American v British teeth
| By Vanessa Barford BBC News |
British teeth are not like American teeth.
Hollywood smiles are pearly white paragons of straightness. British teeth might be described as having character.
 |   These are my real teeth. You think I'd wear them all the time if they weren't real?  Ricky Gervais' reply to interviewer remarking on his 'false teeth' |
So much character, in fact, that Ricky Gervais says one US journalist complimented him on being prepared to wear unflattering false teeth for his role as an English dentist in his latest film, Ghost Town. Only he didn't.
"He was horrified that I could have such horrible real teeth. It's like the biggest difference between the Brits and the Americans, they are obsessed with perfect teeth," says Gervais.
Unlike many British stars hoping to make it big across the Atlantic, Gervais hasn't bought himself a Hollywood Smile.
But what is it about the bright white and perfectly straight teeth of Los Angeles that Americans love - and expect of their public figures?
| PROUD/ASHAMED OF YOUR TEETH? SEND YOUR PICS E-mail: yourpics@bbc.co.uk, subject TEETH MMS from UK: 61124 Int MMS: +44 7725 100100  |
"Americans have the idea uniformity is equivalent to looking good. The British character is more free-spirited, more radical," says Professor Liz Kay, dean of the Peninsula Dental School in Exeter and Plymouth.
She says Americans aspire to a row of teeth which are absolutely even and white.
Artificial smile
Whiter than white, it transpires. Teeth naturally vary in colour and the palette can tend closer to cream than white.
 Kate Beckinsale, now glossy of mane and white of tooth |
"US teeth are sometimes whiter than it is physically possible to get in nature - there is a new reality out there. The most extreme tooth bleaching is terrifying, it looks like it's painted with gloss paint and has altered what people perceive as normal," says Professor Jimmy Steele, of the School of Dental Science at Newcastle University.
The British traditionally prefer "nice natural smiles - natural in colour", he says, and have had a more functional view of teeth and dentistry, whereas Americans have always seen teeth more aesthetically, hence the rise of the artificial smile in show business and pop culture.
Cue jibes such as The Bumper Book of British Smiles which cajoles Lisa Simpson into having a brace, and Mike Myers' mockery of buck-toothed Brits in Austin Powers. Conversely, in the UK the snide remarks are saved for those who have had obvious work done, such as Simon Cowell or glamour model Jodie Marsh.
When it was widely reported that Martin Amis had secured a book advance in 1995 to help "do his teeth" - which the author denied - he was lampooned by critics. And more recently there has been much speculation over whether Gordon Brown has had a smile makeover.
Until now it has been considered rather un-British to go for an upgrade, says Professor Steele.Continue reading
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