I'm serious. I saw a number of people who had "teeth art." These were silver or gold stars or crescent moons attached (I'm assuming glued) to their teeth. They were very prevalent among women. A number of women in my host family had silver caps and stars on their teeth. It was hard to get a picture of this because every time I asked someone with teeth art to smile for a picture they always smiled with their mouth closed. That was if they smiled at all. Many Guatemalans are stone faced in photos. I don't know why Guatemalans don't show off their teeth art in pictures - I think that here it is more of a fashion statement than something that they are ashamed of. It's not just gold fillings or caps. I have seen a lot of these gold stars and moon slivers on teeth. Most dentists out in the rural areas seem to be mainly focused on teeth art, putting gold/metal on teeth, and extractions.
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| Dental Clinic Popular |
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| The picture to the left - gold outlines and stars |
From what I have experienced in rural Guatemala proper oral hygiene is a major issue. It is very common to see children and adults alike with rotting teeth. That is why getting kids to brush their teeth in school after snack time is one of the main components of the Healthy Schools Project (my job in Guatemala). It may seem silly to those living in the United States, but #1 you are really supposed to brush your teeth three times a day (or after every meal) hem hem and #2 the idea is that many of these kids don't brush their teeth twice a day at home so this way they brush them at least once a day.
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| My host sister, Cristal, has a silver grill |
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| It was so sad to see all of the kids with rotting teeth |
Glad to see the posts are still happening! This tooth adornment is news to me.
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