Keep dancing, keep smiling

12 September 2017
Volume 31 · Issue 6

With a life in close-up – appearing frequently on the TV screen, in social media and in the press – Giovanni Pernice is acutely aware that he is scrutinised minutely by Strictly fans.

This made him particularly concerned about the irregular nature of his teeth, which are on show constantly as he smiles (which is often) and he was eager to have them straightened for the start of the 2017 Strictly Come Dancing season. However, it was imperative that any dental treatment he undertook did not impact in any way his training or his dancing performance. Also important to him was that treatment was discrete, as he felt it would not be aesthetically pleasing to have a mouth full of metal braces while performing. 

His ex-Strictly partner Georgia May Foote was undergoing Invisalign treatment and she showed him how the clear aligner system repositions teeth discretely, without anyone seeing she was having her teeth straightened. He opted for the same treatment and was excited to find that the aligners were virtually invisible (they are likened to contact lenses for the teeth). In addition to having no impact on his performance and training, Giovani was delighted that, with Invisalign, he could also still fully enjoy his other passion – Italian food – whilst undergoing treatment; the aligners are removed for eating, so no food need be off the menu! 

Works like magic

Giovanni was keen to have treatment before the next series of Strictly Come Dancing (which started on September 9, 2017 and sees him partnering Debbie McGee) and in order to achieve this has been changing to new aligners every week rather than every two, which until recently was the standard recommendation. To achieve this his dentist, Rhona Eskander of Chelsea Dental Studio, provides him a pack containing new sets of top and bottom aligners which he changes every week to one of slightly different dimensions so that the teeth are inched into their new position, little by little, according to a digital treatment plan which predicts the eventual outcome of his treatment. 

As Giovanni explained, “A smile, especially when you work in television, is one of the most important things. A smile is what everyone looks at first – and I always wanted my teeth to look better. I was very conscious of the position of my teeth. Soon they will be much better; thanks to Invisalign you will see me with a different smile.”

Meanwhile Dr Rhona Eskander added, “Gio is a dream of a patient, he complies 100 per cent by wearing his aligners 22 hours a day, no matter whether he is working, training or socialising. As a result I have been able to speed up his treatment and change his aligners every week instead of every two. Whilst everyone will be scrutinising his footwork on Strictly, I will be glued to his smile.”

For more information visit www.invisalign.co.uk