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Who would have known that grills, dental jewelry worn by hip-hop artists like Nelly and Bubba Sparks, would become a fad in middle schools across the country? 

Recently, a fifth-grader in Florida had his gold grills, which had been permanently glued to his teeth, yanked out by a school guidance counselor. The counselor said the boy’s oral decoration was an unwanted distraction.

The fifth-grader, Vincent Holloman, was given the grills as a present. His stepfather bought them as reward for getting good grades. 

The counselor was reassigned because of the incident, and Vincent was taken to the hospital, where doctors told his parents there was some damage to his gum tissue.

But most people who posted on the Miami Herald’s website were less sympathetic, one of them said a 10-year-old should not be adorned with a $500 mouthpiece:

The gradual or I should say the accelerated decay of our society. Why not buy the kid a computer or some books?How about some sporting equipment? Fishing gear? New sneakers or new clothes? But some “grillz”? Why not just buy the kid a gold plated AK-47 like the real thugs? I swear the hip hop / wanna be thug mentality is a cancer to our society.

Whether or not hip-hop is a cancer to society, wearing grillz comes with some potential health hazards, like oral cancer. Writing about the grills controversy in her column, Tonyaa Weathersbee of BlackAmericaWeb says :  

“Grills aren’t just some sort of fashion statement that invokes the usual fear in straitlaced folks who blame gangster rap for all the ills of black youth. Grills, you   see, can kill.  They can kill because they encourage tooth decay and bad oral health. Tooth decay and bad oral often lead to periodontal disease, which can lead to oral cancer.”

Weathersbee says black men have the highest incidence of oral cancer and wearing grills does nothing to help this statistic. The American Dental Association even released a statement saying grills act as a haven for bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Tooth decay aside, Vincent Holloman’s parents say they will allow him to continue wearing grills. And I’m sure he won’t be the only one.