A smile can make or break a career, and no cosmetic treatment proves that better than veneers. These thin, custom shells fit over natural teeth to refine their shape, color, and alignment. Veneers are a long-term go-to for anyone chasing that flawless grin, but Hollywood offers the most eye-catching proof.
This photo-packed feature highlights some of the most jaw-dropping veneers before and after moments in celebrity history. From subtle upgrades to full red-carpet overhauls, here are 15 stars whose smile makeovers turned minor imperfections into iconic trademarks.
#1 Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman’s early smile was full of quiet charm. Photos from the 1980s show a midline gap and a bit of unevenness that matched his laid-back, authentic vibe. By the mid-2000s, his teeth had yellowed, with staining clearly visible in the “before” photo.
After his 2008 car accident, Freeman started showing up with a much brighter, more uniform smile. Avangart Clinic points to whitening and veneers as likely fixes. These would have closed the gap and evened out both color and alignment.
Around the same time, International Plus suggests he may have gotten an implant to replace a chipped tooth. By 2018, the transformation was clear.
Image source: Fotos International / Getty Images, Francois G. Durand / Getty Images
#2 Nicolas Cage
During the filming of Birdy (1984), Nicolas Cage’s teeth were a bit of a mess: crooked, gapped, and totally un-Hollywood.
Archer Dental even reports he yanked out baby teeth without anesthesia just to stay true to his gritty role.
But that wild smile didn’t last. By the early ’90s, Cage had cleaned up his grin. His teeth were straighter, brighter, and way more camera-ready.
Europe Dental Clinic suggests he kept refining his smile into the 2000s with consistent dental care. Experts at International Plus believe he went all in: veneers, crowns, whitening, maybe even implants.
Image source: LGI Stock / Getty Images, Victoria Sirakova / Getty Images
#3 Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey’s smile has been one of his best comedic tools, and his chipped front tooth is just as iconic as some of his roles.
International Plus notes that he even removed a dental cap for Dumb and Dumber to make Lloyd Christmas’s goofy grin stand out more.
The chip itself came from an accident earlier in life, and Carrey covered it with bonding. After the movie, Perfect White Smile reports he had the tooth restored with veneers.
He didn’t stop there. Carrey has had whitening, lower tooth alignment, and other cosmetic work to polish his smile.
For The Mask, he wore removable prosthetics that exaggerated his teeth even more, cementing one of his most cartoonish looks.
Image source: Archive Photos / Getty Images, Vivien Killilea / Getty Images
#4 Demi Moore
Early in her career, Demi Moore’s natural smile showed visible discoloration, as seen in the 1990s photo. It was far from the high-gloss Hollywood aesthetic she’s known for today.
In 2017, her smile drew attention for another reason. On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, shared on YouTube, Demi revealed she had lost both of her top front teeth, joking they had “sheared off.” This wasn’t just a dental joke. Stress was the actual cause.
She later underwent extensive restoration. Cosmetic dentist Michael J. Wei, DDS, believes she opted for porcelain veneers to even out the size, shape, and shade of her teeth.
Image source: Kypros / Getty Images, Lionel Hahn / Getty Images
#5 Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise’s million-dollar smile has been a work in progress since childhood. Antlara Dental reports he fractured a front tooth at age 10, which led to a root canal and crown.
In The Outsiders (1983), he embraced the flaws, wearing a pale crown and adding tooth gaps for his gritty role.
By 2002, he appeared at the ShoWest Gala with nearly invisible braces, alongside Steven Spielberg. Europe Dental Clinics notes that he completed the straightening process with porcelain veneers to sharpen the shape and whiten his teeth.
His 2025 Cannes photo shows the final product.
Image source: Scott Harrison / Getty Images, Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images
#6 Zac Efron
Zac Efron’s early red-carpet days featured a memorable gap between his front teeth that made his smile instantly recognizable. The 2004 photo captures that signature look.
But by the time High School Musical mania hit in 2006, the gap had quietly vanished. Medical Dental Turkey reports that his teeth were subtly reshaped for a more polished appearance.
Cosmetic dentist Dr. Sam Jethwa of Bespoke Smile believes composite bonding was likely used to refine the spacing and contours. If not bonding, he suggests Efron may have opted for ultra-thin veneers on his top four teeth, since the canines remained untouched.
Efron hasn’t publicly addressed the work, but experts agree his updated smile looks balanced.
Image source: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images, Joe Scarnici / Getty Images
#7 Viktoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham rarely smiles for cameras today, but back in the late ’90s, she often did. The 1997 before-photo shows her with a narrower arch, teeth that leaned inward, and what dentists call a deep bite.
Europe Dental Clinic notes these traits made fewer teeth visible when she smiled. However, her choice to smile less isn’t smile-related.
She told Glamour, “I’m smiling on the inside. I feel I have a responsibility to the fashion community.”
In recent years, her smile has quietly evolved. Visit & Med Care credits veneers, whitening, and likely some orthodontics.
Hello! reports she now has porcelain veneers on her top teeth, and maybe her bottom ones too. The result is a fuller, brighter smile, even if she rarely shows it.
Image source: John Stanton / Getty Images, Steve Granitz / Getty Images
#8 Miley Cyrus
During her Hannah Montana era, Miley Cyrus’s smile stood out almost as much as her voice, especially due to a prominent “gummy smile” that made her teeth appear shorter.
