Old gold crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays have real metal value. Yellow dental gold is not pure gold but an alloy, usually of gold with palladium, platinum, silver and copper, and most yellow crowns contain a share of gold in roughly the range that 10K to 18K jewelry does, sometimes more. A buyer values dental gold the same way as scrap jewelry: by the weight of the metal, its tested gold content and the live gold price, with any porcelain, tooth or cement removed or deducted first.
Not every piece of dental work is worth bringing in. Silver colored amalgam fillings contain no gold, and many modern crowns are all ceramic or made on base metal frameworks with no precious metal at all. Below is how to tell the categories apart, what the alloys contain, how a buyer tests and weighs them, and a worked example of what a single crown can be worth.
What dental gold actually is
Dentists stopped using near pure gold for most restorations long ago because it is too soft to stand up to chewing. Dental labs cast crowns and bridges from alloys engineered for strength, wear and how well they bond to porcelain. The American Dental Association classifies these casting alloys by their noble metal content, and that classification is the most useful starting point for a seller.
| ADA category | Requirement | What it means for value |
|---|---|---|
| High noble | At least 60% noble metal (gold, platinum, palladium), of which at least 40% must be gold | The most valuable dental scrap; most rich yellow crowns are in this group |
| Noble | At least 25% noble metal, with no minimum gold | Often palladium based; may be pale or white and still have real value |
| Predominantly base metal | Less than 25% noble metal | Little or no precious metal value; nickel chromium and cobalt chromium alloys belong here |
Noble metals in this context are gold and the platinum group metals, mainly platinum and palladium. Silver is not counted as noble in the ADA scheme, though it adds a little value at refining.
Buyers of New York’s scrap gold page puts it simply: dental crowns, bridges and fillings are typically 10K to 18K gold and have real cash value, and they are tested before an offer is made. That matches what the classification suggests. A high noble alloy with, say, 60 percent gold is in the range of a 14K piece; a richer alloy can run higher.
Which dental work contains gold, and which does not
Sellers often arrive with a mix of items from a lifetime of dental work. Sorting them at home saves disappointment.
Usually worth bringing
- Full gold crowns. Solid yellow metal all the way around, common on back teeth. These are the classic “gold tooth” and usually high noble.
- Gold inlays and onlays. Cast pieces that fill or cap part of a tooth. Small, but often rich in gold.
- Bridges. Two or more crowns joined to replacement teeth. A gold bridge can weigh several times as much as a single crown.
- Porcelain fused to metal crowns (PFM). White on the outside, metal underneath. The metal may be high noble, noble or base; a yellow or pale grey metal coping under the porcelain is worth testing.
- Direct gold fillings. Rare now, but some older patients have them: nearly pure gold foil hammered into a cavity. Very small, very high purity.
Usually not worth bringing
- Silver amalgam fillings. These are an alloy of mercury with silver, tin and copper. They contain no gold, and the mercury makes them unwelcome at most refiners.
- All ceramic or zirconia crowns. No metal at all.
- Partial denture frameworks. Almost always cobalt chromium, a base metal alloy.
- Orthodontic wires and brackets. Stainless steel or nickel titanium.
- Implant parts. Titanium posts and abutments. Titanium is not a precious metal, though some older implant crowns sitting on top of the post were made in noble alloys.
When in doubt, bring it. A test takes seconds and costs nothing at Buyers of New York, and it is better to learn a pale crown is palladium rich than to throw it away.
Color is a poor guide to value
A rich yellow crown is probably high noble, but the reverse is not true. Many valuable dental alloys are white or grey because they are palladium based, and some are silver palladium alloys that look like stainless steel. Meanwhile, a few yellow looking dental alloys are copper aluminum “gold colored” base alloys with no gold at all. That is why dental scrap has to be tested rather than judged by eye. Our post on telling platinum, palladium and white gold apart covers the white metals in more detail.
How a buyer tests and weighs dental gold
Dental pieces are almost never stamped, so everything rests on testing.
Cleaning off what is not metal
Crowns often come back from the dentist with tooth fragments, cement or porcelain still attached. A buyer will either remove these, which may mean cracking off porcelain from a PFM crown, or estimate their weight and deduct it. Tooth and porcelain are surprisingly heavy relative to a thin metal coping, so a PFM crown’s gross weight can overstate its metal several times over. Expect the metal weight to be lower than what you weighed at home.
XRF and acid
An XRF analyzer reads the alloy in seconds: gold, palladium, platinum, silver, copper, indium, gallium and so on, each as a percentage. This is particularly useful with dental metals, which use elements jewelry rarely does. Acid testing also works on dental gold and gives a karat equivalent, though it says nothing about palladium or platinum content. Buyers of New York lists both methods for scrap testing.
