The faster way to a perfect smile

Like many children, I had braces to correct my wonky teeth. There was nothing gravely wrong - just a little protrusion at the front and a crooked tooth at the side. By my teens, it was job done and I assumed it would remain that way forever. But I was wrong.

According to Dr Anthony Lam at Elleven Orthodontics - Emma Watson's dentist, no less - our teeth start to move more as we get older so it's often necessary to have braces again to re-correct problems that were first rectified in childhood.

I didn't really want to wear a brace for two years as I had when I was younger so I was impressed to read an article about the new so-called robot braces - all the rage in America thanks to the reduced time they take to do the job.

Elleven is the only dentist in London licensed to supply this revolutionary new brace, which claims to straighten teeth on average eight months quicker than conventional braces. The brace, SureSmile, uses wire developed by Nasa - it has 100 per cent shape memory - and is so precisely shaped that it has to be cut by robots using 3-D images of your jaw.

On my first consultation, Dr Lam gave me a thorough dental check-up and took an X-ray. Once it was decided which teeth would be moved, the images were emailed to the SureSmile headquarters in Texas where the wire is cut and shaped. So as not to overwhelm the patient, the braces are fitted in stages - the bottom front first, the top front and then the rest. Each fitting takes around 45 minutes and is not so much painful as unusual. Metal clamps are glued to the tooth's surface, the wire clipped into the clamps which are then tightened.

As I had the braces fitted to the inside of my teeth - they can be fitted to the outside as well - I developed some ulcers on my tongue where it rubbed, and I started lisping immediately. Both problems have now gone and although I can feel the braces pulling all the time, I have slowly got used to it.

On the upside, after only a month, I am starting to notice an improvement - which is probably why the robot braces will catch on in London in the same way they have in America - because you get good results quickly. Dr Lam reports that he treated a bride-to-be who had heard that he could perform miracles in a few months. A year is more likely but early signs are very encouraging.

Elleven Orthodontics, 11 Devonshire Place, W1 (020 7487 2711, elleven orthodontics.com). Brace and consultations from £5,000.