THE GRILLZ DICTIONARY
GRILLZ GLOSSARY and dental jewelry.
Updated 14 July 2026 · Grillz Marche Workshop, Monte San Giusto (MC)
Grillz means "grilles": removable dental jewellery you slot over your teeth, born in hip-hop culture. Behind that word, though, there's a whole vocabulary: open face, iced out, deep cut, PVD, VPS, priority. I've put together the 34 terms I actually use while I work, each explained in a few lines, so when we message we speak the same language. No brochure: just what every word means and how it turns into the piece you wear. One thing stays clear: what I make is removable dental jewellery, a made-to-measure accessory, not medical work.
01
Styles and design
These are the cuts and shapes you ask me for the most. They're the words we'll use in chat when we design your piece, so here I explain them with no fluff: what each style means and how I make it to measure on your teeth.
Open face
The open face style leaves an empty window in the centre of the tooth: the metal frames the edge and stays open in the middle, so you still see the natural enamel underneath. It's the most urban, recognisable cut, the one many people ask for on their first grill. On my price list it's a customisation I add to the base piece.
Closed face / solid
The opposite of open face: the tooth is fully covered, no windows. It's the smooth, compact surface, the one that reflects light like a mirror once I polish it by hand. It's the classic cut I start from, the cleanest, and every finish goes on top of it, from plain to gold-effect PVD.
Fangs
Fangs are the pointed, elongated canines, the wolf-tooth style. They're done on the two canines, often as a pair, and instantly give the smile an aggressive edge. I sculpt them to measure on the shape of your teeth, so the tip falls where it should and doesn't bother you when you close your mouth.
Deep cut
The deep cut is a more pronounced open face: the window on the tooth is deeper and wider, the metal thins out at the edges and shows much more enamel. It's the variant for those who want the open face effect pushed further, with a sharp contrast between the polished frame and the natural tooth beneath.
Bar
The bar is the horizontal strip of metal that runs across several teeth as a single band, instead of following each tooth. It gives a more solid, continuous look, very early-2000s. It can be plain or with gold-effect PVD. Made to measure, I match it to your arch so it sits evenly.
Iced out
Iced out means "frozen": a piece fully covered in stones that sparkle like ice. In my case they're hand-set cubic zirconia, not real diamonds, because I stay on jewellery. It's the flashiest finish and the most expensive per tooth, because each stone has to be set one by one.
Single tooth
The single tooth is a grill on just one tooth, usually a central incisor. It's the entry piece: it costs less, still gets noticed and lets you see how you wear a grill before moving to a full arch. It starts from the base price of a single tooth on the list.
Top and bottom
Top is the upper arch, bottom the lower one. Almost everyone starts with the top because it's what shows when you smile, but the bottom is catching on. You can do just one or both: if you take both arches, the price is the two pieces added together.
Broken / spezzato
The broken style is deliberately irregular: rough edges, asymmetry, a worn effect that breaks the perfect symmetry. It appeals to those who don't want the grill too clean and look for a more rebellious character. It's a customisation I design together with you, starting from the reference you send me.
Two-tone
Two-tone means two colours on the same piece: for example the base in silver-coloured dental alloy and some teeth with the gold-effect PVD coating. It creates contrast without going all gold. We decide in chat which teeth go which colour before I send the piece for finishing.
02
Materials and finishes
Here's what a grill is really made of and the abbreviations that float around in descriptions. To be clear: the Essential in dental alloy starts from €100 per tooth and the Premium with 24Kt gold-effect PVD from €135. The rest are the terms to understand what you're reading before you order.
Cobalt-chrome
Cobalt-chrome is the dental alloy I use for the base of every grill: strong, corrosion-resistant and biocompatible, the same family of alloys used in dentistry for custom frameworks. It doesn't blacken like real silver and it isn't plated brass like the few-euro grillz on marketplaces.
Cobalt-chrome alloy: the guide →Dental alloy
By "dental alloy" I mean a metal built to sit in the mouth every day without giving way or leaving tastes: in my case cobalt-chrome certified to ISO 22674. It's the heart of the Essential, the base line of the list. It isn't solid gold and doesn't pretend to be: it's a technical metal chosen for how it performs.
