This is a really interesting article. I was in Bangkok a few weeks ago and saw many women with real braces but didn't see any with fake braces. However, I also went to the Philipines and saw good number of girls with fake braces (but none with real braces - go figure). Some were retainer like, some were attached directly onto the teeth.
I've also seen the fake braces trend quite a lot in Mexico (although not in other Latin American countries I've visited). There are two different types I've seen, sometimes with quite real-looking brackets on front 4 teeth or so (with no wire) and sometimes smaller, shiny glitters put on teeth (which they call brillantes).
Although I like the trend, fake braces don't really turn me on. Not nearly as fun to kiss as real braces because they lack the depth so you can barely feel them when kissing.