The former glamour model Katie Price has made headlines for a variety of reasons. And “Katie Price teeth” has been one of them. After a skateboarding accident when she was just ten years old, the reality star had an unfortunate early start to her dental journey. And it hasn’t always been pleasant. But, first, some introductions are in order.
Who Is Katie Price?
Katie Price, once also known as Jordan, earned fame through her modelling career where she appeared in Page 3 tabloid newspaper The Sun and men’s lifestyle and entertainment magazine Playboy. The reason why she chose the name “Jordan” was that she thought it was more catchy than “Katie.” But that’s not the only reason why. She revealed that her mother “didn’t want people to know I was her daughter.”
While her actual name was Katrina Amy Alexandria Alexis Infield, she changed it and took the surname of Paul Price after her mother’s marriage to him. Now, she is known as Katie Price. The mother of five has dabbled with reality TV, singing, and writing.
Katie Price Teeth: What Happened & When?
As mentioned above, Katie Price first broke her teeth in a skateboarding accident when she was 10, so she admitted to always having “crowns and veneers.” It’s her three trips to Turkey that we know of.
The 2017 & 2019 Trip to Turkey
Back in 2017, the Brighton girl recounted her experience with getting dental treatment in Turkey. However, it didn’t end well, as the star ended up experiencing an allergic reaction to penicillin in the antibiotics that she was given for post-op care.
While she was on her way to make an appearance on “Loose Women,” she fell very ill and remained sick for days. That’s not all. The star also recounts being in a lot of pain; she had stitches inside her mouth, and she was “all bruised.” In an interview on Good Morning Britain, while still undergoing dental treatment, she also admitted to having mouth ulcers. Anyway, the model did say that she was happy with the final results.
The reason why she chose Turkey was that she said that it was “more advanced than over here.” In 2019, the star had matching “veneers” with her ex-boyfriend Kris Boyson in Turkey for £7,000.
The 2020 Trip To Turkey
It was in 2020 that Katie Price’s teeth made headlines again after she posted a video of them on her YouTube channel. The video has over 600,000 views. It’s basically a vlog of her experience with the clinic and how the procedure went.
What shocked many people was the model’s actual teeth without the dental restorations. They had been shaved down to small, pointy stubs. One of the front ones was metallic. She compared her teeth to the iconic Bond villain Jaws, who appeared in the films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. “I’m feeling good. Just numb. I look like something out of James Bond. The man with metal teeth” is what she said while she had her “gums frozen”.
Katie wasn’t alone in getting new teeth. Her then-boyfriend Carl Woods was also with her, and they were getting a kind of couples treatment. In their first appointment, the impressions of their teeth were taken. Katie had temporary teeth fitted in, and a few days later, they came back for the final restorations.
Around this time, Katie had also experienced an injury to both her feet. While her temporary crowns were taken out, she said, “Oh you can’t film me, that’s so bad! How awful is that?!” But then went on to say, “No pain, no gain, if you wanna get your teeth done, you have to look like that.”
Meanwhile, Carl Woods was getting veneers, and he, for some reason, had his teeth shaved down quite a lot! Keep in mind that this is not how teeth are prepped for veneers. Even he himself said, “Oh, look at the size of them!” Anyway, at the end of the day, both of them were pretty satisfied with their results.
Why Did Katie Price’s Real Teeth Look Like That?
Here, it is important to make a distinction between veneers and crowns. In Katie’s own video, she comes to realise later (during the second appointment) that the treatment she was getting (crowns) was different from Carl Woods’ (veneers).
Veneers are thin shells that only cover the front surface of the teeth, while crowns are whole caps that surround the entirety of the teeth. Because of that, they both require different teeth-prepping techniques. For crowns, the teeth are shaved down so that the size of the cap can be accommodated. That’s why Katie Price’s teeth looked like that.
However, teeth prepping for veneers is quite minimal. The enamel removed is of equal thickness to the veneer so that it doesn’t appear unnatural. So, really it didn’t seem like it was necessary for Carl Woods to have his teeth shaved down to that extent.
