There is no clearer demonstration of the difference between America and Britain than their attitudes towards teeth. In America, you fix them. Doesn’t matter if they’re nearly straight. You subject yourself to years of semi-torture to achieve the American dream — a white picket fence of perfectly uniform teeth.

Most perfect teeth are artificial — some so artificial that they’ve entirely replaced the real ones

When I was about eleven, I was taken to the orthodontist to straighten out my slightly overlapping front teeth.