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Teeth "makeovers" used to be the preserve of models, media stars and perhaps a metrosexual or two. Then along came the recession and with it a new breed of dental client - the former City boss. These axed masters of the universe are investing their redundancy cheques not in yachts or bespoke suits but on the perfect set of teeth.
And Dr Neil Counihan is the man they are queuing up to see. Harley Street orthodontist Counihan has pioneered the use of hi-tech dental braces which invisibly shift your teeth into the correct position. His mantra is: "Your own teeth in the right place." The English, he reveals, are finally waking up to the fact that a designer haircut or new tie won't ensure survival in the boardroom or secure a new job.
"It's not enough any more to have sharp elbows and play golf. It's how you come across at the board meeting where the CEO is staring at your cracked lower teeth," says Counihan who runs Elleven Orthodontics with his business partner, Dr Eric Tonge.
"Why bother spending £1,000 on a bespoke suit and turn up in your chauffeur-driven car with crooked teeth? People are coming here who have been sacked and need a new job. These are Type A people who want to reinvent themselves. And they're people who've never had the time before."
Counihan and Tonge count Harry Potter actress Emma Watson among their clients. But their real passion is not just for transforming celebrities or executives with payoffs. Instead, Counihan is on a mission to transform our "crooked, chipped and stained" English teeth.
Bad teeth are to blame for the "grim-faced look on the Tube". The London smile, he says, should reflect the "multi-racial and multicultural nature of the city" and it should look "natural".
"Londoners need to start smiling a bit more. People don't like having their photo taken here because they're embarrassed at showing their teeth. Correcting teeth is about how they fit into your face, the shape of your cheekbones, your facial muscles," he says.
"Ethnicity is a major issue. Indians have crowded teeth, white people's stick out. The key is to discuss what their hopes are for their teeth. You can't impose US values on British people. They don't like it. People want a smile that looks comfortable on their face."
So what is his ideal London smile? Boris Johnson-style gnashers?
"No. He's like most politicians - terribly English teeth." Counihan reels off names (although few are strictly Londoners).
"Cheryl Cole has a nice smile. Jude Law. Sienna Miller. Simon Cowell, his are good, and Graham Norton. I can't think of many chefs, though. Gordon Ramsay? Ugh! Terrible."
So we don't all want to end up with a cheesy American-style grin. Yet Counihan says the attitude towards dentistry in the US is only to be admired. The orthodontist completed his training at London's King's College, then spent time training and working in the US. This is where he picked up on the success of hi-tech braces. These have replaced veneers where the dentist files down your teeth and attaches porcelain versions. There are basically three types of brace systems: the now unfashionable "train-tracks"; brackets which are bonded to the front of the tooth; these can also be hidden from view at the back of the teeth. Counihan specialises in the Damon brace, an invisible bracket. Treatment is not cheap: upwards of £5,000.
"My first day in New York the professor said: 'I thought no tooth pointed the same way in England.' Why do we accept this? Years of underinvestment in our teeth and an acceptance that they're crooked, chipped and stained. The NHS has been a great patch-and-repair service. Every US child has orthodontics. They are a right and a rite of passage. It's the cultural norm.
"Things have been changing, though, especially among men. It was author Martin Amis who started it by writing about his teeth. You wouldn't have thought a hack bashing away at his typewriter on his next novel would have his teeth done. Then Tom Cruise had fixed braces. He made it acceptable for men to wear them and you can't go higher than Cruise in Hollywood."
Dentistry used to be about "grip and rip". Today, high-end private treatment is about spa-like premises where the patient is king. Counihan's flagship Harley Street clinic is light and airy and very designer.
The future for teeth makeovers, says Counihan, lies in faster treatment times especially as Londoners are cash rich, time poor. Brace treatment used to take two-and-a-half years. Now it can be completed in almost half that time.
His own teeth are white and straight. Lucky genes, perhaps? "No, Eric [Tonge] did them. You've got to "eat your own cake". Can you imagine telling people they needed braces if I had wonky teeth? I had braces when I was 40."
He asks to see my teeth, which are still crooked despite me spending my teenage years wearing a brace.
