Dripping in gold, encrusted diamonds and gemstone assortments, grillz isn’t a new trend to the culture. In 2024, Black women are taking the helm of its resurgence.
Intricately designed grillz were practically everywhere you looked during 2024 Paris Olympics recaps and post-performance photoshoots. Team USA gymnast Jordan Chiles flashed her pearly whites while wearing a custom-designed gold and diamond piece from Jimmy Phan of Done Right & Co. New York Liberty forward Nyara Sabally wore unique Fine Ass Fronts-made 14k gold Olympic-inspired gemstones that glimmered across her megawatt smile. Whether being in the athletic space, like Chicago Sky powerhouse Angel Reese, or taking hip-hop by storm, think Atlanta’s own Latto, late millennial and Gen-Z femmes are unapologetically making themselves known in the dental jewelry space.
Each region has their own staple. The South might even come to mind; gold slugs and the ‘bling bling’ aesthetic are as true to New Orleans as delectable gumbo. Flashy platinum and diamond grillz swept the Houston scene from the 2000s forward. But the movement emerged from the East Coast when Famous Eddie’s Gold Teeth owner, Eddie Plein, took his knack for pull-out tooth caps and pioneered gold mouthfuls in 1980s-era New York City.
But roughly four decades later, Black women in the grillz industry are ensuring that dental accessories belong to all and are no longer synonymous with masculinity. NOLA native Erica Diggs, owner of Grillz by Diggs, grew up around the No Limit Records and Cash Money Records wave when locals went from slugs to grillz. For women, traditionally, it was virtually unknown for them to rock embellished dental jewelry.
“You would see women with maybe a couple of gold teeth here and there. But you would never see a woman with a full set, like, top and bottom, fully iced out or even fully slugged out grillz,” Diggs tells UPROXX.
After serving in the military, in 2012, Diggs pursued grill design, initially partnering with a wholesale manufacturer before going the independent route. A Mariah Carey devotee, Diggs calls diamond cut grillz her signature, and has mastered design software like Rhino and ZBrush – even booking an online tutor – to bring her innovative pieces to life. Altogether, it took two years for Diggz to be proficient at her skillset, but she continues to evolve by the piece.
“Once I mastered doing it by hand, I just wanted my work to be cleaner,” Diggs continues. “There’s a place for everybody with grillz; so you have your traditional vintage looking grillz that are not as clean and polished and perfect. But then with modern technologies and all these rappers with elaborate designs, you need 3D.”
True to the expertise she’s perfected, while Diggs practically can do it all, she might recommend another grillz designer if you aren’t talking ice.
“If you’re not here for diamonds, maybe I’ll send you the Helen [With the Gold Teeth],” says Diggs, referencing stylized grillz pioneer, Helen Harris. “She’s not into diamonds like I am. She’s more into the organic looking…with the gemstones and stuff like that. I just want [that] Lil Wayne [style]. I want Cash Money. “The Block Is Hot.” When the light hits the ice, it twinkle and glisten. That’s where I’m at right now.”
As for formal jewelry education and dental care, that’s where Christina ‘Chriss’ Rogers of Ease the Brand comes in. Originally from Houston, now residing in Los Angeles, Rogers noticed the grillz demand years before envisioning them with a safer design method. Through frequent wear, dental jewelry can cause gum irritation, plaque buildup, and tooth enamel decay, which Rogers wanted to prevent with her incisive concept.
“It’s like everywhere I looked, people had grillz and they were a fashion statement,” Rogers says. “I have wanted one for a very long time, it’s just, I knew what they did to people’s teeth. So it was just all around me and I never had the opportunity to get one until I invented the protective mouth grill.”
She continues, “So to be in a position now where I see all these people wearing grillz and I’m like, ‘Oh, I have a better option for you. It’s so great. It feels like a full circle moment.’”
Rogers first went through a straightening process with clear aligners for her own teeth to make the patent-pending Protective Mouth Grill, used as an emollient safeguard against harsh metals. Now, along with being sold online, Rogers hosts in-person pop-up consultations and chats, appearing at LA-local events like Hotwater Cornbread, Black Market Flea, and Afrobeats Block Party Jollof Cook-Off. She also understands the perspective of those who aren’t familiar with the PMG but encourages them to keep their chompers stylish and secure.
“I imagine someone new coming in and kind of offering this product, that’s, number one, new to the market, like, you never heard of this before. But then it’s they’re coming to your space and they’re just creating or introducing a new way of doing things.”
While Rogers has her sights on the current titanium grill trend, famously worn by Kanye West and Rihanna, Ease continues to be in motion, aligning with consumers who plan to keep their teeth sturdy for years to come.
“I look back now and I’m like, ‘How in the world did I make it this far?’ And I realized, I really shut off what people thought about me. I really shut off naysayers or people trying to detour me and I just kept my goal at the forefront and now I’m here.”
Also in the LA grillz hustle is Drayco the Plug, who began as a designer who’d send molds to be made into grillz before learning the process herself. Now six years in, and working on her first 3D piece, Drayco’s known for her expressive and gem-centric ability.
“Right now, a super popular style that I’ve been doing is a little spiral that people seem to like a lot and gemstones,” says Drayco. “Opals are pretty cool because they come in a different variety of colors, shapes, etcetera. My least favorite is amethyst, it’s kind of hard to work with hard stones and cut [them], but I’ll do what people want me to do.”
Working in LA’s downtown jewelry district, Drayco regularly has women customers but notes that her grind is often judged by older male jewelry artisans.
“Being down here, a lot of people are working in fine jewelry,” she continues. “So when I’m coming to them and showing them what I do, which is a bit different, they kind of look at me a little sideways because [there are] a lot of older men down here. They’ve been in this game for 25 years, so it’s like, me, this Black girl coming in talking about tooth jewelry, they’re like, ‘Um.’”
However, there shouldn’t be rules (unless hygienic) or gatekeeping in dental jewelry when it comes to girls and their grillz. Let Diggs, Rogers, and Drayco be proof that all it takes is a little artistry and dedication to make teeth decoratively shine.
“Someone can only show you so much before you have to take the steps and learn things on your own,” Drayco says. “With everything I make I learn something new.”