Elliott Yamin had a crazy fan base when he competed on American Idol. Will even more fans jump on board now that he’s undergone $50,000 worth of dental work? Elliott, don’t you know beauty is only skin deep? With porcelain veneers and 20 hours of dental time to fix his crossbite, we’ll see if the makeover was worth the pain of a new smile. Girlfriend Jaime Paetz said, “He loves to laugh, he loves to smile. I liked his old teeth, but if (the veneers) make him happy, then I’m happy.”

Beverly Hills dentist David Frey provided the dental work free of charge, so I guess it was a no-brainer to have the work done. “I’ve always wanted to have a nicer smile,” says Yamin. “I used to look at old pictures of myself, and I figured out how to kind of smile without displaying all my teeth.” Yamin just signed on with Sony’s publishing division for a songwriting deal and his debut album will drop in early 2007. Ah, plenty of reasons to smile.

(You can find all the American Idol 5 posts here.)