How to remove a tooth gem safely
Professional removal takes minutes and leaves enamel intact. Why prying one off yourself chips the tooth, and what to do if a gem falls off on its own.
Tooth gems are meant to be temporary, which means removal is part of the deal rather than a problem. There are three ways one comes off, and only two of them are good for your teeth. Here is how each works, what a dentist actually does, and what to do if yours lands in your cereal one morning.
The three ways a gem comes off
- A dentist or hygienist removes it. The correct route, quick, and the only one that leaves the enamel properly finished.
- It comes off on its own. Most gems eventually do, somewhere between six months and well past a year. Nothing went wrong.
- You pry it off. The one to avoid, and the source of most of the horror stories.
The third is worth understanding properly, because the reasoning is not obvious.
Why prying it off yourself chips enamel
The intuition is that the gem is the weak point and the tooth is the strong one. It is the wrong way around.
A cured dental resin bond is genuinely strong, and it is bonded into the microscopic texture of the outer enamel layer. When you get a fingernail, a key, a knife or a pair of scissors under the edge and lever, the force does not politely dissolve the adhesive. It travels into whatever is weakest at that moment, and what is weakest is the thin outer layer of enamel the resin has gripped. The gem comes off with a flake of your tooth attached to it.
Two things make that worse than it sounds. Enamel does not regenerate, so a chip is permanent and only a dentist can cosmetically repair it. And levering can leave micro-cracks you cannot see, which show up later as sensitivity to cold or a stain line running through the spot.
Biting or chewing it off is the same problem with more force behind it.
What a dentist actually does
It is the same procedure as taking a bracket off at the end of orthodontic treatment, and dental offices do it constantly.
The bulk of the resin is broken down in layers with a slow polishing bur or a hand instrument, working across the surface rather than levering from the edge. The remaining film is polished away with a fine bur and prophy paste until the surface is smooth again. The enamel is left intact because nothing was ever pulled against it.
It takes a few minutes, does not require numbing, and does not hurt; there are no nerves in the surface of enamel. Many people have it done at a routine cleaning. Mention it when you book so time is allowed.
To be plain about the division of labor: this studio places gems, a dentist removes them. Removal is a dental procedure and it belongs with someone whose license covers it. Anyone in a beauty studio offering to take one off with a tool is doing the prying described above, just professionally.
If one falls off on its own
No emergency, and it does not mean the application failed. Bonds wear out, and the gems near the biting edge wear out first.
- Check the spot with your tongue. A smooth tooth means the bond released cleanly and there is nothing to do.
- If it feels rough or raised, there is leftover resin on the tooth. Have it polished off at your next cleaning rather than leaving it, because a rough patch holds plaque.
- Do not scrape at the residue. Same reasoning, smaller scale.
- Keep the gem if you like it, but it does not get reused. The old bond is still on the back of it.
- Text if it happened fast. A gem that comes off within the first few weeks usually points at the bond rather than at you, and it gets sorted out.
Does the tooth underneath look different
Usually a little, and briefly. The enamel under the gem has been shielded from coffee, tea, red wine and everything else that stains, so it can look slightly lighter than the surrounding surface for a few days. It evens out on its own. There is no hole, no divot and no rough patch when the removal was done properly.
One thing worth distinguishing: a chalky white outline where the gem sat is not a shadow, it is demineralization from plaque that built up at the rim. That is a dentist conversation, and it is preventable by brushing around the gem properly. Whether tooth gems damage your teeth covers that in full.
If you plan to whiten, do it after the gem is off and the shade has settled, not before.
Ready for the next one
Plenty of people remove one and place another somewhere better, or go bigger. A Tooth Gems application is $25+ for 30 min, a Butterfly Tooth Gem is $65, and a Disco Tooth is $80 if subtlety has stopped appealing. New to all of this? Start with tooth gems 101, see the options, or text (801) 875-9677 with a photo.