Making sure the smile is right

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32977, 25 July 1972, Page 7

Making sure the smile is right

(By

ZITA ALDEN)

LONDON.

Thousands of women, according to the latest research, are scared to open their mouths in company —not because they haven’t anything in common with their friends, or don’t know what to talk about, but simply because they are ashamed of their teeth.

Indeed, surveys have repeatedly shown that when nature plays an unkind trick \ and gives a woman poor' teeth, she can suffer from an enormous inferiority complex. The trouble is that cosmetic dental treatment can be expensive—as much as 50 guineas for each tooth. But apparently, judging by the ever-increasing demand, more and more women are not so concerned about the

hole it leaves in the bank balance as they are about the immense psychological effects they could be faced with for the rest of their lives. Show business celebrities are particularly conscious of their teeth. Many owe their smiles to their dentists. One dental surgeon who frequently treats top celebrities, said: “One actress actually gave up acting because her teeth started to splay out. She

was very unhappy out of the profession, however, put on a Jot of weight, and fell into depression. I righted her teeth in just three months. Now, she is slim, happy, and successful.”

The list of famous names who have undergone cosmetic dental treatment is a long one. Peter Sellers, for example, had his teeth capped to make him look more like an international star and less like a Goon, while the model Pauline Stone had her gums cut back. Until then, she had been too embarrassed to smile because she had more gum than teeth. Pop star Herman of the Hermits, on the other hand, had a dragon tooth (an ugly protrusion, this) which spoilt his smile and his image, and so he had it capped with porcelain. Audrey Hepburn made sure her smile was neater than nature made it, before breaking into the Hollywood scene.

The dental specialist said: “But it’s not necessarily the stars who get depressed over their teeth. My guess, however much they may refuse to admit it, is that thousands of women in less glamorous occupations go through hell because of the shape of their teeth. And just like that actress before treatment, they, too, have almos become recluses. “Indeed, some woman I have treated have actually told me that for years they didn’t even realise it was their teeth which were causing them so much distress and embarrassment.”

The capping of two front teeth is the most common form of cosmetic dentistry. Porcelain caps are best—not only because they are the finest, but because they are the most natural. Dentists, like diamonds, are clearly a girl’s best friend. — Features International.