The Talker: Japanese pay big money for crooked teeth
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CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
There's a growing trend in Japan: paying to make your teeth more crooked.
Americans are expected to spend more than $100 billion on dental care this year. But not everyone in the world agrees on what makes a great smile.
For most of us the goal is teeth that are perfectly straight, and we'll do a lot to make it happen.
Strapping hunks of metal or plastic onto our teeth is practically a ritual in America. There's a lot of money to be made in orthodontics.
But the trend in Japan to pay big money for crooked teeth.
If you think the Japanese may have gotten a little wacky with this one, just look at American culture.
Have you noticed, lately, a lot of fashionistas with gaps between their teeth. It's a popular look in magazines and on the red carpet these days.
This isn't entirely new. A few decades ago Madonna brought sex appeal to gap teeth. Before her, Lauren Hutton was the gold standard of gap. She still might be.
On the show "America's Next Top Model," Tyra Banks once told gap-toothed contestant Chelsey Hersley that she should widen the gap in order to look more like Lauren Hutton. She is said to have had 1/4 millimeter shaved off her front teeth to widen the gap.
It's unclear how many dentists in America are actually doing this kind of work. FOX Chicago News didn't find any advertising for it online.
But there were several warnings posted saying this trend may be bad for your teeth.
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