PVD
PVD stands for Physical Vapour Deposition: a coating applied in a vacuum chamber by a specialised centre in Italy. On the dental alloy it deposits a layer of titanium nitride that gives the 24Kt gold-effect colour and also acts as a barrier. It isn't solid gold, it's a technical finish that lasts if you care for it.
Gold grillz: how the colour works →24Kt gold effect
When you read "24Kt gold" on my Premium pieces I mean the colour of the PVD coating, not solid gold. The PVD reproduces the tone of 24-carat gold on a dental-alloy base. It costs less than real gold, doesn't wear off like a thin plating and keeps the warm colour typical of full yellow gold.
VVS
VVS is an abbreviation that comes from diamonds (Very Very Slightly included) and marks stones almost free of inclusions, so very clean and bright. In the grillz world it's used to describe the clear-ice effect. I set cubic zirconia with good optical quality: jewellery, not certified diamonds, and I always say it plainly.
Cubic zirconia
Cubic zirconia are the stones I use for iced effects and diamond-look finishes. They cost a fraction of diamonds and read beautifully under light. I set them by hand, one by one, on the piece. On the list they start from a few euros per stone and the price rises with the count.
Mirror polish
It's the glossy finish that reflects like a mirror. I do it by hand at the workshop in Monte San Giusto, after the piece comes back from being printed in the alloy. It's not a machine step: it's the part where the grill gets its real shine. If it loses gloss after months, I redo it.
ISO 22674
ISO 22674 is the international standard that sets the requirements for metallic materials used in dentistry for custom frameworks. When I say the alloy is certified to ISO 22674, I mean the material meets that standard of composition and biocompatibility. It's a guarantee about the metal, not a marketing label.
Nickel and REACH
The cobalt-chrome I use is based on cobalt, chromium and molybdenum: nickel is not one of its alloy ingredients, and it's one of the reasons this family is common in dentistry. The material is compliant with the nickel-release limits of the REACH regulation, designed for items in contact with the skin.
Brass and zamak
These are the metals of the twenty- or thirty-euro grillz on marketplaces: brass is copper and zinc, zamak is die-cast zinc. They cost next to nothing and are easy to work, but they oxidise, leave a metallic taste and the thin plating on top wears off fast. It's exactly what I don't use for my pieces.
03
Technique and craft
This is the part nobody explains: how you go from your teeth to the finished piece. Impression, 3D scan, digital sculpting, printing in the alloy and finishing by hand. The terms below let you understand every step of my work, so you know what you pay for and why made-to-measure is different.
Impression / cast
The impression, or cast, is the exact copy of your teeth that everything starts from. You take it with a paste that hardens in a few minutes and records every detail. Without a precise impression the grill won't fit. You can take it at home with my kit or at a professional's, then from there I scan and sculpt.
How to take the impression at home →VPS
VPS stands for vinyl polysiloxane, the precision impression rubber in the kit. It's the same kind of material used in dentistry for casts: stable, faithful to detail and it holds up over time before scanning. It's why an impression taken well at home still reaches me readable.
Putty (heavy body)
The putty is the dense paste in the kit, the one you knead between your fingers to an even colour and place in the tray. It's the base and structure of the impression; on top goes the light paste that gets into the detail. Work it fast because it sets fast: the right doses are in the instructions.
Light body paste
The light body paste is the second paste in the kit: runnier, it gets into the gaps between teeth and records the fine detail the putty alone misses. You put it over the putty just before biting down. Together they make the two-layer impression, the same logic as a professional cast.
3D scan
When your impression reaches me, I scan it in 3D: I turn it into a precise digital model of your teeth on screen. From there I work. It's the step that replaces the old plaster casts and lets me sculpt the grill exactly on your arch, with no guesswork.
Digital sculpting
Digital sculpting is the stage where I design the grill on the 3D model of your teeth, tooth by tooth. I decide thicknesses, open-face windows, fangs, where the stones fall. This is where the piece becomes yours and not a universal template. Then the file goes to print in cobalt-chrome ISO 22674 alloy.
Fit
The fit is how the grill sits on your teeth: it should slot in with light pressure and stay put without pinching or wobbling. A proper fit only comes from a precise impression and made-to-measure sculpting. It's the real difference between a piece built for you and a one-size grill bought online.
Photo check
The photo check is the review I do before you ship the impression: you send me photos of the cast on WhatsApp and I tell you if it's good or worth redoing. I usually reply within an hour; if I'm late and the impression is sharp, ship it anyway. It saves you wasting time on a cast to bin.
Impression kit
The impression kit is the box I send to your home to take the cast yourself: heavy paste, precision light paste and trays, with step-by-step instructions. Two impressions per arch are enough. It's the only thing you pay online; the material holds up a week or two before you ship it.
The at-home impression kit →04
Culture
Grillz come from hip-hop culture and carry their own slang. Here I clear up the words you hear around, so you know what people mean when they use them to order or talk about it. Some are precise, others everyone uses a little their own way: I explain them the way I mean them.
Grillz (meaning)
Grillz literally means "grilles": removable dental jewellery you slot over your teeth like a cover, without gluing or filing them. They come from American hip-hop culture and in Italy we call them that, plural, even for a single piece. They're dental jewellery, an accessory, not work on the tooth.
Grill, grillz, grills
They're the same thing written different ways. "Grill" singular, "grillz" with a z is the hip-hop spelling that became standard, "grills" is the classic English plural. In practice we use them as synonyms. I write grillz because that's how the people who actually wear them search for and name them.
Priority (saltafila)
The saltafila is my priority option: you pay an extra and your piece jumps ahead in the work queue, with shorter times. It's useful if you have a fixed date, an event or a video. On the list it's a clear surcharge. If you're not in a hurry, the normal queue is fine and cheaper.
Drip
Drip is slang for style, the drip of accessories and details that make an impression: chains, teeth, a put-together look. A grill is one of the most direct pieces of drip because you wear it on your smile. It's not a technical term of mine, but you hear it everywhere in the grillz world, so it belongs here.
Bling
Bling (or bling-bling) is anything that shines and gets noticed: stones, gold, reflections. It's the cousin of iced out, but more generic and older as a term. When someone asks for a bling grill they usually mean very shiny: lots of gold-effect PVD or lots of stones. From there we start designing it.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about grillz terms
01What does "grillz" mean?+
Grillz means "grilles": removable dental jewellery you slot over your teeth like a cover, without gluing or filing them. They come from hip-hop culture. It's dental jewellery, a removable accessory, not work on the tooth: for the health of your mouth the reference stays the dentist.
02What's the difference between open face and closed face?+
Open face leaves an empty window in the centre of the tooth and you see the enamel underneath; closed face covers the tooth fully, smooth and mirror-like. They're two different cuts of the same made-to-measure piece: you can choose one or the other, even tooth by tooth.
03What does "iced out" mean?+
Iced out means "frozen": a piece fully covered in stones that sparkle like ice. In my grillz they're hand-set cubic zirconia, not real diamonds. It's the flashiest finish and the most expensive per tooth, because each stone has to be set one by one.
04Is gold-effect PVD real gold?+
No, it's a coating. PVD deposits a layer of 24Kt-gold-coloured titanium nitride on the dental alloy, in a vacuum chamber. It reproduces the colour of full gold but it isn't solid gold: it's a technical finish that lasts over time if you treat it well.
05Are the terms in this glossary standard?+
Partly. Some are technical and precise (ISO 22674, VPS, PVD), others are hip-hop slang everyone uses a little their own way (drip, bling, iced). Here I explain them the way I mean them, as someone who really makes grillz, so we understand each other right away when you order.
Now we speak the same language.
You've got the terms, you're only missing the piece. Configure your made-to-measure grill: pick style, material and finish, with public prices. Online you only pay the impression kit (€20), the rest we sort out in chat.
Configure your grill ✦