Let‘s get this straight
Are we guilty of encouraging people to ‘correct’ their teeth when nothing’s wrong? Probably
Just as your computer keyboard can sometimes become a receptacle for more than the odd crumb of food (c’mon, admit it), so too can your email inbox. It gathers (digital) waste – in the form of increasingly desperate bids from PR executives to showcase their publicity-hungry dental professional clients.
Take this one, for example: “Recently, GDC-registered dentist [name redacted out of courtesy] analysed photos of five of the world’s richest individuals – from Elon Musk to Larry Ellison – to see if they had dental work done. The insights she provided on the matter are quite surprising and I believe they might be of interest to you and readers. I have included the full commentary below and hope it’s of interest.
“You’ll also find access in this folder to high-res images for editorial use, which have been purchased by us.
If you are able to publish the advice, may we please ask that a clickable link to [redacted] be provided as editorial credit? Should you need any exclusive commentary from [redacted], please feel free to get in touch.” At the top of email, the ‘Unsubscribe’ link glowed, temptingly.
The media’s obsession with teeth, not just those of the famous but those of people in general, is well established. It contributes to the steady flow of patients seeking treatment to ‘correct’ their oddly, as they perceive it, aligned teeth. But, recently, an antidote to this pursuit of ‘perfection’ arrived, courtesy of The Daily Telegraph. “British teeth are back!”, it declared in a report at the end of March.
“Well perhaps not to an Austin Powers degree, but if you take a look at 2025’s women of the moment – Aimee Lou Wood, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Ayo Edebiri, Zendaya, Myha’la, to name a few – you may notice they have something in common … having characterful teeth is something to smile about in Hollywood once again.”
“That I don’t have veneers or Botox, it feels a bit rebellious,” said The White Lotus star Aimee Lou Wood in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter. The British actor – who has prominent front teeth and multiple gaps – has previously spoken about how having not embraced cosmetic dentistry had caused many people to comment on her smile, wondering if her teeth “are real”.
On an episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Wood was praised by fellow guest Stephen Fry: “You’ve obviously made an enormous number of people happy by not changing your teeth, which are, uh, you know, they’re notable. They are like my bent nose, but yours are better. And you obviously had a time when some people would have said to you: “Oh, you should get those corrected,” – awful word – but you, you stood up for them. And they’re part of your character and all the roles you’ve played that I’ve seen you in, you’ve, they’ve actually enhanced you, don’t you think?” Wood thanked Fry for his comments and an affirmative applause rippled through the audience.
Wood’s outlook surely provides reason to pause and think. The received wisdom is that it is perfectly acceptable for dentists to support patients who are considering having misaligned teeth straightened, as it can improve oral health, chewing and speech, and enhance overall wellbeing and confidence. But in cases where those motivating factors are not an issue, is it the case that too many people are seeking treatment – and being encouraged in this by dental professionals – to ‘correct’ teeth when, in fact, there is nothing wrong?
Not that money would be a motivating factor in their encouragement, heaven forfend; the global orthodontics market was, according Precedence Research, to be valued at a mere $21.23 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach around $59.31 billion over the next decade. No; it is based on received wisdom and, yes, clinical evidence. But I’ll pose the question again; is the profession – and society in general – guilty of encouraging the pursuit of a ‘perfect’ set of teeth when, in fact, there is nothing wrong? Probably.
Author
Will Peakin is Editor of Scottish Dental magazine and the Scottish Dental Show get in touch with him by email. Follow Scottish Dental on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and other networks @ScottishDental.