What do you think about the grillz epidemic?

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Money where your mouth is?


Teens sinking their teeth into grills - mouths full of bling


Monday, April 03, 2006


Jesse Tinsley


Plain Dealer Reporter


A broad smile revealing a mouthful of pearly whites is old school for a rising bling culture sinking its teeth into a so-called grill or front.





Individual gold-capped teeth, which have drifted in and out of fashion since the early 1970s, have given way to grills and fronts - removable mouthpieces made of gold, platinum or silver and sometimes studded with jewels.





The trend has been boosted in recent years by hip-hop icons such as Nelly and rappers like Paul Wall.





After Nelly's 2005 hit "Grillz," which glorifies the trend, young people all over scrambled to wrap their happy chops around a shiny grill.





Jacob Owens, a 17-year-old South High School student, snagged a diamond-studded silver grill a couple of months ago for $200.





"Everybody is getting grills," Owens said while hanging out at the food court at Tower City. He chose silver to set himself apart in a trend he calls a "hot new thing."





Owens sheds his grill to eat and at bedtime, but for the most part wears it for hours at a time to match his ear rings.





With a grill, chains and ear rings, he is a manifestation of bling - a term coined in the late 1990s for flashy, expen sive jewelry and other adorn ments.





Many of the mouthpieces - made from dental imprints - are purchased online. But they are sold at local outlets too, like Wired Up at Tower City.





Jeremy McGrew, manager at the Wired Up kiosk, said business has been booming since the release of "Grillz."





Generally, tooth imprints are made and sent to a jeweler who fashions the fronts and returns them to the client or retailer where the items were purchased.





Although people like Owens may find it cool to flash their fronts, the mouth jewelry has caught the attention and concern of the American Dental Association.





Matthew Messina, a Fairview Park dentist and ADA spokeman, said improper use and care of fronts can result in serious gum disease or cavities.


Owens' story confirms Messina's concern that teens are wearing their mouthpieces for long periods without cleaning them often enough.





Messina has no problem with the aesthetic aspect of a grill, but he warns of problems down the road if they are not kept clean or if they are bonded to natural teeth.





Snap-on grills do not fit particularly well in and around the teeth, he said, allowing food and bacteria to get trapped underneath, which can cause cavities or other problems like gum disease or gum recession.





Other dangers include allergic reactions to cheaper materials used to make the grills and adverse reactions to jewelry cleaners, which can burn gums, Messina said.





"The really wealthy who have them made of high-quality precious metals, you will have less allergic reaction," Messina said. "Someone going more of a cut-rate route, where they are using lesser metals, we see a lot more metal-allergic reaction to more-base metals."





Steve Michaels, who makes grills for Midwest Goldfronts in Minneapolis, said he gets clients from as far away as Cleveland and Los Angeles.





Michaels said Midwest Goldfronts does quality work and discourages customers from attaching fronts with permanent cement, which dentists say can cause tooth damage and cost more money to repair.





Messina said some vendors may be unaware that in some states - Ohio included - taking an impression of someone's mouth is considered dentistry, which requires a license.





That did not seem to concern a group of four or five teens strolling the corridors of Tower City on a recent weekday. They all smiled - revealing their bling.

What do you think about the grillz epidemic?
i got one tops and bottoms its been out for a while bling bling


u wana see it
Reply:i know someone who has those and i don't know where she got them but they cost $53. Report It

Reply:I really like the grillz.. i expecially like Paul Walls. I think its a sense of indviduality betweem rappers and there wallets. If i had the money i would defintily get one!
Reply:Just another fad.
Reply:They'll ruin your teeth. From a distance, people who wear grills look like they have rotten teeth. If they wear them long enough, they won't need them anymore because their own teeth will match how they look from a distance, only up close. Fads can be costly.
Reply:Its tacky and low class to me. I mean one or two tops but to have a mouth full its kind of nasty. The personal hygiene issues alone are too much to be dealt with, plus its another reason for "them" to make fun of "us".
Reply:It will die out soon, as with every other trend. It started down here in the south for people with regular golds, and because of the song everybody wants to look like they got money, so they get some teeth.it's bad because most people who got regular golds, they breath be stank :)and yes the song is lamer than a ******!!! the only thing hott is the beat. especially paul wall, who is this joker posed to be?
Reply:It is an expensive way to ruin a good set of teeth. No bling can compare with an unadorned, beautiful smile. Jewelry is for the body, not the teeth.
Reply:THE WHOLE GRILLZ THING ALSO KNOWN AS "FRONTS"


THEY WERE HOT BACK THEN..BUT NOW IT IS SO LAME...AND I BET SOME OF THESE JERKS GOT PERMANENT ONES..I KNOW THEIR MOUTH IS ROTTEN..THOSE GRILLZ MAKE UR BREATH STINK..AND WHEN U KISS SOMEONE WITH GRILLZ THEIR MOUTH TASTES LIKE THE SAUSAGE ON DOMINOS PIZZA (VOMITTING..LOL)


LOOK AT TRICK DADDY...YOU CAN TELL HIS REAL TEETH ARE JACKED UP..BECAUSE HE HAS GAPS IN HIS GRILLZ


THEN NELLY SAID THE DUMBEST THING EVER


"ROB THE JEWELRY STORE AND TELL EM MAKE ME A GRILL"


HOW CAN U ROB THE STORE THEN TELL THEM TO MAKE U A GRILL..BY THE TIME U WAIT..THE POLICE WOULD HAVE BEEN AT THE SCENE..AND IF U ROB THE STORE THE PEOPLE WOULD BE TOO SCARED TO CONCENTRATE ON MAKING A GRILL..THATS WHAT WE GET FOR ALLOWING A COUNTRY BUMPKIN TO RAP...THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN, AFTER HE CAME OUT WITH A NURSERY RHYME/LITTLE GIRLS GAME...AS HIS FIRST SINGLE..(DOWN DOWN BABY) THEN HE USED ANOTHER NURSERY RHYME AND ADDED IT TO A CARTOON (ANDELE ANDELE EIEIO) SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER LAME


THEN THAT TIP DRILL VIDEO..SWIPING A CREDIT CARD THROUGH A GIRLS BUTT..THAT JUST SHOWS HE PAYS FOR BOOTY...EVEN WORSE