WHEN Elvis left the building, he probably never expected a piece of him to remain on tour. But a dentist in Cottingham asked patients to say "aaah huh" as the King's crown went on display at his practice.
Chris Branfield and the team at Castle Park Dental Care dressed up as Elvis and celebrated the international star when his crown went on show this week.
"I had the air con on freezing all day. Working in a PVC suit and wig was boiling," said Chris, 44. "I already had the Elvis costume at home, so it was an excuse to wear it.
"When people left I said 'thank you very much' in Elvis's voice, which made a few people chuckle."
The crown was on loan from Dr Michael Zuk, a Canadian dentist who collects celebrity teeth. It toured the UK from April and was on display in Cottingham this week for its last appointment, before being flown back to its owner.
Chris and the team used it to raise awareness of mouth cancer. They teamed up with Lloyds Pharmacy and invited patients in for screenings and to give advice.
Chris, who has been a dentist in Cottingham since 2002, said: "If you can diagnose mouth cancer early enough, it is very treatable.
"Doing the Elvis-themed day meant we could raise awareness and have a bit of a laugh at the same time.
Castle Park Dental Care is one of a number of dental practices in the UK that had the tooth on display. It is part of a group that borrowed John Lennon's tooth from Dr Zuk last year.
Chris said: "The crown was made for Elvis by his dentist, Henry J Weiss in 1971.
"Apparently, he had a habit of knocking his teeth on the microphone when he was performing. Dr Zuk later bought it and let some of us have it on display."
When he isn't dressing as Elvis and doing bad impersonations for patients, Chris is a trustee for Dental Mavericks. He recently went to Morocco to treat children who have been unable to access dental care.
He said: "We flew out on May 30 and came back on June 4. During that time we took out about 250 teeth. It was heartbreaking."
Chris was particularly touched by one person called Mohammad, who was very scared about having his teeth taken out.
"He had a head injury and had brain damage, so he found it difficult to cooperate," said Chris, who lives in Beverley. "I managed to connect with him and got him breathing slowly so he could calm down.
"I eventually managed to get him numb and take some of his teeth out, then we had a little break and did the other side of his mouth.
"He told me afterwards, 'you are a good man'. It was a life-changing experience. He was very brave."
• To donate to Dental Mavericks, visit dentalmavericks.org or castleparkdental.co.uk.
Dentist wants to clone John Lennon
Maverick dentist Dr Michael Zuk says he wants to use a rotten tooth he bought at auction to clone John Lennon, pictured.
The Canadian, who also loaned the Elvis crown to Chris and his team, bought the tooth at auction for $30,000.
He made the announcement he wants to clone John Lennon on a BBC radio show last year.
He would extract Lennon's genetic sequence from the yellowed wisdom tooth.
Dr Zuk is known for collecting the teeth of dead celebrities. He bought the Elvis crown, nicknamed The King's Crown, at auction for £6,500.
It came to Castle Park Dental Care in Cottingham as part of a UK tour.
