For years a landmark used by locals giving travel directions, a flat, tooth-shaped dentist’s sign in Red Bank popped into 3D this week.

Versions of the sign from 2021, above, and 2013, below. (redbankgreen photos. Click to enlarge.)

A giant molar now graces the lawn in front of Red Bank Smiles, at the corner of River Road and Prospect Avenue.

The borough’s Historic Preservation Commission approved the sign replacement in March, 2021. As several board members noted at the time, many area residents used the flat version as a reference when giving out driving directions.

“If we didn’t have the tooth, I don’t think people could find my house,” then-Chairwoman Michaela Ferrigine said at the time.

Dr. Benjamin Klayman, who took over the practice of dentist Harry D. Mahoney and renamed it Red Bank Smiles, told redbankgreen Thursday that the idea to go big was his.

“Since it is such a landmark, and a major factor in our neighbors finding my practice, I wanted to upgrade the tooth,” he said via email. “After working with the town, I was able to get approval for the largest possible tooth, while still keeping within the standard of the town.”

In a Facebook post, Made Ya Look Signs in Keansburg said this week that the tooth was “carved by hand from a solid block of EPS foam, fiberglassed and finished with marine topside paint. Couldn’t be happier with the outcome.”

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