By Tom Mappin, VP Operations, Atlantic Precious Metal Refining
Autumn 2013
That is the 64 million dollar question, isn’t it?
The use of precious metals — gold, silver, platinum, and palladium — in dental restorations has been decreasing in recent years with the advancement of technology. However, because many restorations with metal placed over the past decades have now reached their life expectancy and need replacing, they are being removed from the patients’ mouths by dentists.
Recycling dental precious metals waste
Scientific research shows that 30% of those dental offices surveyed do not collect this natural resource after being removed from the mouth.* Another 30% of those asked do collect but sell their scrap based on its weight and color.* That method is only an estimate. Or perhaps more accurately, it is only a “guess-timate” of its worth. Most alloys used in dental crown and bridge contain three or four precious metals in varying amounts. And just like the research upon which this paper is based, the evaluation of scrap value should be a scientific process, every time, to be fair and accurate.
Aside from missing out on the full value of the natural resource you hold, a lack of attention in this area could mean the unnecessary risk of loss or theft. Many stories abound of dental offices being vandalized and the stash of scrap as one of the items that are missing. And if your habits are irregular, you will not be able to cost average the precious metal market fluctuations and could end up losing value there. Worst of all, is to not collect these highly valuable metals and lose them forever into a landfill or biohazard waste disposal. It is far more costly on our wallets and environment to mine an ounce of gold than it is to recycle it. It would actually be best to think about each crown as if it were a $10 or $20 bill — what would you do with one of those lying on the instrument tray after a procedure? Sterilize and save it!
Consider yourself on the front lines of an urban gold rush of sorts. If you don’t collect it, nobody does.
The rest of this article, published by Atlantic Precious Metal Refining, can be found here.
