A young woman from Shantou, Guangdong Province, lost 15 kilograms in three months after having most of her teeth pulled, following a dentist's advice to get new porcelain teeth.

The 25-year-old woman, who calls herself Zhen, said that she began to suffer toothaches about five years ago due to badly decayed teeth.

In September, when the toothaches were particularly bad, Zhen went to a nearby dental clinic where a dentist told her that her teeth simply had to be removed.

The dentist promised her that a set of new porcelain teeth would look beautiful and function well, and Zhen believed him.

The dentist then anesthetized her and pulled out 14 of her decayed molars.

Following her oral surgery, Zhen could not chew food, and her weight dropped from 55 kilograms to 40 kilograms.

At the beginning of December, Zhen paid more than 3,000 yuan ($481.20) to get the so-called porcelain teeth that she'd been promised.

However, following the dental work, Zhen said she always tasted plastic and had the sensation of foreign objects in her mouth.

Accompanied by relatives, Zhen later went to Guangzhou to seek an alternative treatment.

The doctor in Guangzhou said that X-rays showed that her teeth were not in such bad condition, noting that those with healthy roots should not be pulled out.

Zhen was also told that the so-called porcelain dentures in her mouth were actually discontinued in the 1990s.

Guangzhou Daily