Just like that, without even consulting the world on Twitter or Instagram, it seems as though Dakota Johnson has got rid of one of her most prominent attributes: The gap between her front teeth.
The 29-year-old actor is known for starring in the 50 Shades Of Grey franchise, being the daughter of Melanie Griffith, being able to nail a full fringe without looking like she’s going through a terrible break-up, and yes, her iconic gap-toothed smile.
Social media started speculating she'd had some kind of dentistry done when she attended an LA screening of her latest film, The Peanut Butter Falcon. Everything was in order – cute black and gold mini dress from Saint Laurent, bangs messily perfect – except for when she smiled, and it looked like the gap between her front teeth had magically disappeared.
For reference, this is what Johnson’s teeth have looked like in the past when her gap was noticeable:
And Johnson has previously really leaned into her gap – in fact, in 2017 she filmed a video with Vanity Fair seeing just how many things she could fit between her front teeth. Impressively, she could get anything from a credit card to a cherry stem in there.
When the news hit Twitter, it was met with pure devastation.
dakota johnson's front teeth gap ...... she was the mother i never had. she was the sister everybody would want. she was the friend that everybody deserves. i didn’t know a better gap. i didn’t know a better gap!
— hunter harris (@hunteryharris) 3 August 2019
is grieving over dakota johnson fixing her tooth gap a valid reason to not work
— iana murray (@ianamurray) 2 August 2019
Obviously, most of these responses are overly-dramatic for comedic effect.
woke up to find out dakota johnson no longer has her tooth gap, i'll cry myself back to sleep.
— dilara elbir (@elbirdilara) 3 August 2019
dakota johnson no longer has a gap in her teeth and honestly i no longer have a reason to live
— maggie (@amaggiecanhoney) 3 August 2019
A lot of people on social media are worried about what this move will do for gap-tooth representation in general.
Dakota Johnson doesn't have her gap anymore and now I have no positive role models to look up to
— your bad therapist (@deadmermaidfoam) 3 August 2019
Dakota Johnson closed the gap in her teeth 😭😭😭 we've lost a real one. Don’t worry y’all, I’ll be the representation we need
— Amin (@Aminoncinema) 3 August 2019
Luckily, there’s no need to fret too much, because there are plenty of other gap-toothed icons out there to wave the flag for imperfect orthodontics.
Just take Lauren Hutton, the model, and actor who was one of the first to prove gappy teeth could be super glamorous.
Madonna’s gap is so famous that Madonna lookalikes have even had their teeth drilled to be just like her.
And like Hutton, Georgia May Jagger has built a modelling career around her gappy teeth.
At the end of the day, it’s up to Johnson what she does with her body and whether that involves a gap between her teeth or not.
However, we do wonder if the actor will come to miss being able to fit miscellaneous items into her tooth gap…
