Gold teeth have been around for millennia, serving both aesthetic and practical purposes.
In ancient Egypt and Etruscan Italy around 700 BCE, wealthy individuals sometimes used gold for dental work. The Etruscans, in particular, were known for crafting early dental bridges with gold wire, blending function and status symbol into one. Gold wasn’t just for show – it served a real purpose by stabilising teeth.
Meanwhile, across the world in the pre-Columbian Americas, cultures like the Mayans and people in the Philippines practiced tooth decoration with extraordinary flair. The Mayans often inlaid their teeth with jade, turquoise and even gold, signaling both wealth and artistry. It was a serious flex of status and personal identity, and their dental craftsmanship still amazes archaeologists today.
During the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Europe, gold continued to play a functional role in dentistry. It was one of the few materials that could withstand the brutal wear and tear of daily use without corroding. While the average person might suffer with rotting teeth, those who could afford it invested in gold crowns and rudimentary dental appliances to replace missing teeth.
By the 19th and early 20th centuries, gold became the gold standard — quite literally — for fillings, crowns and bridges. Dentists loved working with it because it was soft enough to shape and hard enough to last. Having gold dental work was a sign you had access to good, professional care – and it carried a subtle air of prosperity. Gold teeth took on new meaning, particularly within Black communities in the American South.
It’s not all good news. Gold teeth also endured a dark chapter of 20th century history. The collection of gold dental fillings, dental caps and dentures extracted from the mouths of the victims of of Nazi concentration camps was a feature of the Holocaust. The collection was done with the active and voluntary cooperation of German dentists. Collected gold was then melted down into gold bars, which could then be sold with no trace of its origin.
As gold fillings became a common, practical solution for dental problems, they eventually evolved into a bold fashion statement. This evolution exploded into mainstream culture in the 1980s and ’90s, driven largely by hip-hop. Artists like Slick Rick, Flavor Flav and later Nelly (with his hit “Grillz”) helped make gold teeth and elaborate grills iconic symbols of style, rebellion and success. Grills are made of metal and are generally removable but can also be permanent.
Gold grills are still being sported by rappers today and even include diamonds of various colours. Grills have also been worn by the singers Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé and Madonna.
Today, gold teeth remain both functional and fashionable. Some people still choose gold crowns for their durability, but much of the spotlight is on custom grills – often featuring intricate designs and diamond inlays. Gold teeth have evolved from ancient necessity to a modern art form.
Postscript
We were inspired to include gold teeth as a topic for REMORANDOM when we stumbled across an extraordinary conceptual art project from two Brooklyn-based designers, Che-Wei Wang and Taylor Levy (trading as CW&T). Tooth Gallery is a travelling “gallery space” exhibiting small artworks installed within Che-Wei Wang’s mouth. Tooth sized artworks made by artists, designers, architects, engineers and dentists are screwed into his implants (#9, #31). Check out the Tooth Gallery website HERE.
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References
wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_teeth
theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/oct/19/gold-teeth-grills-photography
gq.com/story/history-of-gold-teeth
toothgallery.com
garfieldrefining.com/resources/blog/the-history-of-dental-gold
Images
1. Gold Teeth. Credit: Bay Street Dentistry
2. Etruscan Gold Braces. Credit: Wellcome Library, London
3. Mayan dental inlays of semi precious stones from over a thousand years ago
4. A woman with gold teeth from Tajikistan, where they are considered a symbol of wealth. Credit: Steve Evans via flickr
5. Colourised photograph of the first black heavyweight champion of the world the “Galveston giant” Jack Johnson
6. Boxes of gold dental caps and dentures taken from prisoners of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
7. Iconic Grace Jones Vogue cover from 1975 with gold grills
8. Video: “Grillz” by Nelly, featuring Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp, 2005
9. Gold- and diamond-encrusted teeth grills are as much status symbol as style statement in south central Dallas. Photo credit: Laurisa Galvan
10. Beyoncé's Adidas logo gold grills by Dolly Cohen, a Paris-based jewellery designer
11. SO LUCKY, 2020 by Judith Prays for Tooth Gallery, CW&T
