Open face grillz leave a visible cut-out through the front so part of your natural tooth still shows, while solid grillz fully cover the tooth with metal or stone from edge to edge. Both are handmade to your exact impression — the difference is purely design, not durability or fit.
Quick Answers
What's the actual difference between open face and solid grillz? Open face grillz have a cut-out shape (often a diamond, heart, or fang outline) so your real tooth peeks through the metal. Solid grillz cover the entire visible surface of the tooth with no cut-outs.
Which one is more affordable? Open face designs generally use less metal, so they're often slightly cheaper than a fully solid piece in the same karat and finish — though stone-setting can offset that.
Can I mix both styles in one set? Yes — a lot of our customers choose open face incisors with solid canine fangs, or vice versa. It's a completely custom decision.
Open Face Grillz
Open face grillz are cut with a design, and it can be a diamond shape, a fang outline, a heart, whatever you choose. This allows your natural tooth to show visibly through the metal. It's a subtler look than a fully iced-out solid piece, and it tends to read as more of a design statement than a full-coverage flex.
They also generally use less raw metal than a solid design of the same size, since part of the tooth surface stays uncovered. That can mean a modest cost savings, especially in solid 10K or 14K gold where metal weight drives price.
See it in action: our 4-Piece Open Face Incisors & Solid Canines set is a popular starting point for anyone testing this style for the first time.
Solid Grillz
Solid grillz cover the entire front surface of the tooth in metal or a stone-set surface, with no cut-out. It's the classic, fully iced-out look with maximum shine, maximum coverage, no natural tooth peeking through.
Because more metal goes into a solid piece, it typically weighs more and costs a bit more than an open face design in the same karat. If your priority is maximum visual impact, this is usually the stronger choice.
Our 6-Piece Solid Center Tips with Canine Fangs set is a good example of the fully-covered look, built from silver up through 10K and 14K gold.
The Honest Answer
Neither style is objectively "better". This genuinely comes down to personal taste and how much shine you want. If you're newer to grillz and unsure, open face is a slightly easier way to ease in, since it reads a little less bold day-to-day. If you already know you want maximum ice, go solid. And you don't have to pick just one: plenty of our customers mix styles across a single set where it's open face on the front teeth, solid on the fangs, or the reverse.
One thing that doesn't change either way: fit. Whether open face or solid, every set is handcrafted from your own impression, and the full process from impression kit, mold review, production, and shipping, typically takes 4–8 weeks from order to delivery.
Choosing What's Right for You
Still deciding? Our guide on How to Choose the Right Grillz for Your First Set walks through the basics if this is your first custom piece. And if metal choice is part of what's holding you back, 10K vs 14K Gold Grillz: Which Should You Choose? breaks down that decision too.
Gold Time has been hand-crafting custom grillz in Central Texas since 1991 — every piece, open face or solid, is made to fit the mold you send us, not a generic template.
