combatentropy
Veteran
Do television make-up departments have a quick, temporary treatment to whiten all of the actors' teeth?
On a Seinfield rerun, I finally noticed that when Elaine smiled widely, her back teeth weren't as white as her front. As the episode wore on I paid attention to the teeth of other actors. A guest actress was the same way: very white front teeth but back teeth less white, only visible when she smiled big. I couldn't see the back teeth of Jerry or George, but their front teeth were every bit as white as Elaine's and the other actress's.
I'm just curious. I've always known that actors had super-white teeth, and I assumed they used teeth whitening chemicals a lot or had dropped a ton of money on dental veneers. But now I don't know, for a couple of reasons.
1. Teeth whitening. Okay, let's say it's the use of teeth whitening chemicals. Well, my teeth are never that white, even after a professional cleaning. However, I don't normally use whitening toothpaste nor have I paid for a professional whitening treatment at the dentist's office, because I've heard that whitening is abrasive. Even so, I'm not sure the people I know who have had their teeth whitened have teeth as white as I've seen on the screen. A few weeks ago I watched The Count of Monte Cristo, and teeth of the main actress, Dagmara Dominczyk, are just ridiculously white.
2. Dental veneers. Many celebrities get veneers, but I'm not sure that's what's going on with Seinfield either. How could this bit-part guest actress afford veneers? Julia Louis-Dreyfus could, but it seems she would get all of them done, so that when she smiles big there's not this noticeable back tooth that's darker. Plus, how do veneers stay white any longer than normal teeth? It seems to me that soon they would start to stain from coffee and stuff, just like regular teeth. I myself would get veneers only as a last resort, even if I was a multimillion-dollar celebrity, because the dentist first irreversibly files down your teeth and bonds these things to them. I would do it only if my teeth were also too crooked or something.
But all these actors' front teeth were really white --- and uniformly so, as if they all got the same treatment. So this got me wondering if right before each episode the make-up department has some kind of quick-and-dirty way (no pun intended) of whitening up all the talent's teeth. Stickers? Paint? Some temporary veneer-like plastic pieces that can be safely removed afterward? I don't know, I'm just throwing things out there.
---
Edit:
Maybe I should have searched for a still from the show before posting. In all of the ones of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, her back teeth are white too. Here is the closest example I could find. Julia's all look white, but the two backmost visible teeth on the other actress look like they might be less white. I don't know, it looks a little bit more than just a result of them being in deeper shadow. Plus, when I was watching the episode, it was even more noticeable. I mean, I wasn't even looking for it at first, and it jumped out at me.
On a Seinfield rerun, I finally noticed that when Elaine smiled widely, her back teeth weren't as white as her front. As the episode wore on I paid attention to the teeth of other actors. A guest actress was the same way: very white front teeth but back teeth less white, only visible when she smiled big. I couldn't see the back teeth of Jerry or George, but their front teeth were every bit as white as Elaine's and the other actress's.
I'm just curious. I've always known that actors had super-white teeth, and I assumed they used teeth whitening chemicals a lot or had dropped a ton of money on dental veneers. But now I don't know, for a couple of reasons.
1. Teeth whitening. Okay, let's say it's the use of teeth whitening chemicals. Well, my teeth are never that white, even after a professional cleaning. However, I don't normally use whitening toothpaste nor have I paid for a professional whitening treatment at the dentist's office, because I've heard that whitening is abrasive. Even so, I'm not sure the people I know who have had their teeth whitened have teeth as white as I've seen on the screen. A few weeks ago I watched The Count of Monte Cristo, and teeth of the main actress, Dagmara Dominczyk, are just ridiculously white.
2. Dental veneers. Many celebrities get veneers, but I'm not sure that's what's going on with Seinfield either. How could this bit-part guest actress afford veneers? Julia Louis-Dreyfus could, but it seems she would get all of them done, so that when she smiles big there's not this noticeable back tooth that's darker. Plus, how do veneers stay white any longer than normal teeth? It seems to me that soon they would start to stain from coffee and stuff, just like regular teeth. I myself would get veneers only as a last resort, even if I was a multimillion-dollar celebrity, because the dentist first irreversibly files down your teeth and bonds these things to them. I would do it only if my teeth were also too crooked or something.
But all these actors' front teeth were really white --- and uniformly so, as if they all got the same treatment. So this got me wondering if right before each episode the make-up department has some kind of quick-and-dirty way (no pun intended) of whitening up all the talent's teeth. Stickers? Paint? Some temporary veneer-like plastic pieces that can be safely removed afterward? I don't know, I'm just throwing things out there.
---
Edit:
Maybe I should have searched for a still from the show before posting. In all of the ones of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, her back teeth are white too. Here is the closest example I could find. Julia's all look white, but the two backmost visible teeth on the other actress look like they might be less white. I don't know, it looks a little bit more than just a result of them being in deeper shadow. Plus, when I was watching the episode, it was even more noticeable. I mean, I wasn't even looking for it at first, and it jumped out at me.
Last edited:
] but I will say that I've used those white strips for my own teeth in the past [they do work over several weeks/months!] But the strips only cover the teeth mentioned here. They don't reach around to the back half. So My front-er teeth are a bit more white than the back.