America's Obsession with Teeth

I recently read a BBC News Magazine article (Linked Here), that both made me laugh, and really take a minute to think about American values. Ricky Gervais (creator of The Office) was interviewed by an American journalist a few years ago about his role as a dentist in a movie. The journalist then complimented Gervais for wearing bad fake teeth for the role. Gervais then said "He was horrified that I could have such horrible real teeth. It's like the biggest difference between the Brits and the Americans, they are obsessed with perfect teeth." 
I had never really considered the idea of years of orthodontic work to be strange at all. It is true that straight, clean, healthy teeth are actually beneficial to your health, Gervais though, is more surprised with the extreme measure that people in Hollywood take. Jimmy Steele. a, professor at the School of Dental Science at Newcastle University, has come to the conclusion that British people are more worried about teeth being functional and to some extent natural, while Americans would like their teeth to be functional, but also incredibly aesthetically pleasing. Hence all the obsession with whitening, I did not really now that teeth naturally tend to be more of a cream color than white. It is only by using a variety of chemicals that you can get a tooth to actually look white. 
The article also mentions that very much in contrast to Americans, most of the British public ridicules people for having drastic work done to their teeth. Living in America, I would be very happy to have a perfectly white and straight set of teeth, but it is always interesting to learn that everybody may not share our beliefs about somethings.