Put jewelry where your mouth is
\nWilmington Morning Star, NC<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Sam Scott
\nStaff Writer
\nsam.scott@starnewsonline.com
\nDaRon Baldwin, a.k.a KYD, could already turn heads with his mouth. The junior at New Hanover High School is a member of Young But Grindin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, a local rap group that has performed all over downtown.<\/p>\n
But he has another lure now: a molded white gold mouthpiece that gives him the glinting grin that is much revered in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hip-hop fashion.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everybody keeps complimenting me on it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Baldwin, who limits wearing the jewelry to performances and other special occasions.<\/p>\n
Metal and bejeweled \u00e2\u20ac\u0153grills\u00e2\u20ac\u009d have been around for years. But hyped by rappers like Nelly and Paul Wall, the snap-on jewelry has been a surging trend around the country \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and by trickles in the Wilmington area.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everybody is asking about them, especially after that song from Nelly,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Shan Ali, manager of Jasmine Diamonds in Westfield Independence mall, which has a catalog of designs on its counter. Prices begin at $150.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no end to it,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The more you want, the more we can do to it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\nThe trend has been limited in Wilmington by difficulty in ordering. Customers have to go to a dentist first to pay for a mold of their teeth, in line with legal requirements, Ali said. Molds can cost $50 to $150.<\/p>\n
In bigger cities, some jewelers take the mold themselves, sometimes ignoring rules in certain states that consider taking an impression of someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mouth to be unlicensed dentistry. Baldwin got his in Atlanta where the jeweler took the mold and made the jewelry.<\/p>\n
Real dentists don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always smile on the fashion, saying grills risk trapping bacteria, causing gum disease as well as scratching teeth. Matthew Messina, a dentist and spokesman for the American Dental Association, cautioned about reactions to cheap metal and jewelry cleaners, which can burn gums.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Anytime you put anything on your teeth that are going to slide on and off you have the potential for a multitude of different problems,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Mark Janosky, a dentist
\nwith the New Hanover Community Health Center.<\/p>\n
Brandon Hickman, a local radio disc jockey and Murray Middle School teacher, said the roots of grills go as deep as grandmothers with gold crowns. Flavor Flav, of rap legend Public Enemy, made them big in the 1980s, he said.<\/p>\n
This go-round has been fueled by the added ease of ordering on the Internet, Hickman said. The trend probably hit its peak earlier in the year, but any time it seems to be fading, he sees someone new wearing one, he said.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153A lot of cats wear grills,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said.<\/p>\n
This report contains material from the Associated Press.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0192<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Put jewelry where your mouth is Wilmington Morning Star, NC By Sam Scott Staff Writer sam.scott@starnewsonline.com DaRon Baldwin, a.k.a KYD, could already turn heads with his mouth. The junior at New Hanover High School is a member of Young But Grindin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, a local rap group that has performed all over downtown. But he has another […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n