Just like any commodity, precious metal prices are always fluctuating. Yet, dental scrap containing precious metals like gold has consistently held its worth over time. From gold crowns to PFMs, bridges, and inlays, valuable dental scrap is more common than you might think. And with gold reaching record-breaking prices this year – an impressive $2,777/oz on October 30th – even a few pieces of scrap could really add up!
So, what’s the best place to sell dental gold? A reputable precious metal refinery will be able to recover maximum yields from your material and provide you with the highest possible payout.
Getting the Most For Your Scrap
Many of the alloys used to make dental fabrications contain gold or other precious metals like silver, platinum, or palladium. Precious metal refineries help dentists, dental assistants, DSOs, and dental laboratories sell their unused material to generate extra revenue.
Unlike cash buyers who typically employ the “weigh and pay” method, a refinery will perform an assay to evaluate the exact composition of your dental scrap. This ensures that you’ll get the maximum value from all of the precious metals in your material.
Sell to a Real Refinery
With gold prices on the rise lately, there’s been an upswing in the number of companies who are willing to buy dental scrap. Remember that it’s always best to sell your dental material to a refinery that specifically specializes in precious metals.
Companies who dabble in dental scrap refining but aren’t fully dedicated to precious metals might be underpaying you for your material, as they likely have other business operations that they’re more heavily invested in.
Watch Out For “Weigh and Pay”
Some companies will pay you cash on the spot for your dental scrap using the “weigh-and-pay” method. Red flag! This method often involves simply weighing the material and making a rough estimate of its value, leading sellers to lose out on a significant portion of their material’s worth. While the quick cash might seem appealing, “weigh-and-pay” transactions usually result in much lower payouts. “Cash for gold” stores, pawn shops, and online gold-buying services will typically sell your dental scrap to a refinery themselves, keeping the majority of the profit.
In contrast, a reputable refinery like Garfield will use a melt and assay process to accurately determine the full composition of your dental scrap. This ensures you’re fairly compensated for all precious metals present—not just the gold. This precision is especially valuable, as some dental metals are actually alloys containing multiple precious metals.
Do Your Research
When looking for the best place to sell dental gold, do your due diligence by vetting the refinery. Since dental scrap refining is often an overlooked aspect of dentistry, many dental practices aren’t too discerning about who they sell to.
Look at the refinery’s online reviews, website, and social media accounts to verify that they’re a trustworthy business. It’s ideal to find a company who’s already well-established in the dental community. Garfield Refining, for example, has been leading the industry in dental refining for decades, serving dentists across the U.S., Canada and Australia!
Try Garfield
Unlike other refineries, Garfield relies on the relationships we’ve built with dental professionals throughout our 132 years in business. Though we serve various industries, we excel in dental refining. In fact, we’ve been voted North America’s “Best Dental Scrap Refiner” by Dentaltown Magazine for the past 13 years!
Garfield Refining helps dentists like you get the most for your gold, silver, platinum and palladium. To get started monetizing your dental scrap, download a free shipping label today!
If you’re an individual looking to sell a single cap or crown, we’re happy to help – learn more and get started today!