In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of modification fashions related to the mouth or teeth, and from Vélez and Lozano We bring you another one of them. Whether the grillz -those golden jewels for the mouth-, or the yaeba -the craze among young Japanese girls, who seek to twist their teeth-, the truth is that we have seen almost everything. Almost. According to numerous sources, dental tattoos are all the rage in the United States and some Asian countries.
This practice consists of permanently drawing on a veneer that is then placed in the patient's mouth. The trend, which apparently began in the 1970s in the United States, was mostly used by people whose teeth had suffered severe decay and needed to replace their natural teeth.
In the same way that grillz, originally used as a symbol of belonging to street gangs, became a fashion accessory for female pop stars, dental tattoos are gaining ground among upper-middle-class young people who no longer associate them with a lower-class fashion.
Dental clinics that perform this type of procedure ask the client for an image they wish to have printed on their teeth; the image is then placed in the hands of expert ceramists, who hand-paint the images. The process is quite complex and can take some time, as the work is done in several layers, with the addition of the small space for the miniature drawing. Finally, when the image is completely adhered, the crown is heated in an oven to obtain the final finish. Finally, all that remains is to place the piece in the patient's mouth.
Most people who decide to get dental tattoos usually choose their molars and premolars, although in recent years it has become common to find people who have decided to get tattoos of other more visible teeth, such as incisors or canines.
This new fad related to body art is not in principle dangerous for oral health, as long as it is done using artificial crowns or veneers and is carried out by specialists using the appropriate materials and techniques. On the other hand, there are fashions related to the world of oral tattooing that are much more dangerous and can put oral health at serious risk, such as tattooing the gums or lips.
