Snap on a smile, look like a star

It is the latest fashion accessory and has an Orwellian ring. The new line in cosmetic enhancement is the "snap-on smile".

No drilling, bleaching or injections. Instead of costly "mouth restorations", those with crooked, stained or unsightly incisors can get a new set of teeth which fit over the old and can be put on at will. One can even eat with them.

The technique, developed in America, offers clients a choice of celebrity smiles, including Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie's.

Philip Lewis, a dentist on the Isle of Wight and member of the British Association of Cosmetic Dentistry, is the first to offer the treatment.

After hearing about it in California, he bribed his daughter, Chloe, a model in her teens, to try the device and then persuaded her boyfriend Daz Barbrook to experiment too.

"Chloe wanted a celebrity smile. She chose Jessica Simpson [US actress star of reality TV show Newlyweds] who has a typical American smile - very toothy and broad and very white."

"Daz didn't want a celebrity smile ... so we used a nice even set-up, lighter than his own teeth and he was very pleased with the results. That is what most people want."

Mr White said the procedure had become rapidly popular in America thanks to its simplicity and relatively low cost.

"It is ideal for weddings, job interviews or for people just wanting to emulate a celebrity. It is not a substitute for the thorough and more permanent results of veneers and crowns - but it can give a pleasing instant smile enhancement without any discomfort," he said.

The device can be made in three weeks. An impression is taken of the patient's mouth and sent with photographs to a laboratory in California where the Snap-on smile is made.

The cost is £950 ($2700) for one set of teeth - upper or lower - or £1500 for both. While that may wipe the smile from some people's faces, Mr White claims it is a snip. Veneers cost £15,000.

With normal wear, the Snap-on smile is expected to last three to five years. If your family, friends and colleagues can take it, that is.

- INDEPENDENT