Kanye West has reportedly had ‘fixed titanium dentures’ fitted – but what does the dentist think?
This week, news broke that the US rapper had opted for a new metallic look, sparking backlash from both the dental world and the public.
The procedure was performed by dentist Dr Thomas Connelly. Writing on his Instagram, he said: “We have a custom Proclaim appliance co-constructed with access areas for interproximal flushing.
“The fixed prosthesis was fabricated to mimic the precise occlusion and housing of its function. His vocals are perfect. The prosthesis respects all aspects of dental technology, including function and cleanability. More photos to come. No teeth were removed.’
We spoke to dental professionals to see what their thoughts are on cosmetic treatment.
Nilesh Parmar – dentist
Looking at the news, it looks like Kanye West had some invasive dental treatment. When I first saw the pictures, I assumed she was making something known as a grill – a ‘cosmetic device’ that might have precious metals or diamonds placed on it. These are not glued to the teeth, they just sit on them.
However, upon closer inspection and after seeing dentist Dr Thomas Connelly demonstrate what he had made, it appears that all the teeth have been prepared to accept various precious metal bridges.
Obviously, we don’t know the condition of the teeth beforehand. This movement of celebrities getting irreversible dental treatment for purely cosmetic reasons is somewhat alarming. The risks of tooth decay, difficulty cleaning, and ultimately tooth loss are very real.
The added concern is that today’s youth will think that undergoing invasive procedures like this is something that is desirable, when, in fact, it is somewhat foolish.
Manrina Rhode – dentist
The article at Daily Mail it caused quite a stir in the dental community, with even my non-dentist friends sending me a link to the article. I guess that’s what Kanye was hoping to achieve – a buzz. Mission accomplished!
The article stated that he had his teeth removed, but after a closer look at Dr Connelly’s dentist Instagram page, it appears that he had all of his teeth prepared for crowns that fit together. Also, I get that Kanye wants to look like a James Bond villain, but is cutting all your teeth to achieve the look too much? I think so.
How is this different from a patient coming to me for a smile makeover, you may ask? The difference is that I will remove minimal amounts of tooth tissue to achieve my results. If a patient asked me to crown all their healthy teeth, I would not be ready to do a treatment. I have been asked by patients in the past who want a “perfect” smile on the front and back of their teeth to be restored instead of veneers, but I decline and explain that we will veneer for the best, safest result.
I talked with one of my friends and technicians, Kash from Bremadent, about how we would have created the titanium grillz, and we decided that the best option would be no or minimal labial prep and lingual/palatal prep. So when the patient gets tired of them, the teeth can be restored with minimally invasive porcelain.
Let’s see what Kanye does with his teeth next…
Kash Qureshi – dental technician
Manrina and I were discussing how we would discuss this case if it were presented to us. From looking directly at the pictures, you don’t want this to be a permanent restoration, you want it to be a temporary one – even if it is cemented, it can be cemented in temporarily.
So if I was going to prep anything, I would do minimal prep on the lips, but I would do more prep on the palate and tongue because they don’t show in the mouth. This would allow us to reconstruct a grill of this nature.
Looking at the way the grill is made, it’s made with an increased occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) which is fine for someone like Kanye who has had a mouth reconstruction, but not every patient is going to tolerate it. It will create a lot of TMJ problems in the future, as well as problems with eating and chewing – all for vanity.
Critical thoughts
In general, I think that’s how everyone should approach this process. I even made my own set of grillz to prove to myself that I can do it. It was a very strange feeling when I first put them over my teeth – it felt like something was hugging over it. You couldn’t really chew or talk.
Knowing that Kanye’s main income comes from his vocals, it can be a bit difficult for him to speak, sing and rap, because the tongue will hit the golden grill, even though there is only a small part that appears palatally, and that will change his voice.
There was a famous opera singer who wore full upper dentures, Pavarotti. He used to sing, but the air traveled through his dentures which made them jingle. This affected his voice and speech, so he ended up getting dentures that were held in place when he sang. There are always things like that to consider, but if I was going to approach something like this, I think this would be the best way.
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