Vampire teeth warning

A fad for vampire teeth, where lovers of spooky Gothic music file their canine teeth into sharp points, may pose problems in the future.

Music fans who file their teeth to a point also wear black clothing and make-up so that they look like scary people with a thirst for fresh blood. Another variation is with a pointy crown added to the canines.

But according to KKH, an insurer in the northern city of Muenster, once teeth are filed teeth they then lack their natural enamel and are likely to be hit by caries or to break off at the tip. The pointy crown which is added to the canines could also cause damage by weakening the other teeth and make chewing painful and tiring, said KKH expert Uwe Starck.

He said health problems caused by the vanity fad were not covered by health insurance. "We don’t know of dentists doing the alterations,” said KKH official Uljana Klein. “It tends to be done by tattooists and the like." – (Sapa, September 2008)

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