‘And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day’

The shops might have been playing Christmas songs for the last month or so (and some even longer than that!), but for Shane MacGowan of the band Pogues, this Christmas is about much more than their iconic single ‘The Fairytale of New York’, as he appears on our television sets for a very different reason.

This Sunday Sky Arts will be screening an hour-long documentary entitled ‘Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn’. The programme details MacGowan’s transformation in which he is fitted with a brand new set of dentures. Irish dental surgeon Darragh Mulrooney features alongside MacGowan in the documentary. In an interview prior to the programme, Mulrooney described the task of working to restore MacGowan’s smile as ‘the Everest’ of dentistry, and as being a job that was ‘as big as it gets’.

MacGowan has long been known for his incomplete and irregular set of teeth which were revealed to spectators through his open singing mouth. Drug and alcohol abuse over the years led to a further decline in MacGowan’s teeth, until he lost his final natural tooth around seven years ago. A set of dentures were made for MacGowan in 2009, but these proved to be ineffective and weren’t fit for the job. It is reported that this time round MacGowan undertook a nine hour procedure in order to have his new set of dentures put into position on a titanium frame.

Although MacGowan now has a new set of teeth, which will be revealed in the documentary, questions will be asked about the impact of the work on his singing voice. This is a matter yet to be confirmed, but it goes without saying that singing voices are much like other musical instruments: his voice was tuned in a particularly way by the teeth (and lack of teeth) he had. The tongue is a finely attuned muscle, and is very precise in its movements. Therefore MacGowan’s voice has been ‘retuned’ and needs time to settle down and find itself once more.

If you’re considering your options and would like to know more about dentures and dental implants we’d be happy to provide information and advice. You can visit our website information pages, or give us a call to book a consultation. Dental implants are a great option for those wishing to replace damaged or missing teeth. Single teeth can be replaced, or we can support you to create a full new set: there are many options.

For more information on the documentary, please see the full Guardian article or tune into ‘Shane MacGowan: A Wreck Reborn’ on Sky Arts this Sunday. One is for certain: it’s going to be a sparkly white (and smiling) Christmas for MacGowan this year.