Fans and followers of the glitterati are generally impressed with their idols' looks as much as their talent, wealth and lifestyle. While extensive plastic surgery is often frowned upon, celebrities who go to great lengths to improve their smiles are seldom criticized. In fact, people from all walks of life would have cosmetic procedures to improve the appearance of their mouths if money was no object.

Like many aesthetic processes, there are many options available to make smiles brighter and more engaging. Many times it's as simple as veneers, sometimes caps and bridges are necessary to correct imperfections, and occasionally teeth and gums require extensive reconstruction to achieve the desired results.

Many of these famous personalities have had work done on the down-low, so you may not even remember when their smiles weren't so perfect. The transformations of other's mouths are as noteworthy as new noses, lips and derrieres.

Ben Affleck

With his piercing eyes and casual demeanour, one hardly notices Affleck's mischievous smile. It was no doubt endearing from his teen years but somewhere on the path to fame and fortune, Affleck seems to have had his teeth lengthened with porcelain veneers. Whatever the procedure was, it just improved upon near perfection.

Victoria Beckham

Long before she met sports icon David Beckham or gained the catchy moniker of Posh Spice as part of the Spice Girls pop singing sensation, pretty teeth were not one of Beckham's cosmetic assets. There have been claims that Posh was ridiculed during her earlier years, that her peers made fun of her teeth. Many people have associated that with why she is rarely seen smiling, however that may not be the case. During an interview with Glamour magazine, Beckham revealed the following "I think I only stopped smiling when I got into fashion. Fashion stole my smile! I've created this person. And I'm not saying that's not me, but I wouldn't say that's the whole me … It's an armor that goes up."

Gary Busey

It's not quite clear when or how Busey's teeth got damaged or if the upgrades are finished. He had naturally large teeth from birth. But when young adulthood led to cocaine abuse followed by a near-fatal motorcycle accident, some teeth required replacement or renovation. Over the years, the teeth changes have been subtle but in the end, fans still get that big, broad smile that has become one of Busey's many unique trademarks.

Nicolas Cage

Sometimes a plum movie role results in permanent cosmetic modifications that significantly enhance an actor's looks. When Cage landed the juicy part of Al Columbato in the 1984 movie Birdy, he opted to have four baby teeth pulled to enhance his portrayal of a severely injured Vietnam vet. That procedure, coupled with a few more cosmetic dentistry improvements, gave cage a brighter smile with teeth in better proportion to his large facial features.

Jim Carrey

Rarely does a childhood mishap emerge as an asset in an adult career but Carrey used his front tooth, chipped in an accident as a kid, to promote his star character Lloyd Christmas in the movie Dumb and Dumber in 1994. Usually concealed with a prosthetic cap, Carrey removed the cap to make his character look even goofier. He used the same ploy, to good advantage, in the film's sequel Dumb and Dumber To.

George Clooney

Rumor has it Clooney suffers from bruxism, a fancy word for grinding your teeth when stressed…and we finally know why he courted so many women: to relieve stress. Clooney's veneers don't suffer from grinding, so his smile remains devastatingly charming. Only time will tell if the married life will relieve his stress and make his smile even brighter.

Tom Cruise

Cruise's perfect smile is something that people either adore or hate as some people have noted his teeth to be a bit too perfect and somewhat creepy. But those perfect, astoundingly white choppers are nothing more than simple veneers. Cruise's acting skills and choice of parts should overshadow your opinion on his teeth but a great smile is always an asset, whether you're playing a nice or nasty character.

Miley Cyrus

When Cyrus was still personifying Hannah Montana, her teeth didn't seem to be keeping up with her body; they seemed too small for the emerging star. Cyrus claims her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, wouldn't let her get anything beyond whitening done when she was an early teen but when she shed her teenybopper image and sailed through the sound studio on a wrecking ball, she beamed so all the world could see her full set of snow white veneers.

Celine Dion

Many hold Dion's voice in the highest esteem, claiming she's among the best singers ever born. Regardless if you're a fan, no one can argue her teeth look 1200% better than they did when she began her career. Her teeth appeared too large for her mouth in the '80s but the wonders of cosmetic dentistry transformed her smile to a more appealing one in the '90s and the addition of whitening was the crowning touch.

Michael Douglas

Douglas' rugged good looks have never been questioned since he first starred as a detective in TV's popular series The Streets of San Francisco. No one seemed to notice his two front teeth were larger than the rest…or at least no one mentioned it. Like his father Kirk, he just seemed to grow handsomer over the years but now his teeth are perfectly proportioned and pearly white. Seems even perfection can sometimes be improved.

Hilary Duff

Duff may be the queen of dental veneers. When she first gained notoriety in show business, her teeth were straight but lacked the desired whiteness. Whitening didn't quite satisfy Duff, so she decided to go the route of veneers. However, the slightly oversized veneers, chosen to make her lips look a bit fuller, were just a tad too big and actually detracted from her natural beauty. Never a quitter, Duff had them replaced with slightly smaller veneers. Alas, in 2009 she chipped her two front teeth on a microphone and had to have those veneers replaced. And in 2011, one of her teeth fell victim to a bagel on her wedding day and had to be replaced. Someone should buy stock in Duff's dental group.

50 Cent

50 Cent may have a tough guy image (being shot 9 times will do that) but that doesn't affect his ego concerning his looks. Fellow rapper Cam'ron criticized 50 Cent's teeth in one of his songs and he promptly shelled out $63k to have them fixed. He reportedly instructed the reconstructive dentist to leave his two front teeth a little bigger than the rest – and include the gap – so he'd still recognize himself. Whoever did the job deserves kudos because 50 Cent has never looked better.