Flea market dental grill ruins Texas woman’s teeth

Grills, also called “front” are decorative covers often made of gold, silver or jewel-encrusted precious metals that snap over one or more of their teeth. They generally can be taken in and out but some grill wearers have attached their grills with glue. Most often these wearers are using glues that are toxic and harmful to the mouth.

That is what happened to a Texan woman purchased who purchased a what she thought was a gold dental grill at the Corpus Christi Trade Center. She paid about $1,000 to get the grill cemented on her front teeth. A grill she thought was made of gold. After wearing the grill for a year, she had to spend a lot of money to fix her teeth after several had decayed and rotted.

After wearing the grill for about a year, she noticed a bad odor coming from her mouth. She brushed, flossed, and used mouthwash, but nothing got rid of the smell.

She made a dental appointment, and that’s when she learned that food that became trapped behind the grill led to a buildup of bacteria. The residual food became a home for harmful bacteria that produced acid, which decayed her teeth and gums. When her dentist removed the grill, there were no more teeth visible.

As a dental professional, I am not a fan of  grills due to the many other possible complications. If you feel that you need to get one, however, make sure it is with a licensed professional and in a sterile environment. The grills also need to be removable so that way you can practice proper oral hygiene, can take them off when you’re eating, and properly clean them.