17/06/2026
The has got me thinking. Not just about football, but about smiles.
Some of the most iconic faces in the history of the game have also had some of the most memorable smiles. What strikes me, looking at them through a dentist's eyes, is how different they all are.
Cristiano Ronaldo. Perfectly aligned, brilliantly white, immaculately presented. A smile as meticulously maintained as his fitness regime. It is disciplined, powerful, and utterly confident.
Gareth Bale. A warm, natural smile that always felt genuine. Never flashy, never forced. The kind of smile that makes you feel at ease.
Ronaldinho. Possibly the most joyful smile in the history of professional football. Famously imperfect by conventional standards, and yet completely, utterly iconic. Nobody on earth could mistake that smile for anyone else's.
Gary Lineker. Clean, approachable, trustworthy. The kind of smile that built a broadcasting career as long as his footballing one. Proof that a great smile has a shelf life well beyond your playing days.
Four legends. Four completely different smiles.
Now, this World Cup we are going to be treated to some extraordinarily expensive smiles on that pitch. Many of these players are in the privileged position of having access to the very best cosmetic dentistry that money can buy; veneers, whitening, full smile makeovers carried out by some of the most sought-after dental teams in the world.
That's wonderful. There is nothing wrong with investing in your smile when you have the means to do so.
But here is what I want you to notice as you watch the tournament unfold. Some of the warmest, most captivating, most genuinely memorable smiles you will see this summer will belong to players who have had nothing done at all. Completely natural. Wonderfully imperfect. Entirely their own.
Because an expensive smile is not automatically a better smile. It is simply a more intervened one.
This is something I feel strongly about as a dentist, and it is worth saying out loud.
Smiles do not have to be perfect. They have to be yours.
Not a copy. Not a template. Not the most expensive option on the menu. Just you, at your very best.