Patients are seeking a more natural smile in a backlash against the bright, white celebrity smile.

More and more people are choosing natural-looking dental procedures to improve their appearance, according to a leading group of dentists across Britain.

‘Teeth say so much about the financial and emotional wellbeing of a country,' says Dr Kailesh Solanki of the Cosmetic Dentistry Guide.

‘After years of excess and extreme makeovers, people are now holding back to have a great smile without drawing too much attention to themselves.'

In the past, Brits have been copying the American fashion of blindingly white teeth, says Dr Solanki.

‘But now it seems that people in the UK are looking for a subtler, maybe even classier, approach to their smiles.

‘Simon Cowell and Jodie Marsh would have asked for eight on the whitening scale. Number six, which is an off-white shade, is now much more fashionable.'

Dr Solanki says that leading dentists featured on www.cosmeticdentistryguide.co.uk who collectively see 11,000 patients a week, have reported a reduction in extreme whitening. The number of whitening treatments however, has remained unaffected by the credit crunch.

‘Teeth whitening is still the number one treatment and remains as popular now as ever,” says Dr Solanki. ‘In fact, cosmetic dentists are still doing good business in the run-up to Christmas. However, patients are choosing to restrain their results, meaning they get a more natural-looking smile.'

‘Prior to the credit crunch, patients would be aiming towards the whiter end of the scale, but now they are holding back. That is undoubtedly a reflection of the times.'