In Japan its called "yaeba" (Japanese, "YA-eh-ba"), which is cute crooked teeth.
Yaeba can refer to "double teeth" (this is the crowding of front teeth, or crooked eyeteeth) as well as crooked teeth, which makes them even cuter! Apparently, dentistry and braces are not as common in Japan as it is in the U.S. Well, haven't you seen it? Adorable models in popular magazines and Japanese pop music stars have it--crooked teeth that make them look cute! I've envied this in lots of models and Jpop stars like Kago Ai when she was in Hello! Project (known then as "Aibon" as well). Since then, she has been turning her career into a more serious, solo path, so she has had her teeth "fixed"--that is, she has had them straightened for a more "adult" image. Kago Ai's yaeba pictures follow:
You can see this feature on the girls in Ageha, SCawaii, Popteen, and EGG (which cater mostly to the gal or "gyaru" look). You can see this on popular Japanese fashion models Ikeda Megumi (SCawaii and several nail art magazine), Sayaka Araki (Ageha magazine, also models for brand Golds Infinity), and Popteen magazine models Wei Sun (often compared to Ayumi Hamasaki) and Misaki Izuoka. Even Jpop and model mega-superstar Ayumi Hamasaki has had yaeba going on (it has been "photoshopped" on many magazine covers, and in her most recent pictures taken this year, one can see she has had them further straightened. No more cute yaeba for her, but she's still fantastic). Also famous for it is Taiwanese singer and actress Guo Jie Qi (also known as "Mei Mei").
Magazine scan example here:
http://imgs.imagup.com/member5/1241029333_pop059_cecilmcbee_misaki-soni.png
source: http://cherrypop.over-blog.com/18-index.html
I must say that it is cute...though I like my own teeth and am glad for how nice and straight they are after enduring six years of braces. :D What do you think? Japanese culture once again shows us how to embrace what makes us different, unique, and special--to make our imperfections into perfections--or at least super kawaii quirks! ;)
