Patients at a Yorkshire dental practice have been brushing up on their oral hygiene techniques in the run-up to Christmas with the help of no less a person than John Lennon.
The clinic really got its teeth into the subject on the occasion of a special week celebrating fifty years of Beatlemania by exhibiting a fragment from one of the legendary singer’s molars – which brought open-mouthed reaction recently when it was bought at auction for a remarkable £19,000.
The buyer was Michael Zuk, author, dentist-to-the-stars and a man with an unusual obsession for collecting the teeth of celebrities.
Apparently Lennon, the musician and singer-songwriter who together with Paul McCartney formed one of the most celebrated song-writing partnerships of the 20th century. had originally asked his former housekeeper Dot Jarlett to dispose of the extracted tooth sometime in the mid-sixties, but then, on second thoughts, suggested that she might keep it and present it as a memento to her daughter, who was, not surprisingly in the circumstances, a big fan of the Beatles.
Part of that famous tooth was later turned into a ‘DNA necklace’ by the world-renowned Beverley Hills jewellery design expert Ari Soffer, and it was that which was loaned to the dental practice as the dentists there sought to highlight the risks of mouth cancer and encourage people to make regular check-up appointments, warning that the earlier the disease is diagnosed the better are the chances of a complete cure.
The clinic had been trialling a new piece of equipment, which uses a fluorescent light to pick up early symptoms of mouth cancer and this particular awareness campaign targeted people over 55.
There just happens to be quite a few fanatical ‘Fab Four’ followers amongst the clinic’s list of clients, and one of them, Keith Lowe, added a further shine to the occasion by loaning his comprehensive collection of Beatles memorabilia to be put on display.
He was only too happy to do so, as he had just lost a very good friend to cancer, and he was therefore especially keen to do everything he could to make the public aware of the dangers.
It proved a very popular and worthwhile promotion. All those who attended were not only given very important dental advice, they were also able to enjoy a nostalgic touch of Beatlemania.
You can just imagine all the people…