Tooth Gems or Tooth Ache

Sitting down, gazing into the mouth of the client, a gold gem is gently applied onto the tooth of the customer, the client looks into the mirror as you see their teeth glisten and their mouth slowly arch into a smile.

“I have a billion-dollar smile now and it was worth every penny.” Pierce Powell, a customer who was eager to receive his second tooth gem, said.

This is the work of Anne Becker, owner of Bombshell_studios_llc and certified cosmetic dentist. Anne Becker was the first person across all of Long Island that started offering this service. Becker has worked on over a hundred customers, giving them a new way to smile with confidence.

“After getting a tooth gem of my own but it fell off two weeks later, I decided that I was going to learn how to do this and do it better,” said Becker.

Diamonds are usually seen around the neck, wrist or fingers but people ranging from celebrities, models and fashion enthusiasts are placing these gems right on their teeth. A fashion trend dating all the way back to the ‘90s is slowly making its way back but it also has history.

The practice of Tooth gems can be seen in Mayan traditions, they were known to decorate teeth similar to the way tooth gems look now but instead of temporary, they would apply the gem by embedding the teeth with stones and by carving notches and grooves into them.

“The Mayans are credited with being the masters of cosmetic dentistry as they were known to decorate teeth by embedding them with precious stones or by carving notches and grooves into them,” according to Ancient Origins.

This was a lot more complicated than how the procedure is done today because it required tiny holes to be chipped out of the teeth making it permanent. The Mayans were very knowledgeable of tooth anatomy because they knew how exactly how to drill into teeth without damaging it.

“This has always been a trend and has been going on in Europe and other parts of the United Kingdom for years. Only they drill the tooth and insert the gem, however, the United States was behind the times. And like all trends. Toothgem has been popular in the 80 & 90 and like all trends in fashion, it comes full circle,” Becker said.

This tradition is carried on today and can be seen on the likes of celebrities ranging from Kendal Jenner, Pink, Katy Perry, and Haily Bieber. Each of their gems holds a unique style to the person, some have real diamond gems and others have crown jewels.

Bombshell Studios carries all types of gems that can be crafted into unique jewels such as crowns, crosses, daggers, and skulls.

“I have genuine Swarovski crystals, different 100% real gold charms. Yellow gold, white gold, and rose-pink gold from 14kt to 24kt, I also have real Diamonds as well.” Becker said.

Tooth gems can last from six weeks all the way to two years if taken care of properly. It can be extremely dangerous as well if the client tries to take the gem out themselves. Becker suggests that if you want the gem taken out you must go to an actual dentist to remove it or it can damage

There are zero health issues to getting a tooth gem, zero drillings required and they can only be applied to a virgin tooth, meaning that the tooth had no cavities or cosmetic procedures done to it.

“All my tooth gems are applied with top of the line high grade dental binding agent,” said Becker.

Becker claims she is a certified cosmetic dentist but when asked to address how she became certified she only said that she was trained by the best in the industry. All she was allowed to discuss is what she uses to keep the gem in place. Becker uses a special primer and bonding agent before thoroughly cleaning the gems or charms for the tooth.

“Unfortunately, I will not disclose the process of becoming certified as I hope you and the people reading can understand and respect that it is my business and I would not want people to take a shortcut or similar steps,” said Becker

According to Oral Surgeon, Dr. Scott Noren, from the Ithaca Oral Surgery and Implant Center, there is no title for what becker does nor does it require any specific certification and what she does is completely different from what a real cosmetic dentist does in the field.

“Do it yourself dentistry has unintended consequences, but there is no such thing as a certified cosmetic dentist, you can do cosmetic dentistry but there’s no specialty in that,” said Dr. Noren.

By stating that she is a cosmetic dentist without any proper dental schooling can be illegal according to Dr. Noren, “She shouldn’t put in her Instagram page that she is a certified cosmetic dentist if she doesn’t have the proper schooling and she can be violating the law, by portraying herself as a dentist when she’s clearly not a licensed dentist.” Dr. Nolen said.

Becker works out of a Tattoo Ritual in Farmingdale but also specifies that she is a mobile business when it comes to tooth gems. She has traveled all across the Island to put new smiles in her client’s mouths and has even met up with them at their barbershops such as with John Santiago who recently received his first gem.

“Anne Marie was at the barbershop where I get my haircut at, she had just put a tooth gem on one of the owners. I immediately wanted one too and asked if she was able to get me a gold crown. The first day I had it in I felt it a lot but by the end of the second I didn’t even notice it,” John Santiago said.

Becker seems to commute to these local barbershops to find her clientele because she recently applied a second gem to a client who fell in love with his smile.

“She came through to me actually and did it right at my friend’s barbershop. Took about 15 mins,” said Powell.

Powell described the experience as if he were at the dentist but rather on the go. The process took about fifteen minutes, Powell states it was completely painless, Becker made sure to sterilize all her equipment as she normally does and did what she knows best. Powell compared the feeling afterward to having braces.

“I decided to do it cause it’s different and not many people have it. I like to be different and separate myself when I can, especially with something cool style-wise like this. Plus it’s subtle,” said Powell.

Many of Becker’s customers fall in love with the way they look after getting their first gem, prompting them to keep on coming back for more.

“I got my first one a while ago and just recently got another one. I plan on getting a third as well soon,” Powell said.