A Shining Smile

Dental jewellery is a growing fad in Ludhiana.

A smile,they say,can brighten a face,a day or even a room. But for a growing number of people in Ludhiana,a smiles natural brightening abilities are not enough. To truly shine,a smile needs to rely on jewellery. Not the ugly gold tooth sparkling in a sea of white for Ludhianas young and not-so-young,but crystals,stones and synthetic diamonds cut neatly in the shape of flowers or stars and glued to the teeth.

We fix the jewel with a dental glue,which takes only five minutes to do. The wearer can remove it himself,but to get it glued again,hell need our help. A jewel lasts about two to three years, says Dr Vivek Saggar,an orthodontist who attends to seven patients (or rather clients) a month for the procedure. Another dentist,Dr Atamjeet Singh,gets 15-20 such clients a month,while Dr RS Thind fixes 15 pieces of jewellery every month. The demand is the highest during Valentine season,says Dr Thind,who organised a dental jewellery festival in the city in February. In that month,we offer a lot of package deals,and one can get a jewel fixed on to a tooth for as little as Rs 999,though with the purity of the jewel,the price goes up. A fine-quality crystal can cost up to Rs 4,000, says Dr Thind,who imports crystals of different colours from Germany for the purpose. I had ordered some 100 pieces two months ago,and within the period,all have been used, he says.

The obvious takers for such a fad are the young. Namrita Sinmar,a 20-year-old,can be easily spotted in a crowd,thanks to the glint of diamond in her smile. She had got it fixed two days before Valentines Day to please my boyfriend,and after looking at my jewel,my friends followed suit. She is glad that her smile shines even in the night. Aarti Kapur,18,too,asked Dr Saggar to fix a star-shaped crystal on the canine to get more attention.

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Besides college students,brides-to-be are also taking to the trend. Dental jewellery is now a part of the wedding make-up,and I have had mothers bringing their daughters for it, says Dr Singh,who carries out most such procedures in the wedding season,though some women get it fixed even for kitty parties.

Though the youth and women form the bulk of such clients,men and those in their 40s and 50s are also experimenting with dental jewellery. A hosiery exporter in his early 40s,who does not want to be named,has got a diamond worth Rs 1.5 lakh fixed on his front tooth in order to make a better impression on importers. Madan Gaba,a 58-year-old who runs a mobile phone store,got a star-shaped crystal fixed on his tooth in order to look young and bright. Dr Singh says a 50-something ghazal singer recently came to him for the procedure ahead of his shows in the US and Canada.

Dental jewellery,say doctors,doesnt damage the teeth. Bejewelled teeth can be brushed,and are not a hurdle while eating. I was feeling odd just for two days after the procedure,but now I dont feel as if anything is fixed on my tooth, says Sinmar.

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Valentine season

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