Lil Wayne's gold and platinum diamond-studded crowns, Diddy's gold bottom front teeth and Flava Flav's 22K semi-permanent gold caps top and bottom can all go a lot further than provide just bling for R&B record artists ?these orthodontic accessories sitting right there in their mouths can finance a down payment for a new house. There's a new Gold Teeth Rush sweeping the nation and jewelers are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for them.

As people struggle to pay bills and put food on the table in this economic downturn, pawn shops and estate jewelry dealers are seeing an influx of those looking to cash in their gold caps, fillings and grills, according to PRNewswire. A Fullerton dentist we recently spoke with observes that for years, people have hung onto old gold dental work as souvenirs but now they are making the most of gold's near record prices and selling up.

Four years ago, it was a major nationwide trend in major US cities to get gold teeth now a lot of those sparkling dentured customers are cashing in to survive. Celebrities with specialized mouths are worth big bucks. Stars like Diddy, Lil Wayne, Flava Flav or Nelly are wanted for their teeth as much as their CD's by fans and jewelers. Fullerton cosmetic dentists are seeing a wave of customers looking to trade in their old teeth since the price of gold spiked in February. Though selling gold teeth and crowns is an excellent way to bring in a little extra money in these troubled financial times, experts caution not to sell to just anyone. It is very important to make sure to do sufficient research and find someone who will work with your gold in an honest and professional way.

There are two types of gold teeth: removable teeth known as caps, grills and gold dental crowns, both of which are sellable. Gold teeth can fetch thousands depending on their weight. In the past eight years the price of gold has gone up four times its worth at an estimated 300% since 2000, a well-known Mission Viejo dentist explains to our sources. Prices in the past weeks fluctuated between $970 and $940 an ounce. Gold is called a crisis metal because the price rises in a bad economy. Local Orange County dentists find more and more patients inquiring about getting cash for their fillings, crowns, and other dental work.

To get an idea of just how much dental work can be worth, consider Cash Money Records CEO/CO-Founder Bryan "Baby" Williams, aka Birdman who had a $250,000 platinum with white gold-plated and diamond-encrusted crowns replaced with a $500,000 set of 18-karat white gold with some platinum crowns set with ascher-cut diamonds.