Gold grillz combine jewelry and dental work. They are often custom-made, snapped on or fitted over teeth, and typically use 10k, 14k, or 18k gold. When selling grillz, buyers focus on gold content and today’s market price, not style or brand.
Understanding Gold Grillz
From a buyer’s perspective, grillz are a form of dental scrap or scrap gold:
- They are usually cast from a gold alloy designed to be safe in the mouth, much like traditional dental gold crowns and bridges.
- The karat can vary, but many dental alloys fall in the 10k–18k (and sometimes higher) range, mixing gold with metals like silver, copper, and palladium for strength.
- Once removed and no longer used as gold teeth, they are valued as raw precious metal material, not as wearable fashion.
When selling dental gold of any kind, keep in mind the most important factor: crowns, bridges, and grillz are treated as scrap precious metals, and their value comes from their gold content and weight, not their appearance.
How Gold Grillz Are Valued
Whether you approach a cash-for-gold shop, an online dental-gold buyer, or a refinery, the pricing logic for grillz is almost identical.
1. Purity (Karat)
The first step is determining the karat of the metal. Some grillz are marked (10k, 14k, 18k), but many are not, especially fully custom pieces. In those cases, buyers will test the alloy with acid, X-ray fluorescence, or another method to estimate its fineness. Dental alloys can range widely in gold content, so testing is essential before any serious offer is made.
2. Weight
Once purity is known or estimated, the grillz are weighed. Because grillz are hollow, their weight is often lower than owners expect when first considering a sale. Still, a scale reading in grams or pennyweight is critical; it tells the buyer how much metal they will refine.
3. Spot Price and Payout
Buyers then calculate an approximate melt value using:
(Weight × gold purity) × current spot price of gold
Keep in mind that no buyer pays 100% of this figure. They discount for refining costs, overhead, and risk, typically paying a percentage of the theoretical metal value.
Because grillz are custom, irregular gold pieces, some local buyers or neighborhood pawn shops may refuse them outright or offer a very low percentage of melt value, especially if they are not set up to process dental scrap.
Where You Can Sell Gold Grillz
People who want to sell gold grillz typically use one of three types of gold buyers.
Local Gold and Pawn Shops
Some coin shops and gold and silver buyers accept dental gold and grillz along with rings, chains, and other jewelry, paying cash on the spot. There are also shops that explicitly mention dental gold among the items they buy. They can give you quick cash, but you won’t ever receive the best price.
Online Dental-Gold and Grillz Buyers
Several mail-in services specialize in dental scrap, crowns, and gold teeth. These services are accustomed to irregular shapes and small lots of dental scrap, so they are often more comfortable valuing grillz than general jewelry counters.
Precious Metal Refiners
Refining companies that handle dental scrap take in crowns, bridges, and other materials directly, then pay based on refined output. Their primary clients are dentists and dental labs, but some work with individuals as well.
Preparing Gold Grillz for Sale
You can make the process smoother and often get clearer offers by doing some basic preparation:
- Clean and Dry: Rinse and dry the grillz thoroughly so remnants of adhesive or residue do not affect weighing.
- Keep All Pieces Together: Include any broken segments or extra caps. They still contain gold.
- Ask About Non-Gold Attachments: Some grillz incorporate non-precious metals or stones. Buyers may remove or ignore those portions in their calculations.
- Know Your Goals: prioritize speed (local cash) or maximum return (specialized dental-scrap buyer tied to spot price).
How APMEX Buys Your Grillz
APMEX is widely known as a dealer in bullion and other precious metals, but scrap and old gold are also accepted. Broken jewelry, bracelets, watches, coins, and dental gold receive quotes based on metal content rather than design.
The Old Gold & Silver Program outlines a process where customers start online or in the app, indicate the gold items they plan to send, follow the guidelines for insured shipping, and then have the items weighed and tested for purity. Payment offers are based on verified gold content and current market pricing for gold and silver.
Under this program, qualifying grillz are treated as dental scrap: tested for karat and weight, then priced by gold content at live market rates, not by styling or branding.
Putting It All Together
To approach the sale of gold grillz realistically:
- Think of them as dental scrap or scrap jewelry, not fashion pieces.
- Expect buyers to focus on karat, total weight, and the current gold price.
- Recognize that some shops may underpay or decline grillz because of their custom shape.
- Look for buyers, local or online, who are familiar with dental gold and clearly explain how they calculate value.
Once you understand that grillz are priced as scrap gold, you can compare offers with more confidence and choose the route that makes the most sense for your situation.
