Move over, bagelhead, the snaggletooth is Japan’s newest cosmetic trend

The girls of TYB48, a musical duo in Japan, are gaining local recognition for their debut album “Mind if I Bite?”  But that’s nothing compared with the global press they are getting for a certain physical characteristic: Both girls have snaggleteeth — and replicating the look is the newest cosmetic trend in their country.

In 2011, a dental procedure to attach plastic pieces to the front of teeth to achieve a snaggletooth first made headlines. Since then, an increasing number of women in Japan have paid about $400 dollars for the snaggletooth, or “yaeba,” look.

Taro Masouka, the creator of the procedure, said during an interview with Japan Today that the look gives patients an “impish beauty” that is considered “endearingly attractive” to men. It is most popular among teens and 20-somethings — in fact, Masouka offers discounted rates to middle school and high school students.

Hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the cosmetic procedure, Masouka formed the TYB48 group.

“A lot of my patients are fashion-conscious and very cute,” Masouka said. “I wanted to find some way to take advantage of this, so I formed TYB48.”

Although the group hasn’t gained too much musical popularity yet, their snaggleteeth certainly have. Could the procedure ever gain similar levels of popularity in the U.S.? Doubtful.

The yaeba trend emphasizes adolescent-like youth. Although this is extremely desirable in Japan, Western cultures tend to promote more womanly features. For that reason, it’s hard to imagine that the reverse dental procedure will ever catch on over here.

Also remember that Japan is the country that introduced bagel-shaped saline injections on the forehead. Gotta give them credit for the forward-thinking cosmetic procedures!

Top picture from the TYB48 fan page.