‘It’s nice for the summer’ my dentist said this morning.  But oh, the options, the options!  Here they are:  strips which they sell over the counter in the states and you need a friend to bring over for you; power whitening which my dentist can do;  the home kit which you do yourself, and for which my dentist will charge – me – £400.  The main thing you need to know is the strips have to have 6% or more hydrogen peroxide.  In fact I presume any of the teeth whitening options have to meet this criteria.

Phew.

Who can we blame for this obsession for white teeth – Mr Cowell, Ms Cole, the ever increasing pressure to look younger and younger? And what happens in the winter? Is it okay then for your teeth to not look so white?  Why is that?

I looked at my handsome dentist, with his sparkling white teeth and wondered if his teeth weren’t quite so white – would it make a difference to what I thought of him?