If you need a grill, use a dentist | Letter

Dentists are rightly “on a warpath over dental jewelery fitting” and the offering of grills (spelled “grillz” in hip-hop culture) by “studio technicians” and other unqualified providers (from £35 crystals to £30,000 diamonds: the breathtaking rise of dental jewelry, March 5).

In addition to being an illegal practice of dentistry, as confirmed by the General Dental Council, the use of gems and trinkets and the offering of grills, let alone making your own dental decorations and offering grills online (remotely) , have many unintended consequences, including accidental inhalation, permanent damage to teeth and gums and, in the case of grills, disruption of occlusion (the way the teeth meet and articulate), as we reported this year in the magazine Dental Update.

As we concluded in our article, if someone is determined to have dental jewelry or grills, it would be in his or her best interest if a dentist provided them. The fees would be a small price to pay to avoid irreparable damage that can be costly to manage both immediately and later throughout life.
Nairn Wilson
President Emeritus, College of General Dentistry; Emeritus Professor of Dentistry, King’s College London
Sugar Shegar
Senior House Officer, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust