KSig RC, I think you did touch on one issue concerning grills that the article doesn't. Grills could make kids a target to gang violence and whatnot. Schools do have a responsibility to their students to protect them.

With regard to them being distracting, schools do have a right to determine what is distracting. Remember that it can be distracting to not only students, but to teachers and administrators as well. When I was in middle school I went to a prep school where we didn't have to wear uniforms. The middle school administrator made the rule that tank tops were distracting and that girls couldn't wear them. We could wear sleeveless shirts and we could wear tank tops with t shirts under them, but we couldn't wear tank tops by themselves.

Schools regulate what kids wear all the time. They have dress codes, we werent allowed to wear hats, etc...Of course, my reasoning for liking the ban is that it helps eliminate some of the dumb urban popular culture kids are so infatuated with. But being realistic, I know if anything such bans make these trends more popular. What would be better, is if parents and the media (MTV especially) suddenly said "you know, this is a stupid trend, so lets stop doing MTV and VH1 specials on who has the best grill."

he nailed it

I agree totally with this post. We had the same rules in high school... no hats, no tank tops, not short shorts or skirts, etc. The schools have a right to say what is distracting.

And really tho. Do people actually find grills attractive? I think they are the nastiest thing. The diamond ones are eh ok but the other ones look stupid. Just get braces if you really want your mouth to shine. This is by far the stupidest trend ever... next to sagging your pants below your ass.

I think really hot guys are distracting. Instead of me taking responsibility for myself and my ADD medication, why don't we ban them?

Oh wait, that would suck. Never mind.

Also, a point, these aren't "adults" these are kids. Let them do what they want after they're out of school

THANK YOU!! I don't see anything wrong with making kids abide by rules/regulations/dress codes. I mean come on...most of the rules in school are simply based upon the opinions of the principal or members of the school board. It doesn't mean that we need to scrap the rulebook.

I really like this line from the article: "We want to instill in them a sense of modesty and a sense of community," said school board trustee Gloria Pena. "We're preparing them for the work force, and in the work force there are rules."

"We want to instill in them a sense of modesty and a sense of community," said school board trustee Gloria Pena. "We're preparing them for the work force, and in the work force there are rules."

Brilliant. Now if only people would realize thats what we are often trying to do when we "haze" our pledges...

I completely disagree with the 'modesty' part of the equation, but can respect the 'community' portion - I think I've laid out my reasons in earlier posts.

True, modesty is a horrible thing. God forbid.

Different perspective
 

The issue with grillz may not only be one of "distraction" between children and developing a sense of mediocrity and needless, excessive indulgence.

The issue may be that youth are still physically developing from hormones to psyche. Most of the time, the grillz are not made by altruistic board certified general dentists, oral surgeons, orthodontists or even dental hygenists. They are probably purchased from a dealer at a unsanitary location with poor precious metallurgy that probably contains toxic levels of lead...

And amounts of lead exposure can cause chronic health problems later in life. And if children are inserting these items in their mouths when they are still underdeveloped, then who will be addressing the lead posioning that ensues? You and I the taxpayer...

Moreover, since these appliances are not made to "fit" the mouth properly--like I do not know many dental school programs that offer grillz continuing education courses--then that sets these kids bites completely off causing them to not properly eat their food the first step of digestion, I think call mastication.

Don't these children have enough to contend with in life than worrying about dentures at age 25-30? Along with poor dental hygiene which has been shown to be a root cause to a lot of disease outcomes, such as heart disease, obesity, maladsorption, colon cancer, sleep apnea and stroke?

As a taxpayer, I am not interested in paying for a 25 year old who made poor choices in life... But that is just me...

Even more importantly than your extensive and well informed comments regarding medical danger, they're also stupid. Public schools foster stupidity enough, lets draw the line here.

In Charlotte, we have Grillz on Wheelz.:( :( :(

I agree with you 100%

I can't understand why anyone would even want to wear them... didn't we all hate having braces? I sleep with a mouthguard because I grind my teeth. It's not fun. It probably gives them a speech impediment, too. Interesting post on the potential health effects, CT4. Not something I ever thought of, but after reading your post, also not surprising at all.

And I freak out if I bump a fork off of my tooth or get a piece of tin foil in my mouth- I couldn't imagine having some kind of crappy metal like that in my mouth all the time. And I wonder if they rust?