CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local woman bought a grill at the Corpus Christi Trade Center. Not the kind you barbecue on -- the kind for your teeth.
And, a year later, she's having to dish out a lot of money to fix her teeth after the "grill" decayed and rotted several of her teeth.
A woman, who did not want to be identified, said she purchased a "grill" at the Trade Center about a year ago.
She said she paid about $1,000 to get it cemented on her front teeth, under the assumption it was made of gold.
Something dental assistant Nelly Diaz confirmed was not the case.
“Most of them are like a noble base/non-precious metal which a lot of people are allergic to,” Diaz said. “And it’s being cemented in.”
After a year of wearing her grill, the woman says she began having bad odors coming from her mouth. And, brushing, flossing and mouthwash couldn't fix it.
So, she scheduled a dental appointment.
That's when she learned from dentist Baria Yassin that the grill had trapped food and debris, and over time, built up bacteria, which Yassin said produced acid and had started decaying the women's teeth and gum tissue.
“Lo and behold that those teeth, as soon as we start cutting into it there, there were no teeth," Diaz said. "The tooth stayed on the crowns. Not only did we have to pull her teeth but we had to do a bridge to replace those missing teeth."
Diaz recommends grills only be done by licensed professionals, and in a sterile environment, but if you absolutely want some bling on your teeth, she advises a removable kind to avoid losing your pearly whites.
“There are some that do come off the clip and those are fine, as long as you do wear them and then when you're going to eat, take them off,” Diaz said. “Make sure that you floss, you brush, you keep that area clean and then you can put them on.”
The dentist would not tell us which business in the Trade Center did the work, but we did call the Trade Center and spoke to the general manager who told it is not their responsibility to ensure these vendors are properly licensed.