• I have 2 gold crowns. What is the gold value from these? – From Rob in Des Moines, Iowa

• I have 5 lbs of very small pieces of dental scrap that came from a retired dentist. – from Larry in Phoenix, Arizona

• I have several teeth and crowns with gold filling that have been extracted. I would like the gold recovered and returned as a single nugget and returned. – From Stacy in Raymond, Illinois

• I have about 10 grams of a three tooth bridge, two gold caps and one gold tooth. – From Matt in Chicago, Illinois

Hi Rob, Stacy, Larry and Matt,

I wanted to address your questions together as they are all about dental scrap to refine. As you may know, gold used in dental products can come in may grades and this grade and the amount of gold used can vary greatly from tooth to tooth and crown to crown.

Because of the weight variance and how the gold is alloyed with other metals, it is a very difficult process to extract the full amount of precious metal from the scrap. Arch Enterprises has a highly trained metallurgy team to handle the recycling of dental scrap, but it is still a difficult process compared to coins or jewelry.

As a general rule, most gold teeth are 16 karat gold. We have seen, however teeth that are below 10 karat. Gold teeth are typically easier to handle and refine than crowns and bridges. A 10 karat crown would have 41.6% gold while a 22 karat crown would have 91.6% so there can be a significant difference in the gold value even for two crowns of the exact same weight. We pay between 70% - 90% of the fine gold value of dental gold depending on the weight of the gold you send.

For more information please refer to a previous blog post, “What is My Dental Scrap Worth?”

How does your medical x-ray film recycling work? Do I have to send in my x-rays? – Sara in Memphis, TN

We recommend finding a dealer that will come to you. Arch will conduct on-site purging of x-rays and x-ray refining in eight states: Alabama, Northern Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee. This just makes things easier for you because we will bring all the necessary materials such as Gaylord boxes, skids and drums.

Another feature to look for in your refining service is if they are HIPPA compliant and offer Certificates of Destruction and documentation of general liability and environment insurance policies. You can also find a service that will sort and remove the x-ray films for you.

If you do not live within the above locations, you can send in your x-rays to a refiner, but the shipping costs will fall on you. Look around your area and try and find a refiner that will conduct on-site x-ray film recycling.

I am a dentist and have some old gold crowns that I have recently taken out of patients mouths. At what point does it become profitable to send them in for refining.  Do I need to have 20-30 crowns before it makes sense? — Dr. Norton

It can be hard to judge how much precious metal is in dental gold scrap because so many different alloys are used in the industry. Typically dental gold alloys range in the 10 to 22 karat range with 16 karat gold being the most common.  A 10 karat crown would have 41.6% gold while a 22 karat crown would have 91.6% so there can be a big difference in value even for two crowns of the exact same weight.

Dentists also use a lot of silver-colored alloys for crowns and bridges that can have high precious metal content.   Despite their color, they may have a fairly sizeable proportion of gold or be made with other precious metals like platinum or palladium.  Unfortunately, without testing equipment, it is often difficult to tell the difference between these precious alloys and other “white” alloys that have no scrap value whatsoever.

Of course, the price of gold on the day your gold crowns are received for refining will also impact the value.

The last major variable is who you are going to sell this scrap to.  If you sell it to the same company that is supplying you with other dental products, then they are probably just going to take a cut and pass the crowns to a precious metal refiner.    However, if you only have one or two, they may batch it with crowns and bridges from other dentists as many refiners will not accept small quantities.
If you work with us at Arch Enterprises, you do not need a minimum quantity of dental gold to receive payment. We will evaluate your items and pay you based on the weight and quality of the gold in the crowns. We have analytic equipment that can evaluate each piece individually for the gold, silver, platinum and palladium content. We pay 85% of the metal value back to you in a check in 2-3 business days.  We are endorsed by dental associations and have worked regularly with many dentists.

If you need some basic guidelines, let’s assume that the average crown weighs 2.5 grams or about .08 troy ounces (the value in which gold is traded) and that the price for the day is $1,000 per troy ounce.  Based on this, a

• A 2.5 gram crown made of 10 karat alloy (41.6% gold) would be worth (.08 x.416 x 1,000) or $33.28 before refining costs of approximately 15%
• A 2.5 gram crown made of 16 karat alloy (66.6% gold) would be worth (.08 x.666 x 1,000) or $53.28 before refining costs of approximately 15%
• A 2.5 gram crown made of 22 karat alloy (66.6% gold) would be worth (.08 x.916 x 1,000) or $73.28 before refining costs of approximately 15%