"Mmm. No problem. Six months and I could fix that," he pronounces.
I start to fantasise about the possibility of a Hollywood smile, then stop myself. It is all very well preaching to Londoners about the perfect smile, I point out. But doesn't this just fuel our growing obsession with self-image? Counihan shakes his head.
"It's connected with how you look after your oral health. We're living much longer and you need to be able to eat what you want in your seventies. When we were an island we could get away with 'characterful' teeth. That's no longer the case if we're going to compete in the global market. People are a lot more outward-looking and motivated. They want to reinvent themselves.
"And we know from social research that we'll get better jobs and better partners. People make judgments, and stigma can damage self-esteem. Patients come in here with dead eyes because they have no confidence. Afterwards, they send me thank-you letters."
www.ellevenorthodontics.co.uk
FIVE TOP TEETH TREATMENTS
Complete Smile Makeover, Lund Osler
Dr Surinder Hundle of 10 Years Younger fame transforms the mouth with filing, veneers and crowns. From £14,500 (£250 consult), 56 Knightsbridge, SW1, 020 7838 8969
Teeth contouring, London Smile Clinic
This smoothes out minor chips and eliminates unwanted grooves. £85/tooth, 40-44 Clipstone St, W1, 020 7255 2559, www.londonsmile.co.uk
Invisalign, Harley Street Dental Studio
A clear plastic retainer fitted onto crooked teeth. From £1,995, 42 Harley St, W1, 020 7636 5981, www.harleystreetdentalstudio.com
Inman Aligner, London Smiling
Teeth straightening in 12 weeks. From £2,000, London Smiling, 62A Goodge St, W1, 020 7636 7616, www.londonsmiling.com
Gum sculpting, Welbeck Clinic
Corrects uneven or excess gum on show. Takes 15 minutes. Free as part of a veneer package (from £695), 20 Welbeck St, W1, 020 7486 8100, www.thewelbeckclinic.co.uk
Reader views (9)
I think that Simon Cowell's teeth (or rather crowns) look incredibly fake because they are too uniform, overly white and very opaque. Does the dentist really think this looks good? All you can do is stare at the teeth!
Sienna's teeth are excellent. Her veneers look very natural. Congrats to the dentist who did them.
The reason why the British don't have veneers/crowns is because they fear looking fake far more than they fear crooked teeth. Nobody wants to look like Johnny Depps's Willy Wonka.
- Joanna, London, UK
The worst teeth in Europe are:
French
Scottish
Irish
English
Most veneers look fake and awful, usually too big and overly white.
- Claire, Bath
I don't think people realise how false veneer-perfect teeth make them look. That sought -after perfection takes away all their character and gives a typical hollywood artificial look. As with plastic boobs and stretched face jobs! People should learn to care for their bodies instead of being lead to believe that surgery can replace nature.
Learn to love who you are and grow old gracefully. And remember Michael Jackson?????!!!!
- Will Lemieux, London UK
Adult braces build your smile confidence and set you on the road to long-term dental health. I had braces at age 52 last year and those were my goals; wearing them was even a bit of fun because the teens thought it was cool.
- Pamela Waterman, Phoenix USA
I emigrated to Australia in 1965. On my first visit to the dentist, he took one look at my
teeth and said " another poor Pommie" And it was true!
After many years I am in the process of acquiring dental implants, and am surprised they are not mentioned in your article.
- Terry Whitfield, Sydney, Australia
I have a smile like Sienna's completely naturally and have had every dentist since I was 3 say I have perfect teeth!! It's the rest of me that's the problem . . .
(PS: anyone seen a set of pretty French teeth lately? No, thought not!)
- Roz, France
The English have the worst teeth in Europe, (apart from the Irish).
- Robert, Philadelphia USA
Simon Cowell's teeth as an example? Not for me, thank you!
- Clarissa, Vienna, Austria
Most people with veneers look as if they have false teeth.Any close-up of a celebrity makes this obvious .. including the picture of Sienna Miller. So although better than crooked and stained they are not ideal. Especially when this or the braces cost thousands of pounds
- Jay, London, UK.
