It’s official: tooth gems are back in style. It’s a trend that experienced a burst of popularity in the ’90s and early 2000’s (particularly in Sweden), but—like plastics choker collars and the boy-band 98 Degrees—seemed doomed to fade into obscurity. Or at least we hoped so.
For those of you not old enough to remember the questionable fashion of the ’90s, a tooth gem is a small rhinestone jewel that attaches to the surface of a tooth using the same adhesive used to attach braces to teeth. Sounds horrifying, right? That’s because it is. Most are small stones in the center of the tooth, but some people chose to place a jewel-encrusted cap over their teeth.
Lately, that added bit of sparkle has been spotted on the teeth of several celebrities, from Pink to Blink-180 drummer Travis Barker’s 9-year-old daughter Alabama Luella Barker, and most recently, the insanely cool Swedish twins Elizabeth and Victoria Lejonhjärta.
The two showed off their dental bling on their shared Instagram account:
Now dental offices, tattoo parlors, and salons across the United States can apply them for you.
Dr. Alina Lane, a dentist at All Smiles Dentistry in Greenwich Village, says she first heard about “tooth gems” three years ago. “I met a girl while traveling abroad who had a gem on her lateral incisor, and I thought it was such a cute way to accessorize her smile,” she told the Daily Mail.
“With proper maintenance, though, there really isn’t a downside to tooth gems,” said Lane. ‘They are a very safe and non-permanent way to add a touch of bling to your smile. If you want to have the gem removed at any point, we will polish off the gem and adhesive material without damaging the tooth.”
But should you ever do that? We’re going to side with “hell no.” Are we wrong here? Tell us in the comments below.
