below the lip.
‘But as wear and tear grinds them down and the lip starts to