Removable or permanent grillz the difference is who puts them in.

01

What removable means

A removable grill is a metal cover made on a cast of your teeth: it rests on top and stays in place because of its shape. You wear it for a night out, a video, a photo, then you take it out with your fingers and put it back in its case. The enamel underneath is not touched: no filing, no adhesives.

It also means you set the rules of use: out of your mouth to eat and to sleep, cleaned every time it comes out. That is what keeps it a piece of jewellery and not a problem.

02

What people mean by «permanent»

People searching for permanent grillz usually mean a piece that stays on the tooth around the clock, attached with an adhesive or a cement. To stay there it has to be fixed to the tooth by someone, and that someone is a dentist.

Then there is the tooth gem, the small sparkle glued onto the tooth: that too is applied by a professional, and it stays on the tooth for a while. It is not a grill: it is something else, with its own rules.

I will not tell you which permanent option to choose or how it is done: that is not my trade. If you are interested in something permanent on a tooth, the right person to talk to is your dentist.

03

The differences, one by one

Who puts it in

You put a removable grill in and take it out yourself, with your fingers. A permanent piece is applied by a professional and stays there.

The tooth underneath

A removable grill rests on the enamel without touching it. A permanent piece means work on the tooth: what that involves, your dentist will tell you.

At the table and at night

A removable grill always comes out and goes back in its case. A permanent piece stays in your mouth while you eat and while you sleep.

Cleaning

A removable grill is washed outside your mouth, with lukewarm water and mild soap. A permanent piece is cleaned in your mouth, together with your teeth.

Changing your mind

A removable grill stays in its case when you do not feel like wearing it. To remove a permanent piece, you go back to whoever put it in.

04

What about one-size grillz you mould yourself?

There are also removable grillz that are not made to measure: ready-made pieces adapted to the teeth with a moulding paste. They come out, but they are not born from a cast of your mouth, so they rest wherever they happen to instead of where they should.

Mine always start from an impression, taken with the home kit or by your dentist. The cast is what lets the piece stay on without squeezing, and it is what makes it easy to put in and take out.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions