Grill (jewelry)

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One example of dental grills.

Another example of dental grills.

In hip hop culture, the term grill refers to a cosmetic dental apparatus worn over the teeth. Grills are made of metal (often silver, gold, or platinum) and are sometimes inlaid with precious stones (traditionally princess-cut diamonds).^[1] Grills can cost anywhere from $50 to several thousand dollars, depending on the materials used and the number of teeth covered.^[2] Grills can be purchased online or at specialty shops.

Hip hop artists began wearing grills in the early 1980s.^[2] New Yorker Eddie Plein, owner of Eddie's Gold Teeth, is most often credited with starting the trend.^[2] Plein made gold caps for Flava Flav, and later outfitted New York rappers including Big Daddy Kane and Kool G. Rap.^[2] He later moved to Atlanta, where he designed ever-more-elaborate grills for rappers like OutKast, Goodie Mob, Ludacris, and Lil Jon.^[2]

Grills rose to prominence with Dirty South rappers in the 2000s as a symbol of their wealth and success.^[2] The video to the 2005 single "Grillz" (by Nelly, Paul Wall, Big Gipp, and Ali) showcases many common styles of grills.

While early grills could not be removed easily and involved reshaping the tooth itself to fit the crown, grills today are made from custom dental molds.^[2] The process of obtaining a grill is fairly complex. One must have a dentist take a mold of one's front teeth with a quick set plaster. A realistic tooth mold is obtained by filling the plaster negative with latex. The latex is used to fit the grill to the unique set of teeth. The grill is then checked for fit on the owner's teeth.

According to the American Dental Association in June 2006, no studies have shown whether the long-term wearing of grills is safe.^[3] Grills made from base metals could cause irritation or allergic reactions.^[3] Additionally, school districts in Alabama,^[2] Georgia,^[2] and Texas^[4] have banned grills.