Although the material for the crown and bridge may not appear to be particularly fascinating at first glance, it contains valuable metals. Most dentists are aware that dental scrap crowns and bridges include valuable metals like gold and palladium, but the vast majority of them do not monitor precious metal prices and nearly never decide to sell their waste based on market conditions.
A platinum group metal called palladium is mainly utilized in catalytic converters to lessen the hazardous emissions from cars. Palladium has the lowest melting point and is the least dense of the platinum group metals. It is ideally suited for usage in dentistry since it is non-corrosive and has great biocompatibility in an oral environment.
In the past, palladium has been quite inexpensive when compared to other precious metals of a similar value, such as gold and platinum. Today, a significant amount of palladium is alloyed with most crowns and PFMs removed. The market for palladium has exploded in the past two and a half years! Palladium’s market price on May 25th, 2017 finished at $767 per troy ounce. Since then, the price has climbed by almost 150%, peaking in December 2019 at more than $1,900 per troy ounce. In contrast, gold has increased by only 15% during that time.
In order to earn the maximum money for your metal while selling scrap, be mindful to look out for the following:
DO NOT ACCEPT CASH IMMEDIATELY:
Anybody who offers to buy your dental debris right away is a middleman who will resell your materials to refiners and keep the difference for themselves. You may lose up to 80% of the material’s worth if you sell your scrap for cash right away.
ENSURE THAT YOU ARE USING A TRUE REFINER:
There is only one method for precisely calculating the precious metal content of dental scrap. A precious metal refiner must melt it and thoroughly analyze it. Some middlemen have been known to pose as refiners by using the word “refining” in their company name. Before proposing a price, all legitimate refiners will melt your material, assay it, and issue an assay report outlining their findings.
DEMAND TRANSPARENCY:
Incoming weights, processed weights, and spot prices for each metal are all necessary components of a reliable assay result. Any trustworthy refiner taking out weights from their reports and only reporting values is omitting important details.
Conclusion:
By using these suggestions, you can receive the most value out of your dental scrap. Palladium prices are at an all-time high, so if you’ve been holding off on selling your scrap, the time is now.
