Gold teeth are a form of dental prosthesis. They are sometimes used for cosmetic purposes.

Dental restoration

Dentists have used gold for filling cavities (before mercury amalgam

Amalgam (dentistry)

Amalgam is an alloy containing mercury. The term is commonly used for the amalgam employed as material for dental fillings, which consists of mercury , silver , tin , copper , and other trace metals...

 became available), for crowns, and for other purposes. Gold is malleable, nearly immune to corrosion, and hard enough to form a biting surface that can be used for years. Gold had been used before silver was available and continued to be used for specialized purposes. After 1980, gold inlays and gold foil work became rare in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Cosmetic uses

In certain regions of the world, especially in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet countries, Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 and the Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...

, gold teeth are worn as a status symbol

Status symbol

A status symbol is a perceived visible, external denotation of one's social position and perceived indicator of economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols...

, a symbol of wealth. Originally the most expensive historical dental prosthetic, these are sometimes now installed in place of healthy teeth or as crowns over filed-down healthy teeth.

Grills

Grill (jewelry)

thumb|A gold dental grillIn hip hop culture, a grill is a type of jewelry worn over the teeth. Grills are made of metal and are generally removable. They began to be worn by hip hop artists in the early 1980s, but they became widely popular during the mid-2000s due to the rise of Dirty South rap...

, false tooth covers made of metal, have become a popular hip hop fashion in the United States. While some rap musicians have had their gold teeth permanently attached to existing teeth, most people who purchase them for aesthetic purposes opt for removable gold teeth caps. In 2005, Nelly released the rap single Grillz

Grillz

"Grillz" is a song by American rapper Nelly from his compilation album Sweatsuit. The song features Paul Wall and Ali & Gipp. Brandi Williams also does back-up vocals on the song, but is not officially credited as a featured artist . The song was produced by Jermaine Dupri. The song is about...

which promotes the dental apparatus.

Gold teeth as a fashion statement began in Miami, Florida, sometime in the 1960s, but it was not until the 1980s that gold teeth became popular in the hip-hop world.

Further reading

• The gold standard of style: No longer just for tough guys, glittering grills go mainstream", San Francisco Chronicle
  San Francisco Chronicle
  thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
  
  (SF Gate). May 1, 2005. Retrieved January 16, 2006.