Gold is unique among commodities. Unlike wheat, oil or copper, gold is more than just a raw material – it’s a globally recognized store of value, often viewed as a safe haven asset. Gold is highly liquid and less tied to stock and bond markets than many assets, which can give it an advantage over other commodities during times of inflation. While gold’s spot prices fluctuate daily, the metal will always hold significant value; this is evident throughout history.
For dental professionals who generate precious metal scrap containing gold, working with a trusted refinery is a great way to unlock extra value that may otherwise be overlooked. Components of dental restorations like crowns, bridges, PFMs, inlays/onlays and more can all contain valuable precious metals.
Why Dental Scrap Recycling Matters
Scrap refining is often an afterthought for dental professionals – whether you’re a dentist, hygienist, assistant, office staff member, or lab technician. With patient care and daily operations taking priority, selling a handful of extracted crowns probably isn’t top-of-mind (understandably). But refining is an easy way to boost profits without adding new costs or extra work.
Recycling dental scrap with a reputable refinery helps dental offices and labs reduce waste, generate extra revenue, offset the cost of new equipment, and improve overall profitability. Refineries like Garfield Refining help dentists, dental assistants, DSOs, dental laboratories and individual sellers recycle their extracted or unused scrap – and get paid as much as possible for it.
How Valuable is Dental Scrap?
At the time of writing (January 2026), gold prices have never been higher – today’s spot price sits above $4,600 per ounce! Even just a few pieces of scrap can really add up.
And it’s not just gold that’s valuable. Dental scrap often contains silver, platinum, and palladium as well – all of which are commanding strong prices in today’s market. That’s why working with a trusted refining partner matters: when precious metals are this valuable, you want to ensure you’re maximizing every bit of worth in your material. After all, if you’re going to sell your scrap, you deserve to get the most bang for your buck.
Scrap Values Vary Widely
Many of the alloys used to make dental fabrications contain gold along with other precious metals like silver, platinum and/or palladium. In fact, a single piece of scrap will often contain more than one type of precious metal. Certain types of dental alloys contain more precious metals than others:
- – High noble alloys are made from a minimum of 60% precious metals, with gold being the predominant component.
- – Noble alloys contain at least 25% precious metal.
- – Non-noble alloys contain less than 25% precious metal.
Several factors play a role in determining how much your scrap is worth, including weight, purity and type of metal. It’s difficult to assess value accurately without refining the material first, which is why reputable refineries perform an assay – a scientific test that often involves melting the scrap – to determine its exact composition. This ensures you receive maximum value from all recoverable precious metals, not just the gold.
Refining vs. ‘Cash For Gold’
Be wary of gold buyers offering cash on the spot and online services that don’t actually refine your material. The quick “evaluations” that these businesses offer are really just an estimation of your material’s value based on weight. Common practices like “weigh and pay” or “pay per crown” are problematic because they do not account for purity and varying amounts of gold, silver, platinum and/or palladium in the material.
And since non-refinery buyers don’t have the equipment and expertise to refine and test dental scrap themselves, they must sell your material to a refinery to obtain any value from it. This is why they will typically value your items at an extremely conservative estimate, keeping most of the profit.
In contrast, refineries like Garfield are the final stop in the gold-selling chain. By cutting out intermediaries who add extra fees, we deliver the highest possible payouts.
Finding a Trustworthy Refinery
Always sell your dental scrap to a refinery that specializes in precious metals. Companies who dabble in dental scrap refining but aren’t fully dedicated to precious metals might be underpaying for your material, as they’ll likely have other business operations that they’re more heavily invested in.
When choosing a refinery, make sure that they offer free and insured shipping. After your material is tested, a credible refinery will always provide you with a copy of the assessment report, detailing the breakdown of raw gold and other precious metals in your items.
Be sure to check the refinery’s online reviews, website, and social media accounts to verify that they’re an authentic, trustworthy business. Bonus points if they’re already well-established in the dental industry.
Get the Most for Your Metals with Garfield Refining
Garfield has been a leader in dental refining for decades, serving dentists across the U.S., Canada and Australia. Our 130+ years of expertise and cutting-edge technology ensure maximum metal recovery and precise assays, helping us provide our clients with industry-leading payouts. If you’re not currently recycling your precious metal scrap, it’s never too late to get started!
There are plenty of places to sell dental scrap, but Garfield Refining is the best – that’s why we’ve been voted ‘Best Refiner’ by Dentaltown Magazine for the past 15 years straight.
Ready to sell your precious metals? Download a free shipping label to get started.