Kylie Jenner is one of the most famous celebrities and influencers in the world, with over 300 million followers across social media platforms. She first gained fame as the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner family on their hit reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Over the years, fans have watched Kylie grow up and transform before their eyes. One of the most noticeable changes has been to Kylie’s smile. When she first appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians as a child, Kylie had noticeably small, uneven teeth. However, in recent years her smile has become picture-perfect, leading many to speculate that she got dental work done to fix her teeth.
So did Kylie really fix her teeth? Let’s take a closer look at the evolution of her smile over the years and examine the evidence.
Kylie’s Teeth as a Child
When Kylie first stepped into the spotlight on her family’s reality show in 2007, she was just 10 years old. At the time, her teeth were visibly small and uneven. Her top front teeth overlapped each other and had noticeable gaps on the sides. Her bottom teeth were also quite small and crowded together.
Photos from Kylie’s early teen years show that her smile remained largely the same, with crooked, uneven teeth. This led her to be self-conscious about her smile, often keeping her mouth closed in photos or using her hands to cover her teeth.
As a young teenager starting to grow up in the public eye, the imperfections in Kylie’s smile were often targeted by bullies online and in the media. In 2011, when she was just 14, Kylie addressed the criticism over her teeth in an interview, saying:
“I hate my teeth! I want veneers so bad, but I’m scared because you have to shave your teeth down and once you shave them, you can never go back.”
This early interview indicates that Kylie was considering dental work to improve her smile from a young age. But at the time, she was still too hesitant to make any permanent changes.
Kylie’s Transformed Smile
In 2013, when Kylie was 16 years old, her smile suddenly looked noticeably different. Her teeth appeared straighter and more even. The gaps were closed and her teeth looked longer and less crowded.
Of course, some subtle dental changes are normal during the teenage years as wisdom teeth come in and teeth shift. However, the transformation in Kylie’s smile seemed too significant to be attributed to natural growth alone.
By 2014, Kylie’s teeth looked perfect. Her top teeth were a uniform size and color with no gaps or overlaps. Her bottom teeth appeared straight and proportional. Overall, her smile looked wider, brighter and picture-perfect.
Kylie’s smile continued to look amazing in the following years up until today. Her teeth are straight, white and evenly sized. When she shows off her smile, her teeth appear almost luminescent.
The dramatic change in the appearance of Kylie’s teeth over a short period of time in her mid-teenage years strongly points to cosmetic dentistry procedures to enhance her smile.
What Procedures Did Kylie Get?
Though Kylie has never publicly specified exactly what dental treatments she received, cosmetic dentists who have assessed her smile transformation agree that several procedures are likely involved:
- Porcelain veneers – These thin shells are bonded to the front of teeth to change their shape, size, color and alignment. Veneers are the most likely procedure Kylie had done to fix gaps, overlaps and unevenness in her teeth.
- Teeth whitening treatments – Her teeth appear several shades whiter and brighter than her childhood smile. Professional whitening treatments can achieve this transformation.
- Orthodontics – Clear braces or Invisalign could have helped straighten her bottom teeth and adjust the alignment of her bite.
- Dental bonding – This can alter tooth shape and fill in chips or gaps, which may have been useful for small cosmetic tweaks.
With a combination of these procedures, cosmetic dentists can dramatically transform a smile like Kylie’s. However, they do require shaving down the teeth to prep them for veneers. So if Kylie did get veneers, she committed to permanently changing her natural teeth at a young age.
When Did Kylie Get Her Smile Makeover?
Though the exact timeline is uncertain, cosmetic dentists speculate that Kylie likely got her smile makeover in stages:
- Age 13-15: Orthodontics like Invisalign to straighten her bottom teeth.
- Age 15-16: Professional teeth whitening treatments to brighten her smile.
- Age 16-17: Porcelain veneers placed across her top teeth to fix alignment and shape issues.
- Follow-up treatments: Additional cosmetic bonding or veneers over time for maintenance.
The most transformative procedures, like veneers, most likely happened around age 16, when her smile radically changed in before and after photos. However, Kylie may have continued to get bonding and veneers after that to maintain the perfect appearance.
Why Did Kylie Get Dental Work Done?
While some celebrities are open about getting cosmetic procedures, Kylie has never directly confirmed what, if any, dental work she has had done. So we can only speculate about her motivations:
- Insecurity about her natural smile – Kylie was deeply insecure about her teeth since childhood.
- Desire for a picture-perfect “Hollywood smile” – Veneers gave Kylie a uniformly straight, white megawatt smile.
- Peer and media pressure about appearance – The Kardashian family prioritizes perfectionism with cosmetic treatments.
- To boost her confidence – Having the smile she always wanted likely boosted Kylie’s poise.
Considering how much Kylie’s uneven, imperfect smile bothered her from a young age, it’s likely she got dental work to achieve her ideal appearance and confidence.
The Kardashian family also normalizes cosmetic enhancement, which possibly influenced her choice. But it was likely ultimately driven by Kylie’s own desire to perfect her smile.
Response from Fans
Fans had mixed responses to the dramatic change in Kylie’s smile over a short time in her teens:
- Impressed – Many fans were wowed by how amazing her new smile looked.
- Concerned – Some felt she was too young for permanent dental work like veneers.
- Accusatory – Critics accused her of being dishonest about getting plastic surgery.
- Inspired – Other young girls with imperfect teeth were inspired to get their own smile makeovers.
While some worried Kylie was too young for veneers, or criticized her denial of plastic surgery, others saw her smile transformation as aspirational motivation.
Kylie’s Influence on Beauty Standards
As one of the biggest influencers and Gen Z icons today, Kylie has certainly contributed to setting unrealistic beauty standards through her cosmetically enhanced appearance.
Her perfect smile that she achieved through dental work at a young age conveys the message that imperfect teeth are something to be fixed. This can inspire insecurity and unnecessary cosmetic procedures for her millions of young fans.
However, as Kylie has gotten older, she seems to be embracing more of a natural look and showing her bare-faced complexion more often on social media. She also speaks openly about loving her daughter Stormi’s imperfections.
So while Kylie did feed into the trend of cosmetic procedures through her dental work, she may be shifting towards promoting self-love and embracing natural beauty. Only time will tell how her evolving perspective influences beauty standards going forward.
Conclusion
Based on the dramatic change in the appearance of her teeth over a short period of time during her teens, all evidence indicates that Kylie did get significant cosmetic dentistry to perfect her smile.
Specific treatments likely included veneers, braces, whitening and reshaping procedures. This smile makeover appears to have boosted her confidence, but also set an unrealistic standard for her millions of young fans.
While Kylie has not publicly confirmed the details, her smile transformation remains one of the most noticeable in her overall beauty evolution. For better or worse, she is sure to continue influencing beauty trends with the perfect smile she likely worked hard to achieve.
Age | State of Kylie’s Teeth |
---|---|
10 years old | Small, uneven, crowded teeth |
13-15 years old | Possibly got braces for straightening |
15-16 years old | May have gotten teeth whitening treatments |
16-17 years old | Likely got veneers applied to transform smile |
Present | Continues cosmetic treatments for maintenance |