Flamboyant stage presence, edgy style, and exceptional vocals, everything about Freddie Mercury screamed “original” in rock. You can say it’s written in his DNA to be remarkable. Down to his teeth, the Queen lead singer was just not your average artist. Leaving behind a legacy in hard rock influenced by his origins and saturated by character; there’s much to pick about in Freddie Mercury. But we’ll specifically discuss Freddie Mercury’s smile and how it impacted his career and performance.
In addition to touching up on the most intriguing questing, why he never fixed his smile. So read along to find out.
What’s up with Freddie Mercury’s teeth?
Freddie Mercury’s teeth were notably protruding and made his smile very noteworthy. The reason behind his dental protrusion was a very rare condition of mesiodens. In short, it translates to supernumerary teeth; and Freddie Mercury’s teeth were afflicted by this condition. Particularly since he had 4 extra incisors right behind normal incisors. These extra teeth caused overcrowding and pushed his upper teeth forward and caused them to protrude outwards.
What accentuated this condition were his front teeth which were much larger than average. They simply took over his smile and brought all the attention to his protrusion.
In fact, the extra teeth he had, to the overcrowding, and his overbite; gave Freddie Mercury’s teeth far more attention than his remaining features. They stood out significantly and in any picture he’s seen smiling, it seemed like his teeth were dominating the major parts of his face.
How did Freddie Mercury feel about his teeth?
You may think that Freddie was unaffected by his teeth hence why he never fixed them. But multiple sources tell us the Freddie Mercury’s teeth were a major source of self-esteem problems for the We Will Rock You singer.
In fact, not many knows that Brian May, the lead guitarist of Queen, almost rejected Freddie for his teeth. The band feared that Freddie’s smile would affect their image and popularity among the youth. But persuading him that it adds more range to his vocals, the then to-be lead singer of Queen conquered the approval of the band.
Freddie Mercury’s teeth continued to hinder him emotionally. The lead vocalist was never happy with his overbite in the least. And reportedly, the star would attempt to cover his teeth with his upper lip. At times even holding the microphone slightly over his mouth to cover his teeth.
His insecurities may have started from a young age, where Freddie Mercury’s teeth attracted a lot of bullying through his school years. Farukh Bulsara experienced taunting by his classmates were they nicknamed him “Bucky”.
Ironically, all the emotional torment that Freddie Mercury’s teeth inflicted on him couldn’t persuade him to seek orthodontics.
Why didn’t Freddie Mercury fix his teeth?
Freddie Mercury’s teeth were never fixed despite cosmetic dentistry being fairly popular back then. For a lead singer in a successful band, Freddie had the money and the connections to fix his teeth. So why didn’t he opt for that?
Freddie Mercury believed his extra teeth and overbite were the secret to his talent. His four-octave range that can alternate between a growl to an operatic melody was a blue diamond. Not many singers have these vocal capacities and Freddie Mercury attributed the success of his musical career to his teeth.
Freddie believed his additional teeth gave him more space. And by extension, his vocals more range. In other words, the artist compromised his self-image for his music.
Is it possible to fFix Freddie Mercury’s teeth?
Fixing Freddie Mercury’s teeth wouldn’t have been a challenge. Whether with the techniques of the past or the modern techniques of today.
Correcting Freddie Mercury’s teeth would constitute a treatment plan that begins with teeth extraction. To put his smile into perfect order, Freddie Mercury would have had to have his 4 extra incisors removed.
This would give his other teeth more space to move into alignment. Next would come orthodontics which would use braces to push back his teeth. After the treatment is over, he’d likely need some minor tweaks here and there to polish his smile. Perhaps, he’d have had a dentist cut his front teeth slightly to make them small. But he wouldn’t need any more work like the Hollywood Smile, which in any case wasn’t available in his time.
Did Freddie Mercury’s teeth Help him sing?
Freddie Mercury’s teeth weren’t after all the operators of his vocals. What Freddie Mercury had instead been a rare ability to use his false cords. Accessing the false cords to contrive his marvelous vibrato; in addition to his four-octave range gave Freddie Mercury a once-in-million talent.
It was all written in the folds of his DNA, the powerful vocals, the extensive range, the extraordinary teeth, and the rich character. Freddie Mercury died in 1991 from pneumonic complications initiated by AIDS. He’s far from forgotten where his music still booms in the hearts of all rock fans. To date, his remarkable teeth have become the name of similar conditions, known as the Freddy Mercury Teeth.
Read also: Buck Teeth: Causes & Home Treatments
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