Katie Price’s Dental Decision: Was It The Right One?
Here, we’ll only talk about her dental visits to Turkey. Since we do not know the kind of damage Katie incurred after her childhood accident, we can’t say whether or not she needed full-mouth dental crowns. However, getting them so early comes with its own problems, which we’ll discuss later.
Problems With The First Treatment Trip
On the first trip, although she experienced some problems, she did seem happy with the final results. The problem is that hospitals ask for the medical history of patients before they proceed with the treatment. In these forms, the patient discloses their allergies (food and medication). So, her penicillin allergic reaction could have been avoided.
She also said that she had stitches inside her mouth. It is possible that she had a crown lengthening procedure, where the removal of gum tissues exposes more of the tooth surface. As a result, the crown stays in place better. So, that would be understandable. Pain and ulcers are also side effects of this procedure.
Problems With The Second Treatment Trip
The problem with the second visit was that it occurred too “soon” after the first one. Normally, crowns last for 10-15 years. However, Katie showed that some of her crowns had popped out, so she needed new ones only 2-3 years later. Every time you get new crowns, you might lose more of your natural tooth structure. This is known as the restorative cycle of teeth.
You start out with a small dental restoration, but over time you’d need larger and larger restorations (more expenses). It’s commonly described like this: you get a cavity, and you get a small filling that requires losing some of the natural tooth structure.
As time goes on, you’re likely to end up with a decay for which you’d need more filling and more drilling. Eventually, you’d need a crown. This will be followed by a root canal and tooth extraction. And then, you’d need dentures and/or implants.
So, the earlier you get crowns, the more likely you are to end up needing dentures or implants at an early age. That’s because eventually, you’ll have no tooth structure left that the dentist can work on. Unfortunately, the damage to teeth is permanent and the cycle will continue to progress. Because Katie Price’s teeth had been prepped for crowns at an early age, this is likely to happen to her too.
Why Did Katie Price’s Teeth Fall Out Weeks After Her Second Crown Treatment?
Katie had to plan a return trip to Turkey after 2 of her crowns (not veneers!) fell out weeks after she had the treatment. There are many reasons why that could have happened. It is possible that she experienced decay in the underlying teeth.
It is also possible that the underlying tooth structure wasn’t enough for the crown to hold on to. Other than that, maybe the cement in the crown wasn’t enough, or it wasn’t fitted properly. Sources told the Sun that Katie was “horrified” that her “veneers” were “loose on the pegs.”
How Much Did Katie Price’s Teeth Dental Work Cost?
In 2015, before her Turkey trips, Katie revealed having to spend £95k on her teeth. We know that the trip with Kris Boyson cost £7,000. So, all in all, Katie Price’s teeth work has cost her more than £100,000.
And as mentioned above, the restorative cycle of teeth would mean that she’d need more work done on her teeth in the future, like a root canal, extraction, and implants. This is going to add to her total expenses.
What Was People’s Reaction to Katie Price’s Teeth?
While some people praised her for being honest and open about everything, others weren’t so kind in their remarks. On Carl Wood’s teeth, many people said that his teeth looked just fine before, so he didn’t really need veneers.
It even started a trend on TikTok where more and more influencers were seen with “shark teeth” as they also ended up with dental restorations. Some influencers were as young as 18, and they may not have needed those treatments.
Many dentists warned against that trend, clearing up the differences between veneers and crowns and the kind of tooth prepping they require. Unfortunately, many ended up doing permanent damage to their teeth thinking that kind of prepping is also required for veneers.
Concluding Remarks
It’s important that you find a dental clinic that you can trust. Dental restorations can be quite helpful, but they’re not always needed. That’s why the choice of the clinic is so important. Also, you should make sure that it offers a comprehensive aftercare plan. Your research will help you save time and money in the future. So, make sure to take everything into consideration before you make your final decision.