Sparkly smiles

SMILE PLEASE! Don't be surprised if you spot a sparkle at the corner of a tooth or right in front with maybe a Chanel logo or a Nike logo in gold platting. Celebrities including Hailey Baldwin, Katy Perry and Pink have embraced tooth jewellery.

Decades ago, dentistry was restricted to pain, fear and discomfort. Over time, fashion has made a foray into dentistry too, changing its dynamics with tooth jewellery!

Tooth jewellery is a cosmetic dental procedure in which a diamond or any other stone is attached to the tooth surface in order to gain the spark and look more fashionable.

Dr. Sagar Shah a Mumbai based cosmetic dentist explains, "The process of tooth jewellery is very simple. First the tooth on which the accessory is placed is cleaned and then etched followed by a bonding solution. The entire process takes about 10-15 minutes. The process is painless without any cutting of the tooth surface or drilling. Usually the jewels are only 0.6 mm thick, so initially it gets uncomfortable until one gets used to it."

He further adds, "Tooth jewels come in all shapes and sizes. We have transparent crystals, rubies and birth stones for decorating one's teeth. There are as many as 40 shapes that one can have on their teeth ranging from dolphins with real diamonds and gold fish for sea lovers, to football for football lovers, a pack of cards for poker players to a heart or a playboy logo, from stars to crossed hearts and more. You can bite into it all on yellow or white gold. Other shapes that rock are of a horseshoe or a beetle car set with real sapphires. Swaroski crystals are also an option." Dr Shah recollects a bizarre case while working in UK, wherein a patient opted for a lizard image on his tooth as a part of tooth jewel.

The thought that may cross everyone's mind is will the accessorised tooth be affected by brushing? Dr. Shah immediately replies, "No! Infact the jewellery will serve as a reminder to the bejewelled owner to brush it and see it sparkle. One also need not have the fear of swallowing the jewel as normally it doesn't come off and even if it does it is thrown out by the tongue. It doesn't have any sharp edges."

So while diamonds last forever, tooth jewellery is temporary. It will stay on until the wearer decides to have it, and it can be easily removed by a dental professional without leaving any visible signs. The design can be changed several times and one can even go back to their original smile as and when they wish to.

People want a sparkling smile in order to improve their beauty even more, and the dentists want their teeth to be healthy. Dentists are committed in maintaining the health of teeth at all costs. Therefore, newer advances and trends in dental procedures are making dentistry more interesting among patients as well as dentists.

– The writer is a cosmetic and implant dentist.

Disclaimer: Always check with a specialist before going ahead with this procedure.