Pristine manicures dominated the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris when nail art became its own global trend, but the 2026 winter athletes in Milan can't show their French tips during events. Gear is regulated. Hair is helmeted. Nails are gloved. So what is a winter Olympian to do to show personality while competing? It turns out the answer is in their smile.
“In ski jumping if I’m wearing my jumping suit and all of my equipment, my helmet, plus my goggles on, really all you can see is maybe a bit of my nose and then my smile,” says Paige Jones, the 23-year-old Team USA ski jumper from Utah. “So I want to make sure that looks good, because that’s the only part that you can really see.”
Paige, who is on the pre-dental track at University of North Dakota, swears by Crest 3D White Brilliance 2 Step Toothpaste for her smile, but many of her Olympian classmates have other ways to turn their teeth into a statement.
For 23-year-old Team USA freestyle skier Quinn Dehlinger, it's all about making his mouthguard look like a grill. “Any chance I get to show off the fake grill, I do,” Quinn says.
Team USA’s 20-year-old figure skater, Alysa Liu flashed her adorable smiley piercing when she accepted her first gold medal in Milan, and U.S. Pairs skater Danny O’Shea’s freshly-bleached perma-smile shone as brightly as his gold medal with Ellie Kam on February 8. Like many of her teammates, Team USA ice dancer Emilea Zingas came to Milan armed with Crest White Strips. “I use them on average once every two weeks,” she says. “But I did use them once a week in the three weeks leading up to the Olympics! Having a bright smile is really necessary on the ice.”
Bleached teeth (and even tooth art) is one of the only ways winter athletes are able to showcase style during tentpole moments, and for those of us watching at home, it’s often a statement we may not even realize is being made.
“I’ve noticed instances where elite competitors subtly hold back full smiles to avoid drawing attention to 'imperfections' like misalignment, discoloration, or wear,” says Dr. Michael Edwards, president of the OBI Foundation for Bioesthetic Dentistry and dentist to a few Winter Olympians competing this year. “For example, some athletes who’ve embraced dental jewelry, like Simone Biles sporting sparkling gems on her canines during Paris 2024, were smiling brightly where others may be self-conscious about their choice for the viewers back home.”
Dr. Edwards notes that some athletes understandable suffer from nighttime grinding (hi, stress), tooth decay due to high consumption of sports drinks and energy gels, and even financial strain to afford dental work (winter sports are not cheap).
So sure, a little smile enhancement can go a long way for confidence, but in 2026, it’s more than that. This year, fans are seeing veneers, gems, smileys, statement mouthguards, and, yes, blindingly white teeth take center stage. In Milan, when style is sealed under layers of Lycra, the only thing left to accessorize is your smile.
