Dr Maheer Shah didn’t even want to be a dentist; now he’s using his dentistry skills to run a six-figure side hustle making jewellery for your teeth.
Grillz are removable dental accessories often made from gold and diamonds and Shah is the founder of one of Australia’s only grillz businesses, Dr Grillz.
He can charge up to $5000 for a single removable set and right now, business is booming.
Dr. Maheer Shah is a leading Perth dentist specialising in aesthetic dentistry – and making grillz on the side. (Supplied)
“Now I’m getting this demand for permanent work,” Shah told 9news.com.au.
“I think the culture is moving in that direction – everyone’s got so many tattoos now, and piercings, the permanent gold teeth and diamond teeth is probably the next phase.”
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.
These are grillz, removable dental accessories often made from gold and diamonds. (Supplied)
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.
Shah has built a team of jewellers, designers and technicians who keep Dr Grillz going. (Supplied)
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.
This gold and diamond permanent tooth implant was created to fill the place where a client was missing a tooth. (Supplied)
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.
Australian musician Mia Rodriguez shows off a custom set of grillz from Dr Grillz. (Supplied)
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.
Shah encouraged other Aussies pursuing side hustles to keep their day jobs and focus on making smart money decisions. (Supplied)
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.”
