The American Way of Teeth

How Hollywood and Huckster Dentists Convinced Us That Our Choppers Shouldn’t Look, Well, British

I remember once seeing a British television documentary on the Cold War in which the cameras were admitted to a bunker built for the use of a U.S. congressman in the event of a nuclear attack. Among its enviable amenities was a dentist’s surgery (what Yanks might call an office)—presumably shown as a chilling hint of the likely duration of a stay underground. It was more effective in reminding me of Americans’ obsession with their teeth.

That obsession runs so deep that I almost suspect it’s intrinsic to the American nationality. …