you've been on 'The View.'" Or they want to know that Dr. Golub-Evans has ministered to the marquee mouths of Regis Philbin and Wayne Newton.

Dr. Irwin Smigel, president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics and, after 40 years in practice, a dean in the field, is skeptical of his high-flying colleagues.

The high-end New York dentists — not the (800) NU TEETH guys on the subway — share several uncanny similarities. They tend to come from blue-collar backgrounds. Many are ex-musicians and share a vision of the dentist as artist. Their own fake teeth always look amazingly real.

But each has a unique style. And even a selective sampling reveals a distinct typology.

The Smile Lifter

"I'm not God," Dr. Rosenthal said. "I'm only a dentist."