By Ruchika Kher
Mumbai, Sep 7 (IANS) Decking up your ears, neck, ankles and wrists with precious stones is nothing new! If you are a trendsetter, you can go for dental jewellery and get a gem attached to your teeth for a dazzling smile.

Dental jewellery, a major fashion fad in Europe and the US, is fast finding a foothold in India.

“Dental jewellery involves putting precious, semi-precious or metal crystals on the teeth so that the teeth shine whenever one smiles. It’s a relatively new trend in India but is fast catching up,” dentist Monica Jagtap told IANS.

She has her own clinic, Million Dollar Smile, here and says in the recent past she has been approached by many for dental jewellery.

The process of fixing a crystal on your tooth is not very complicated and takes just 10-15 minutes. After a mouth hygiene procedure, the jewel is stuck on the tooth with an adhesive substance used in dental practices.

Jagtap said: “People going in for this procedure don’t have too many apprehensions because it’s easy, not too time-consuming, is removable and, most importantly, painless.”

The dental jewel can last a relatively long time. If the jewel gets loose unexpectedly, it can be re-attached without much hassle.

In older times people used to go for gold and silver covers to hide their decayed or damaged tooth. But dental jewellery, wherein nothing is done to the tooth except fixing a crystal on it, is a relatively new concept.

Right now the trend is popular in the big cities. In the capital, Artemis and Muskan Dental Care in West Patel Nagar provide the services, while in Bangalore one can visit Glitz Dental Care , and Dr. Sathya’s Dental Care and Health Centre for a sparkling smile.

People from different ages are endorsing this trend, but dentist Vijay Karande, who owns the clinic Smile Craft here, says it is more popular among the fashion-conscious younger generation who have earlier experimented with body piercing and tattoos.

“Dental jewellery is one of the latest things for a dazzling smile and usually college students and youngsters, who are party animals, like to sport it,” said Karande.

He also revealed that diamonds are the most preferred stones.

“Even though other coloured stones are also used for the teeth, diamonds with a flat back and properly cut are the most common stones,” he said.

As far as cost constraints of the procedure is concerned, Anjana Satyajit, dentist with the Artemis Health Institute in Gurgaon, told IANS that it’s not a grossly expensive concept.

“Getting a crystal on your tooth is not a very expensive procedure. It starts at anywhere around Rs.6,000 (almost $129) and can go up to Rs.25,000 (almost $ 538) depending upon the size and colour of the crystal used,” she said.

Mumbai-based advertising professional Swati Seth, 28, struck upon the perfect way of making her wedding day look more shimmering when she came to know about dental jewellery.

“I was getting married in 15 days when I heard about dental jewellery from a friend. This gave me the idea of making my wedding day more special. I went to the doctor and got a Swarovski crystal on one of my teeth.

“It was perfectly matching my wedding dress and gave an edge to me as a bride. It looks very nice and the best part is I have the option of getting it changed or removed whenever I want!” she said.

(Ruchika Kher can be contacted at ruchika.k@ians.in)