KALISPELL – Scott Williams has lived in the Flathead Valley for over 30 years — and has coined himself as the biggest Griz fan.
Williams got a custom crown tooth made with a Griz paw painted on it to prove it. The Griz tooth sits on a back molar on the left side of the mouth.
Dr. Joel Booth of ToothBooth Dentistry in Kalispell is the mastermind behind the tooth. Dr. Booth says he saw a similar crown in college and got the idea for custom “tooth tattoos.”
“When we were in dental school we had someone do a Michigan crown, a solid blue M crown, and I mentioned that to the patient.”
Williams told us about his family’s reaction to the tooth.
“My brother thought I was crazy, he didn’t think I was for real, and my friends, they kinda know me well enough to know that I would go about doing that.”
Getting a custom tooth tattoo takes time, according to Dr. Booth.
“We prepare the tooth in-house and then send it to a lab and the lab actually fabricates it, stains it glazes it and sends it back but as far as the designing…the patient sat down talked about the color, what he wanted on it.”
Williams’ Griz tooth is holding up well. Dr. Booth said it will undergo normal signs of wear and tear, but it’s unlikely that the Griz paw will wear off.
Williams added that he’s ready for another tooth tattoo and is thinking of possibly getting another Griz paw on the other side of his mouth.
Reporting by Maren Siu for MTN News