The refinery assay
For large quantities, typically a dental practice’s accumulated scrap, the final number comes from melting and assay at a refinery. The pieces are melted into a single button, a sample is assayed precisely, and the seller is paid on the gold, and sometimes the platinum and palladium, the assay shows. For a single crown or a handful from your own mouth, a counter test is the normal route.
A worked example with round numbers
These figures are hypothetical, chosen to show the arithmetic. They are not a quote.
Say a full gold molar crown weighs 3.2 grams on the scale with a little cement attached, and 3.0 grams once cleaned. XRF shows 60 percent gold, 20 percent palladium, and the rest silver, copper and minor metals. Assume gold spot is $3,000 per troy ounce, which makes one gram of pure gold worth about $96.45.
- Gold content: 3.0 g × 0.60 = 1.8 grams of pure gold.
- Gold melt value: 1.8 × $96.45 ≈ $173.61.
- Palladium content: 3.0 g × 0.20 = 0.6 grams. Whether, and at what rate, a buyer pays for the palladium depends on the buyer and the quantity, so ask.
A buyer’s offer is a percentage of melt value, which covers refining and risk. The method is the same as for jewelry and is set out in how gold offers are calculated. A three unit gold bridge at a similar alloy might weigh three or four times as much, which is where dental gold starts to add up.
Asking your dentist for the old crown
Many dentists will hand back a removed crown or bridge if you ask before the appointment, and it is worth asking, since the office’s own policy decides what happens to it by default. Some practices collect removed crowns and send them to a refiner in bulk; if you would rather keep yours, say so in advance. You will usually receive it in a small sealed bag or envelope, sometimes after it has been disinfected.
At home, rinse the piece, let it dry and keep it in a labeled bag. Do not try to pry porcelain off yourself with tools; leave that to the buyer, who will deal with it as part of weighing.
Common misconceptions about dental gold
“It is pure gold.” It is not. Yellow dental alloys are typically somewhere in the karat range of everyday jewelry. A crown feels heavy because these alloys are dense, not because they are 24K.
“My filling is gold because it is metal.” Silver colored fillings are amalgam and contain no gold.
“A white crown has no value.” A porcelain crown may have a valuable noble metal core underneath. Bring it and let it be tested.
“Dental gold is worth less than jewelry gold.” Per gram of pure gold, it is worth the same. The difference is that dental pieces are small and carry non metal weight, so the gold content per item is modest. Combined with other scrap, it is a welcome addition to a lot; each item is tested and weighed on its own line.
Dental practices and larger quantities
Dental offices accumulate removed crowns, bridges, casting buttons and sprues from in house labs, often in a jar over many years. A lot like that can weigh a few hundred grams and contain several alloy types. For quantities of that size, the usual practice is to test a representative sample at the counter and, where the lot is large or very mixed, to price it on a melt and assay so the final figure reflects the whole lot rather than an estimate. Ask in advance which method will be used and how long it takes.
Keep the scrap dry and in a sealed container, separate any amalgam and anything with visible mercury, and leave porcelain and tooth material as they are. If the practice has records of the alloys it ordered from its lab, bring them: a lab invoice naming a high noble alloy and its gold percentage gives the buyer a useful cross check.
Combining dental gold with other scrap
Dental pieces are usually tested and priced separately from jewelry because their alloys differ, but they can be sold in the same visit. Bring old chains, single earrings, bent rings and dental work together. Each group is tested and weighed, and the offer lists them line by line. Buyers of New York’s gold page lists dental gold, gold fillings and gold crowns among the scrap it buys, tested and priced at their karat.
What to bring, and what happens at the counter
Bring the crowns, bridges or inlays in a sealed bag, any other gold you want to sell, and a valid government issued photo ID. There is no need to remove porcelain or cement. At Buyers of New York the pieces are tested by XRF or acid and weighed on DCA certified scales in front of you, and you see the gold content and the live spot price before any offer. Testing is free, and you are under no obligation to sell.
We are at 30 W. 47th Street, Suite 8006, New York, NY 10036, open Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm, and walk-ins are welcome. If you are bringing a dental practice’s accumulated scrap, call (212) 642-4345 ahead so time can be set aside. You can read more about how scrap is tested and paid on our scrap gold page, which also has a calculator for estimating gold by karat and weight.
More questions sellers ask
Are silver fillings worth anything?
No. Silver colored fillings are dental amalgam, a mix of mercury with silver, tin and copper. They contain no gold and most refiners do not accept them.
Do I need to clean my old crown before selling it?
A rinse and a dry, sealed bag are enough. Leave porcelain, cement and tooth fragments in place; the buyer removes them or deducts their weight.
Is a white metal crown worth testing?
Yes. Many valuable dental alloys are palladium based and look white or grey. Only a test tells you whether a white crown contains precious metal.
Is dental gold worth less per gram than jewelry gold?
Per gram of pure gold, no. Dental alloys are priced on their tested gold content like any scrap. Each piece is small, so the total per item is modest.