On February 2, 1998 I had four of my teeth filed to sharp points at the office of cosmetic dental specialist, Dr. Harvey Winters in Albany, NY.

History & Motivation

I have always had something of a fascination with teeth - especially sharp teeth and fangs - and a predilection for biting. I can remember playing at "vampire games" secretly with other children as early as the first grade that involved light biting in conjunction with a tag like set of rules. As I grew and developed, so did my fascination with teeth and my love for biting. My own teeth were unusual from the beginning, I had too many and multiple rows in some places - this resulted in me having a great deal of teeth pulled, to simply get me down to a more common number and alleviate crookedness due to the crowding. Despite these efforts, which included one session during which six teeth were pulled, I still had slightly crooked teeth. I wasn't bothered by this though, in fact I preferred both because I abhorred the idea of braces and I enjoyed the more animalistic look that less than perfect rows gave me. I was further blessed, in my opinion, in that my teeth were for the most part quite noticeably pointed. The only ones that didn't quite live up to my imagination in appearance were my front and eye teeth - though my eye teeth did protrude slightly for nice effect due to the overcrowding when they came in.
Two sources would be the primary sparks for my imagination when it came to getting my teeth filed. The first was the film Nosferatu - as soon as I saw it, I wanted those teeth. I followed vampire lore and culture, and still do to some extent, because it provided content for my own blood and biting fantasies but it wasn't simply extended canines that I wanted or that particular mythos that intrigued me - but in Nosferatu I saw teeth that I coveted. The second were pictures of the Dinka and other cultures that practiced teeth filing - often referred to in magazines like National Geographic as "the crocodile people". These photos not only showed me another image I wanted to emulate but also gave me reason to believe that I could have my own natural teeth shaped as I desired.

Prelude to the Procedure

Although I had the desire, I had very little info - beyond some basic images and short clips from articles on tribal practices. So, I wasn't at all sure what was really possible and how to go about getting it done. The real break came from my tongue splitting procedure - in Dr. Busino, the oral-maxiofacial surgeon who performed my bisection, I had a competent and open minded professional who was willing to help me by acting as a sounding board for ideas and refer me to other professionals. I first mentioned to Dr. Busino the idea of removing some of my teeth and replacing them with custom implants based on the already common branemark dental implants. He was adverse to the idea of actually removing the teeth and upon discussing the actual aesthetic and functional aspects I was looking for, he suggested I go to see a colleague of his to discuss filing. That colleague was Dr. Harvey Winters. I called Dr. Winters office and made an appointment to consult with him, thanks to Dr. Busino's referral I didn't have to worry about his reaction to my unusual request. It turned out that there were two basic concerns with filing my teeth. The first was an issue of health and sensitivity, were my teeth healthy and strong enough to survive such radical removal of enamel. An examination showed that my life as a milk addict had provided me with excellent teeth for filing. The second concern was speech; it was a real possibility that my pronunciation could be permanently affected. This was a concern I had faced with my tongue splitting and not one that would deter me. Since the teeth I wanted filed were all on the upper jaw I was saved the potential difficulty of interfering with my bite, which would have arisen, had I wanted teeth on my lower jaw filed as well. With the risks addressed, we decided to go ahead with the procedure, which was scheduled for later that same day thanks to an opening in Dr. Winter's schedule due to a cancellation.

The Procedure

The actual filing was to be done with a standard dental drill. Just in case, Dr. Winter prepared both Novocain and sealant, but neither was necessary. Over the course of about an hour he used the drill to gradual file my teeth into shape, under my direction watching in the mirror. The eyeteeth were done first, followed by the front teeth. The sensation was not pleasant but also not all that painful, I mainly felt the vibration. A number of drill tips were used in the process, I'm not sure exactly how many but they were the bulk of the cost - approximately $250.00 per tooth. After all four teeth had been filed I drew them across my lower lip to test the sharpness and immediately drew blood. Based on this, Dr. Winter dulled them slightly but they remained quite sharp. This is probably one of the quickest and easiest modifications I have undergone from a procedural point of view.

Aftermath & Aftercare

Immediately after we were done my newly filed teeth were slightly sensitive but this subsided very quickly - I was drinking both hot and cold liquids, etc with no noticeable difference from before the procedure by that evening. My speech was slightly affected but this was temporary as I adjusted to the new mechanics of getting my two tongue tips to hit the tips of my newly sharpened teeth. I practiced with tongue twisters and such until I was satisfied. The aftercare for my new teeth was to simply continue with good standard dental care. Some people have commented, lay and dental pro alike, that my teeth would be horribly weakened and probably not last very long. However, the majority of these have been unaware of the existing tribal cultures practicing filing and that they often have better oral health than similar groups which do not. At any rate, my own teeth are very strong and healthy and show no detrimental effects from being filed.

Summary

As I write this my teeth are now a couple years old and I am still incredibly happy with them. They are still quite sharp and strong (I regularly puncture metal cans with them in my stage show). People do notice them quite a bit - mostly when I am replying to a question they have asked they will suddenly say "oh and you got your teeth filed". In fact, I am fairly surprised at how many people recognize the procedure and how well they take it in stride - but a lot of that probably has to do with how the teeth compliment the rest of my modification project.