How, at 36, the Duchess of Sussex looks 'just young enough'
With little more than muted smoky eyes and barely a smear of pink on her lips, the focus of The Duchess of Sussex’s bridal beauty look was her sparking smile and natural freckly complexion. What a clever move.
A bride’s most on-show facial asset is her smile, so it’s hardly shocking that smile enhancement is one of the biggest investments brides make before they say I do. And, according to cosmetic dentists Meghan Markle is smile everyone wants now.
Profile | The Duchess of Sussex
Neither too bright, nor cookie-cutter straight, Markle’s smile is uncommonly natural for a former Hollywood starlet, and it is changing the focus of cosmetic dentistry from perfection to proportion. ‘Everyone is talking about Meghan Markle’s smile,’ says Dr. Emma Laing from Harley Street Dental Clinic. ‘Whereas five years ago women would enquire about perfect Hollywood veneers, now it’s all about natural looking teeth that are in golden proportion.’
Based on Italian mathematician, Fibonacci’s golden ratio, the measure of a beautiful natural smile starts with the width your six front teeth. If you invisibly draw a line down the middle of your front teeth, the ideal width ratio would be 1.6 (central incisor) to 1 (lateral incisor) to 0.6 (canine). While this sounds like a pernickety point to make, adjusting this balance of your teeth is a less invasive tweak to make than, say, a full set of veneers. ‘Thanks to digital scanners, Orthondotics is surpassing invasive cosmetic procedures because the results are so precise and bespoke now - it’s not just about straightening crooked teeth anymore, tweaking the proportion of your smile makes a big impact,’ explains Dr. Emma Laing.
The 6 tiny tweaks to golden proportions:
Widen the buccal corridors for a confidence boost
‘Meghan Markle is confident to smile widely for the camera because her teeth fill her mouth fully,’ explains Dr. Emma Laing. Buccal corridors is the dental term used to describe the dark gaps or corridors at the outer corners of a smile in someone with a narrow dental arch. ‘An invisible brace can widen the backs of the teeth to reduce the buccal corridors in a few short months, which can completely change the proportions of someone’s smile,’ explains Dr. Emma Laing.
Reveal just-enough gums
Dentist and aesthetic parctitioner, Dr Krystyna from www.blushandblowlondon.com says when a smile is in golden proportion, the top lip should sit just above the teeth, showing the right balance of gum to teeth. There are two tweaks to correct a gummy smile: Crown lengthening, which is done by laser gum contouring or minor surgery, or Botox. ‘I am increasingly asked to inject Botox to correct a gummy smile. All it takes is one injection either side of the nose to relax the muscles above the top lip so that when you smile less gum is on show; it is the subtlest and least invasive way to reduce a gummy smile,’ explains Dr. Michael Prager.
Tooth contours should follow the shape of your lips
‘Five years ago the trend was for veneers with straight, square edges, yet the natural line of our teeth is more rounded with some variation in length,’ explains Dr. Krystyna who says dental contouring is a new tweak used to make the edges more rounded and feminine, a bit like having a rounded manicure as opposed to a square angular shape. To create a natural balance, the edge of your top teeth should follow the line of your top lip when you smile. ‘I use a buffing tool to very gently file and contour the edges of teeth to look more rounded and feminine.’
It’s all about the middle line
The centre of the two front teeth should be in alignment with the mid line of the face. ‘Correcting a slight asymmetry with aligners, like Invisalign, can be more game changing than closing a gap or adjusting a crooked tooth; Symmetrical proportions are often more aesthetically pleasing than perfection,’ explains Dr. Krystyna.
Teeth as bright as your eyes
The assumption with teeth whitening is that brighter is better. But going too bright will create facial in-balance. ‘The reason veneers don’t look natural is that they are too white and they haven’t got the translucency of natural tooth enamel, which reflects the light and creates this 3 dimensional glow. We are doing more at-home teeth whitening with patients now as it’s a more gradual natural whitening process – you keep going until you reach the brightness that’s right for you.’ The shade of golden proportion? ‘Teeth that match the whites of your eyes is the most youthful shade,’ explains Dr. Emma Laing at Harley Street Dental Clinic. For an instant fix, try enhancing your natural whiteness with a blue toned pink lip colour in a sheer texture.
Tinted lip colours that work
Charlotte Tilbury The Duchess £24.
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