What price beauty?

The relationship between dentistry and the mainstream media has long been far from ideal. It is perhaps the nature of the beast that important health information and positive stories struggle to see the light of day whilst scandal and intrigue are magnified – no matter how representative of dentistry they are (or how true).

Very occasionally, however, the stars align and allow for a news item which the media is interested in which gives an opportunity for positive dental messaging – such was the case recently when Katie Price (or Jordan for those of a certain vintage) posted pictures of herself on social media in Turkey getting new veneers.

The fact that the former glamour model would have such a treatment is in itself not surprising – for the observant out there, there are a couple of rather prominent clues that she is happy to engage in elective cosmetic surgery – but what people found shocking was the reality of the treatment itself. The sight of the spiked stumps poking out from behind her oversized lips was perhaps the first time many people will have considered the damage some treatments have to an individual’s natural teeth – and the potential downsides to overly invasive treatments carried out in the name of aesthetics. As such, it began a much-needed discussion in the media about these treatments and what price, financial and biological, was worth paying in the pursuit of beauty.