So first there was Simply Red! The younger readers (and maybe some older ones) will need to google. But to shortcut google and answer why this is related to a dental newsletter, Simply Red’s lead singer, Mike Hucknall, had a ruby cemented to his upper left canine tooth. Why you ask. Well because the band was Simply Red and he thought it was cool. Then to celebrate the new millennium he changed it to a diamond. Believe it or not Simply Red is still touring in Europe. So what sort of interesting tooth embellishments are available on the market and are they safe, do they damage teeth and do you want one?
Dental supply companies supply a range of glittery gold, silver and other trinkets that your dentist can stick onto your teeth. Generally, these are quite small and thin and are stuck on with tooth coloured flowable resin very similarly to orthodontic brackets. For anyone who has had orthodontic brackets you will know that the dentist will etch the enamel, place a bond layer that is cured, place the bracket with the adhesive cement and cure it. The process is exactly the same. Your orthodontist would also have said don’t eat anything hard or sticky forever on your brackets or they will come off. Well the same is true for these fancy tooth blings. When you decide you don’t want the pretty little trinket on your tooth it needs to be buffed off. It can be a bit tricky to see where all the cement is so sometimes a thin layer of enamel is removed at the same time. Hence there can be some damage to the tooth putting the bling on and taking it off. You may also get some ulceration on your cheek and or inside your lips from the edges until your soft tissues get used to it. Now diamonds and rubies are a bit trickier as they can be bigger and might need some drilling of the tooth surface to make the stone flat against the tooth surface. Drilling teeth for this is probably not the option your dentist would prefer you to take.
Then there is the Cosplay options for Dracula or Klingon or shark teeth which slip over your natural teeth made by taking impressions of your teeth and constructing an acrylic tooth coloured pull down in the shape that is desired. These are often quite bulky because they go over the natural teeth and shouldn’t be worn all the time as they are difficult to clean underneath resulting in holes in your teeth. You can buy these on the internet but this is a buyer beware post as sometimes the materials they use can lock into the spaces between your teeth making it very difficult or impossible to remove! If you are interested we have a reputable dental laboratory which we work through who can design and construct items for you.
And then there are grills, fins etc that go in front of your teeth or behind so when you open your mouth they are visible. Again, these are made by taking an impression, making a design and a dental laboratory milling or constructing a cobalt chrome item to the design. Cobalt chrome is the material we use for making metal partial dentures. There are examples of some in gold, which would be prohibitively expensive.
Each to their own! If you are keen to find out more make an appointment and we can talk you through options.
See you in the clinic! The Adelaide City Dental Care Team. PS: check out our socials (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for top tips for teeth, mouth and gums and dental family snaps! Maybe even the latest video on YouTube.
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