Precious metals might end up near the precious organs.
Grillz are typically not recommended by dentists due to the risk of gum disease and tooth decay. An anonymous 22-year-old man from Wisconsin was feeling unwell after an epileptic seizure and doctors treated him to get to the root of his pain. The shocking discovery was that doctors found silver grillz stuck in one of his lungs.
In a case study by Cureus Medical Journal, the 22-year-old man had suffered an epileptic seizure. Shortly after that, he started experiencing severe coughing and heavy wheezing. Doctors immediately conducted X-ray scans and discovered a four-centimeter-long object stuck in the right main stem bronchus, an airway to his lung.
That’s when the man informed doctors that he was wearing his silver-plated grillz when he had the seizure. He couldn’t find it and a quick imaging test revealed the location of the object.
If the grillz made its way down the other pipe, it would have passed through the esophagus and into the stomach. In his case, the dentures got lodged in one of his lung airways.
The patient had to go through a bronchoscopy to have the object removed from his body. After the operation, the man experienced bronchospasm, where muscles in the lung airway tighten. He was provided with steroid treatment before being sent home. His story ends on a good note with surgeons restoring his bright smile.