She’s one of the rare celebrities who has openly discussed her dental evolution. In a 2015 Time interview, Miley said she wore braces during her Disney years but removed them early due to image pressure: “I had to take them off immediately because of the way I looked… If I was me now, I would have been like, ‘F— you… But I didn’t have that in my mind then.”
By the early 2010s, her smile started changing. Antlara Dental credits gum contouring for balancing out her gum line and making her teeth appear longer. Then, according to Dent Helen Clinic, she likely completed the transformation with porcelain veneers to enhance brightness, shape, and symmetry.
Image source: Lawrence Lucier / Getty Images, Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images
#9 Emma Roberts
In her Unfabulous days, Emma Roberts had a teen smile full of character. It was slightly crooked and spaced, but completely natural for her age. The 2004 before-photo captures that early charm.
In 2011, she even called it out herself: “I have really crooked teeth, they give me character!” (via AZ Quotes). But by the mid-2010s, the transformation had clearly started. Her teeth appeared straighter and noticeably whiter.
According to Eaddy Dentistry, she went with braces and whitening by the time she appeared in Scream 4 and Scream Queens.
Lygos Dental suggests she later refined the look with veneers on her lateral incisors to sharpen and brighten her front teeth.
Image source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Vera Anderson / Getty Images
#10 Gwen Stefani
Back in 1999, Gwen Stefani rocked metal braces like only she could, pairing them with pink hair and a punk edge.
She later told Showbiz Cheat Sheet she waited until she got rich to afford orthodontic work. Totally on brand, and not unlike the husband who saved up for years to fix his wife’s teeth.
That was just her starting point. Once her teeth were straighter and whiter, she likely moved on to more advanced procedures.
Europe Dental Clinic says veneers probably helped refine the shape and symmetry.
Beauty sites like The Scottish Sun agree that veneers played a key role in her transformation.
Image source: Ron Galella / Getty Images, Steve Granitz / Getty Images
#11 Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa’s 2016 smile had a casual, edgy feel. It was slightly uneven with a bit of spacing, but still effortlessly cool. As her career took off, so did her dental game.
Europe Dental Clinic says she probably started with Invisalign or other clear aligners to straighten things out, then used dental crowns to refine the shape.
According to TikTok creator @veneercheck, veneers likely followed, helping fine-tune symmetry and tooth size. The final result is pure red-carpet polish.
Image source: Tim P. Whitby / Getty Images, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images
#12 Demi Lovato
Before Camp Rock made her a household name, Demi Lovato had a noticeable gap in her front teeth. You can see it clearly in a 2007 clip shared on TikTok. She later closed it with orthodontic treatment, though she has admitted she regrets doing so.
In a 2016 Allure interview, Demi explained Disney pushed her to fix the gap before filming. “I wish today that I hadn’t, because my gap was really cute,” she said.
Experts at Lema Clinic believe she went on to enhance her smile with porcelain veneers, whitening, and possibly more orthodontic work. The result is a polished, balanced look that shines on stage and screen.
Image source: @throwback_lovato / Instagram, Rachel Murray / Getty Images
#13 Arnold Schwarzenegger
Back in his bodybuilding days, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gap-toothed grin was as recognizable as his muscles. The diastema gave him a rugged, approachable charm in classics like The Terminator.
Over time, the gap disappeared. Lema Clinic points out he once leaned toward keeping things natural, but his later photos suggest he chose a little help.
By the 2000s, his teeth looked straighter, whiter, and far more polished, likely the result of crowns, veneers, and whitening. By the 2010s, his smile had fully shifted into a Hollywood-ready look.
Image source: lan Cook / Getty Images, Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images
#14 21 Savage
For years, 21 Savage’s grills were as much his trademark as his music. Then in 2021, he surprised fans with a brand-new smile.
On Twitter, he clapped back at critics: “I paid 75K I’ll be damned if I let y’all say these teeth ain’t mine.”
Lema Clinic says the upgrade went way beyond losing the grills, with veneers and possibly implants creating his straighter, sharper look. Antlara Dental adds that his trademark gap is gone, another sign that veneers were involved.
Still, he kept a touch of his old style. Recent Instagram shots show him mixing a polished smile with a couple of gold teeth, blending rap grit with Hollywood gloss.
Image source: Prince Williams / Getty Images, Prince Williams / Getty Images
#15 Cristiano Ronaldo
In his early Manchester United days, Cristiano Ronaldo’s teeth showed obvious flaws. The 2004 photo reveals crooked alignment, visible gaps, and a likely missing or shifted lateral incisor, along with a prominent gummy smile.
Between 2003 and 2005, Europe Dental Clinics reports that he wore ceramic braces to align his teeth. Afterward, he likely filled the missing incisor with a dental implant and brightened his enamel with professional whitening treatments.
From 2010 to 2014, Ronaldo reportedly added about twelve ultra-thin porcelain veneers, matched to the bright B1 shade. The goal was consistency in size, color, and shape across his front teeth.
To reduce the gummy look, Clinic One suggests he may have had gum contouring, reshaping the line for a cleaner finish.
Image source: John Peters / Getty Images, Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images
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