As Halloween approaches the "scary clown" trend continues, some people are intentionally filing their teeth to fangs or sharp points. They may be trying to become "scary clowns," or they may be following in the footsteps of the lizard man from the Guinness Book of World Records. Whatever the reason, if you are considering following suit with this unusual cosmetic procedure, here are some dangers associated with filing your teeth to fine points.

Filing Your Teeth to Sharp Points Exposes the Dentin and Pulp of Your Teeth

People who have actually followed through on this cosmetic procedure soon discover that they have a lot of dental pain and nerve sensations. This is because the procedure exposes the dentin and pulp of a tooth after so much of every tooth is filed down to a sharp, pointy fang. These are the living parts of every tooth, where the nerves, blood vessels and soft tissues of the tooth exist. Sealants help protect the dentin and pulp in these cosmetically-shaped teeth, but the sealants have to regularly reapplied to avoid painful sensations.

Cavities Abound

It is no surprise that filing away a large portion of your teeth to create this look opens up your teeth to lots of cavities. Since the teeth are already lacking most of their original material, it is very difficult to fill the cavities without breaking pieces of the pointy teeth off. If you want to go ahead with the procedure anyway, make sure your current and future oral hygiene is perfect so that you do not have to worry about cavities and the special issues with your scary teeth.

Biting, Chewing, Talking, and Kissing Should Be Done VERY Carefully

Having all of your teeth filed to sharp points means that you now have a mouthful of painful weapons. Biting instantly becomes easier with food, but extremely painful and bloody with a sexual partner. Chewing should also be done carefully, or you might shear your tongue in half with your newly-shaped teeth. Talking will need some adaptations as well, since many of the consonants and diphthongs used in speech rely on putting your tongue to the front of your teeth. Resonation and pronunciation will be very different.

As for kissing, you could seriously injure someone with your teeth while French kissing, and even hurt him/her with lip kisses when your teeth connect with his/her mouth. Everything that has something to do with your mouth will have to be done very carefully.

For more information, talk to a dentist.

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