Dr. Maheer Shah, once ambivalent about a career in dentistry, has now transformed his dental expertise into a lucrative side business that generates six figures, crafting unique jewelry for teeth.

Grillz—removable dental adornments typically fashioned from gold and diamonds—have become Shah’s specialty as he leads one of Australia’s rare grillz enterprises, known as Dr. Grillz.

With prices reaching as high as $5,000 for a single removable set, Shah’s business is thriving in the current market.

“Lately, there’s a growing interest in permanent designs,” Shah shared with 9news.com.au.

“It seems cultural trends are evolving—everyone’s embracing tattoos and piercings, and permanent gold and diamond teeth appear to be the next big thing.”

Born in Nairobi and raised in the suburbs of Perth, Shah decided to pursue dentistry after hearing that a schoolmate’s dentist dad only had to work three days a week.

He went in blind and admitted he didn’t have much “natural talent”.

But he persevered and completed his degree in 2015.

The idea for Dr Grillz struck him just a few weeks later, when he went to see his favourite DJs perform.

“I won some backstage passes, so I met them before their show and they had grillz in,” Shah said.

When he asked about the accessories, the DJs confessed they travelled abroad to buy them because grillz were so hard to find in Australia.

Shah immediately saw it as an opportunity.

After the show, his mates wanted grillz of their own, so he connected with designers and jewellers to create them.

It became a hobby, one he shared online via his Dr Grillz Instagram page.

Most of the dentists he worked with called it a “gimmick”, insisting it wouldn’t amount to anything.

But Shah’s social media page had started to gain traction.

Before long, total strangers were reaching out to order custom grillz.

Still working full-time as a dentist, Shah slowly built a team of designers, jewellers and technicians to help bring each set of custom grillz to life.

He did most of the work for Dr Grillz between appointments or on weekends, but Shah didn’t mind dedicating that time to a creative outlet.

And at up to $5000 a pop, grillz were becoming a lucrative little side hustle.

“A little silver tooth would maybe be $200 or $300, and if you wanted a little tooth gem that’s somewhere between $30 and $50,” Shah explained.

“But then, when the pieces start to get bigger, covering multiple teeth, then it’ll move to that $500 to $1000 mark.

“And then when you add diamonds, or if they’re very big pieces, it goes into the thousands – up to $5000.”

He charges even more for permanent work, though it’s not something he does often.

On one occasion, Shah created a custom gold and diamond implant worth several thousand dollars to replace a patient’s missing tooth.

But he’s reluctant to do anything permanent that could damage a patient’s natural smile – even though he could charge tens of thousands for it.

”I’m still a dentist, my job is to protect your teeth,” Shah said.

Dr Grillz is now a six-figure business and Shah will soon be opening a grillz studio in the Perth suburb of Northbridge.

Getting to this point hasn’t been easy but the challenges he’s faced building this side hustle are nothing compared to his day job.

“The mishaps you have in dentistry, the complications and pain and bleeding, is a way worse headache than grillz ever will be,” he said.

At least his Dr Grillz clients are happy to see him – unlike many of the patients he sees working full-time across two private dentistry practices.

”When you work as a dentist, no one’s really that excited to see you,” Shah laughed.

But he never considered giving up work as a dentist to focus on Dr Grillz alone.

About 55 per cent of Australians are currently earning money from a side hustle, or actively considering starting one, according to Westpac data.

Like many of them, Shah has had to play it smart with his money to keep his business going.

Without his salary as a dentist to fall back on, he doubts Dr Grillz would be as successful as it is today – if at all.

He urged other Aussies looking to build a brand or make cash on the side not to dive into a side hustle without considering how they’ll pay rent when business is slow.

Because there’s nothing that can kill a small business quicker than poor financial planning.

“If you can have a job that pays your bills and things like that, then all the money your side hustle makes, you can reinvest into the business,” he said.

“And even if that business doesn’t grow into something that makes you $1 million, it will lead you into that next thing that might be the golden ticket for you.”