Michael If you work in America as a politician, in sales, at a counter, or as a real estate agent, it is absolutely necessary to have perfectly straight and white teeth. Anyone looking for a life partner with yellowish or crooked teeth can forget about it or only laugh behind their hand.
It always strikes me when watching the Tagesschau on internet television how Finance Minister Schäuble unabashedly shows his ghastly teeth to the camera. Someone like that would never hold any office in America; the voters would cringe in disgust in front of their TVs!
One might not think it possible, but even some adults at my advanced age are still wearing braces in America. The wire monstrosities of the last century have been replaced by nearly invisible "Invisalign" plastic aligners, so you might not even notice that a colleague at work is having their teeth straightened.
Even my dental hygienist, who always scrapes the plaque off my teeth in the practice before the doctor comes in (in America, this is done by the so-called "hygienist" and not the dentist themselves), has already suggested that I should get my slightly crooked teeth straightened. I laughed and replied that I would seriously consider it if I were still looking for a life partner. Later, when the dentist came in and, without knowing about our previous conversation, and also suggested braces, the hygienist immediately interrupted: "I already told him, but he likes the European look!
The ultra-white teeth displayed by showbiz personalities have long since become the standard for the average consumer. Hardly any toothpaste sells without whitening agents, and drugstores offer a variety of bleaching products that you can apply to your teeth overnight. Professional bleaching procedures are no longer found only in dental practices. Recently, I noticed a stand in a shopping mall where shoppers publicly sat in chairs to put a UV light-emitting tube in their mouths! The next step, I expect, will be a mobile bleaching truck that drives through neighborhoods, inviting people to whiten their teeth at a discount with slogans like "Bleach three times, pay twice!"