Not everyone is born with sparkling teeth like Kanye West. Not EVEN Kanye. He took his rapping riches and bought himself a shiny set of DIAMOND teeth to flash around. Before we get to the icy details of Kanye's grill, let's start at the beginning of the oral bling trend - with GOLD teeth. While dentists saw 14, 18 and 22 carat gold as the perfect strong, malleable metal for fillings, crowns, and fake teeth -- urban America saw it as a STATUS symbol. Rappers Slick Rick and Flava Flav took gold teeth up a notch, introducing a new audience to vanity plates of gold, silver, platinum and even JEWELED grills, worn over the front of the teeth. While gold teeth can be used to remedy ACTUAL dental issues, grills and oral-jewelry are used as a temporary, optional add-on - like a fashion accessory, and can be taken on or off anytime. Grills are made from dental molds, made either by a dentist or for cheaper models, in a do-it-yourself kit using dental putty and wax. Grills can cost anywhere from one hundred to THOUSANDS of dollars, depending on the materials used and number of teeth covered -- just look at Lil Wayne's oral investment! According to the American Dental Association, if grills FIT RIGHT and are worn intermittently, there is a LOW RISK of dental problems. But grills made from base metals CAN cause allergic reactions, and bacteria trapped UNDER a grill can lead to gum disease, cavities and even bone loss - so good hygiene is a MUST when wearing grills. Now as for those rows of diamond teeth you may see. You can either have the teeth trimmed down to support a pricey gold and diamond encrusted bridge...or, another possibility it to have the teeth pulled and REPLACED with titanium implants, having the diamonds built on TOP of the teeth. While this style of accessorizing isn't a common procedure, it is actually dangerous since diamonds are much harder than natural teeth and will cause excessive wear and breakage of the opposing teeth.Now...Either of these methods would be EXTREMELY expensive, a more cost-effective option is to have the jewels BONDED directly to the SURFACE of the teeth. However, if bonded TOO CLOSE to the gum line, teeth accessories CAN irritate the gums. Also, accumulation of plaque, tartar and debris from improper hygiene can cause inflammation and, potentially, gingivitis, gum recession, periodontitis, infections, and EVEN bone loss if untreated. Occasionally, bonding bulky jewels to tooth surfaces COULD interfere with bite, causing chewing issues or even temporomandibular - or TMJ - disorders, not to mention irritations and sores on the lips that rub against these add-ons.For more info on ways to make your smile sparkle - either naturally or otherwise -- check out other videos in this series.