NORTHVILLE, Mich. – In Northville, a Christmas tree has popped up that has people passing by doing double-takes.
“I thought it was just a white Christmas tree and when I got closer I realized it was teeth,” someone walking in the city’s historic downtown area said.
Dr. William Demray is the dentist behind the tree. With the help of volunteers and staff he put up what they call “The Tree of Teeth” in front of Preservation Dental on East Maine Street.
“It’s a bit unusual, I admit,” Demray said.
The tree is made of 1,111 teeth. In 2016, Demray had the teeth made by a company on the west side of Michigan to recreate a photo of alcohol being dumped out of a Detroit window during the prohibition for Northville’s art week.
“When we dismantled that, we had 4,000 teeth to deal with and people were wondering what are we going to do with them,” Demray said.
Preservation Dental had an art competition to see what the community could do with them. Then, in 2020, staff came up with an idea to create a holiday tree with them.
“It was very well received because people needed something. They needed something for the holidays,” Demray said.
Not only that, the dentist wants to send a positive message to kids.
“If they do need to see us, we don’t want it to be fearful. We want it to be comfortable. We want it to be fun, if that’s at all possible.”
This year, they’ve added 96 strobes, 1,111 twinkling lights and will have a computerized light show.
The light show is Friday Nov. 19 during an after glow for Northville’s Lights On Parade. Starting at 7:30 p.m., there will be a Santa and Mrs. Clause appearance, performances from dancers and singers.
The tree topper will be a tooth fairy instead of a star. The night ends with the light show at 8:30 p.m.