In your search for new ways to bring in extra money for your dental practice, you might have heard of companies that pay you for the dental scrap that you collect from customers. As a dental practice, bringing in new revenue streams can help you pay back your business debts, stay on top of costs, and improve your profit margins. However, before you start collecting dental scrap, you need to know what you’re getting into with confidence.
Why would these companies be interested in collecting unwanted dental scrap metals? Let’s take a look at who they are, why they’re interested in buying dental scrap, and how you can get the best value for it.
What Is Dental Scrap?
Dental scrap is the name for the materials used in dental restorations once they’ve been removed and replaced. These include things like crowns, bridges, implants, inlays, and onlays.
Most of these materials have an expiry date. A dental bridge typically lasts anywhere from 5 to 15 years before it wears out and needs to be replaced. A dental crown can last 10 to 15 years.
When someone gets dental implants replaced, some dental practices toss the unwanted scrap, but others can sell it.
Why Is Dental Scrap Valuable?
Not all dental scrap is valuable, but those that contain precious metals are. In the past, gold, silver, and platinum were often used in dentistry. One of the unique qualities of precious metals is that they are among the least chemically reactive metals.
They do not corrode, even when exposed to oxygen or sulphur (an element that is commonly found in food), making them ideal for dental restorations that are regularly exposed to a harsh environment in the mouth.
Who Buys Dental Scrap?
Dental scrap is purchased by precious metal refining companies. The refining process removes all of the other materials found in dental scrap to isolate precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum by melting it all down. Precious metals have high melting points, allowing refiners to separate different metals.
These refining companies make money by recycling the precious metals that they recover. The metals will be used in jewellery, bullion, or any number of applications.
How Much Is Dental Scrap Worth?
The value of dental scrap depends on whether it’s composed of gold, silver, or platinum and the going rates for those metals at the time.
Gold will usually be worth more than other types of metals. There is a significant difference between the value of gold and silver, sometimes as much as 100 to 1. Platinum prices tend to be very volatile but typically fall somewhere between gold and silver prices.
How to Get the Most for Dental Scrap
The best way to get more for your dental scrap is to work with a refiner who analyzes scrap before they pay you. Better refiners will use X-Ray Fluorescence technology to determine the exact metal composition of the scrap you’ve sent, and then they will pay you based on what they’ve found.
Dental scrap can become a profitable part of your business. Get a dental scrap collection kit, and make sure you get permission from clients to hold onto scrap materials. It’s as simple as collecting scrap and sending it when your kit is full.
