The atmosphere at The Roof Gardens in Kensington is seriously glamorous – an aspirational blend of fashion editors and private equity hot-shots, and a buzzy hum of conversation.
Nursing a large glass of wine at the bar, I find myself idly people-watching while waiting for a friend. Everyone seems perfectly in step with this stylish set – until a man walks in who doesn’t quite belong. At first glance, he fits the part: an unstructured jacket and jumper combo straight out of the Cucinelli playbook, artfully dishevelled hair and a confident stride. But then it hits me. It’s his teeth. Blindingly white and unnaturally symmetrical. Like a single wrong note in an otherwise perfect harmony.
In the late 90s, bold, statement-making aesthetics was the look of the day. Just remember the breast implants. Subtilty did not factor in, the look was designed to be obvious. The same thing was happening in teeth. Imposingly large square veneers were pouring out of Hollywood and having one of these dazzling sets became a badge of success that was worn with pride. However, sadly for this Cucinelli-ed stranger the Hollywood smile has not dated well.
In a time where the ultimate status symbol is a logo-less black leather loafer from The Row and the best kind of Botox is the kind that not even your husband can detect – it is no surprise that the “smilescape" has also undergone a quiet revolution. The pendulum has swung from the overt to the hyper-subtle. And as with all great aesthetic procedures, modern cosmetic dental work is about invisibility – so refined and natural-looking that even the most eagle-eyed observer can’t tell it’s been done.
© Getty ImagesFew can appreciate this shift in aesthetic more than, Dr Tom Crawford-Clarke, whose Wimpole Street clinic, Luceo, is inundated with patients wanting to trade in their 90s-style veneers for a far more natural set. “They don't like how ridiculously white they are and how perfect they look,” he says, in his charming cut-glass accent. “It's obvious they've got veneers and they don't want that anymore.”
However, it’s not just the look that is passé, it’s also the technique – perfectly healthy teeth were shaved down to stumps before thick veneers were attached. “You just don't need to do that” shudders Dr Tom. “If that happened in the UK, you'd have your dental licence removed.” And yet, it’s still practised in some countries – Turkey being one of them, hence the term ‘Turkey Teeth’.
It’s therefore not surprising that veneers have fostered a sub-par reputation. However, in the right hands, it’s a totally different ball game. Firstly, it’s about ensuring the veneers are as thin as possible, so abandoning that bulky look of yesteryear, in lieu of something far more delicate and ideally not removing any, or at least, very little, of the natural tooth structure.
Fluorescent hues of white should be avoided at all costs and instead the tooth should incorporate layers of translucency to replicate the texture of real teeth. However, most critically, it’s about “not making them look perfect” explains Dr Tom, so perhaps counterintuitively, having shapes that are slightly asymmetric. “Having these tiny, subtle, little nuances, then could easily pass as somebody's really nice teeth.”
Meanwhile, tucked away in a fragrant spa-like basement in Belgravia, is another devotee of this hyperreal aesthetic. Dr Brandon Nejati, co-founder of the Nejati clinic, is making waves in the quiet dentistry movement with his pioneering micro layering treatment which works to reshape and brighten teeth but in the most undetectable of ways.
Unconventionally, it was Dr Brandon’s background as a painter that inspired the development of his dental process. Drawing from the Renaissance sfumato painting technique – a layering method used in da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and The Last Supper that creates blurred dream-like effect – the visual antithesis to a sharp line.
While Dr Brandon is still wielding a paint brush he has traded oil paints for, “A special composite infused with porcelain particles – it’s very enamel-like,” he explains. In sfumato, thicker layers are delicately diluted to become translucent, revealing the layers beneath. Similarly, where oil once thinned his pigments, liquid resin now allows him to apply this technique to teeth, creating a lifelike, multidimensional effect.
Not wanting to add unnecessary bulk to the teeth, this layering is happening on a micro level. “In 0.3 millimetres, you might have 15 layers,” he notes, illustrating the delicacy of his work.
“It gives this very vibrant, very realistic look, which is 3D, mimicking the natural enamel structure,” he adds. Layer by layer, teeth are sculpted and the colour artfully whitened, achieving a lifelike appearance. But this technique goes beyond aesthetics alone, there are myriad health benefits: cracks and dentine exposure are sealed and bites are rebalanced which helps prevent grinding.
Teeth, however, are only part of the smile equation; gums are as every bit an equal partner in the quest for the elusive ‘I was born with good teeth’ aesthetic. Gum contouring, lifts, and recession coverage all help create a balanced smile, for this Dr Reena Wadia is your woman. Glamorous and draped in Chanel necklaces, the founder of Harley Street’s RW Perio clinic is London’s most revered gum specialist. For gummy smiles the periodontist has a minimally invasive solution. “We can do gum lifts, where we remove just a millimetre of gum”, which might sound small, but “It can make a huge difference to someone's entire face,” she explains.
For contouring and lifts, Dr Reena uses lasers, mini scalpels and at times small drills. “It doesn’t hurt,” she reassures, describing the drilling sensation as a mild vibration. Patients can return to work the next day, requiring little more than an off-the-shelf painkiller.
On the other side of the coin there are worn away gums. Even minor gum recession – as little as two millimetres on a front tooth – can disrupt facial symmetry, and draws the eye to it. For treatment, the process is slightly more involved, yet still minimally invasive. “You detach the gum from the muscle, and it becomes flexible, and then literally pull the gum over the bit that’s been lost,” explains Dr Reena. When gums are too thin, a tiny slither from the roof of the mouth can be added beneath the gum flap to reinforce and thicken the tissue. Again, this treatment is undetectable and yet can have the capability to make such a vast impact on the face as a whole.
In an era where individuality is celebrated, the perfectly imperfect smile has become the aesthetic pinnacle. The one-size-fits-all aesthetic is rapidly being replaced by an appreciation for uniqueness and personal expression. Dr Tom recalls a memorable patient undergoing Invisalign, not to close a gap, but to create one, revelling in the charm it brought to her smile.
It’s a delicate balancing act: celebrating, and at times enhancing, the quirks that make us who we are while finishing with something beautiful and elevated. These subtle tweaks can have a profound impact, not by erasing individuality, but by artfully harmonising it.
This article originally appeared in the Feb-March 2025 issue of H! Fashion...
