THE pink, grinning dentures sitting in a glass of water near the bed are no longer just for the elderly. In Hollywood, the hottest accessory is a set of prosthetic teeth moulded into the smile of your favourite celebrity, be it Gwyneth Paltrow or Halle Berry.

The teeth have already been called the “snap-on smile” — a 21st-century take of the press-on nail. Customers, however, will not be grinning at the price. A celebrity resin mould, which fits on top of your average-Joe or Joan choppers, can cost up to $3,000 (£1,530).

Yet that is nothing compared with the fees charged by the Beverly Hills dentists who engineer the billion-dollar smiles of the rich and famous.

For stars such as Julia Roberts, the money is worth it. Her pearlies, after all, end up being the size of family hatchbacks when they appear on billboards along Sunset Boulevard. Each one has to be as blindingly bright as Antarctica at high noon.

Deborah Day, a 34-year-old from New York, bought a Gwyneth mould to cover up a gap, which is the orthodontic brand of Madonna, another A-list star. “I’m pushing 35,” the web editor told USA Today, “and it’s something that made me a little uncomfortable all my life. I just felt it was time to do something for me.”

She is so happy with the prosthetic choppers than she plans to upgrade to veneers — wafer-thin shells of porcelain glued on to the front of the teeth.

Marc Liechtung, a Manhattan cosmetic and restorative dentist, is one of the few dentists in America using the prosthetic smiles, which he calls Snap-On Teeth.

“The patients’ teeth are used as an anchor for the Snap-On Teeth through the use of concealed hooks and attach on to the remaining teeth,” his spokeswoman said. “No damage or irreversible treatment is done to existing teeth.”

Even patients with missing teeth can use the bolt-on smile, as long there are enough stumps left to support the fake. Dr Liechtung said that the Snap-On Teeth were less bulky than dentures. He gave warning, that the real teeth still need to be cleaned regularly, because food can get under the Snap-Ons.

Nicolle Camarata, a television host in Portland, Oregon, has a ready-made smile in the style of Sarah Jessica Parker, from Sex and the City. The prosthesis comes out, however, when the television lights are switched off. That is because she does not want to be the kind of woman for whom “the wig comes off, the fake eyelashes come off and the teeth pop out” after a date.

Going to the dentist is no longer just about fillings. It can be about fashion, too.

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