The sighting: Supermodel Bella Hadid was spotted out and about in Paris with something diamond bright sparkling in her pearly whites. That’s right…we’ve got a tooth jewel.
The jewels: Hadid’s tooth jewel is a tiny, glistening diamond attached to the lower corner of her front left canine tooth. It doesn’t appear to be part of an apparatus, it’s directly attached to the tooth itself.
The trends: Tooth gems aren’t a new idea. Hadid has even Instagrammed herself in tooth jewels once before, in 2017. The concept was first popularized by the gem-laden grills sparkling in the mouths of predominantly Black hip hop artists and rappers in the 1990’s.
This incarnation of the trend is much daintier, a barely-visible diamond droplet, almost a secret, visible only under just the right conditions.
As for whether or not I think this trend could catch on…Bella Hadid has one of the largest social media followings in the world. I bet that somewhere, a young girl has already glued a rhinestone to her teeth because of these photos.
What do we think? I think a tooth gem is a fun new accessory for a supermodel to test drive while strolling around Paris, but I fell into a Google rabbit hole about tooth gems and now I need to share the horrifying things I just learned.
According to an article in InStyle, tooth gems are usually attached through a process similar to applying braces. The tooth is etched with a type of acid and then the gem is bonded to the tooth. Gems attached this way can last for months or years. Apparently you can buy DIY kits to do this at home, but dentists recommend getting a professional involved.
Dentists also caution against the risk that tooth gems can fall off and be swallowed or aspirated, which I think may have just cured me of wanting to try it myself. There is also an increased risk of cavities forming if the bejeweled tooth isn’t cleaned regularly and carefully.
So. It looks cool! It’s fun. But it isn’t risk-free.
Judgement: 8/10 because I enjoy the look but I can’t stop thinking about the horror of accidently choking on a tooth gem in the night
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