Dental Gold (Dental Alloy)

Dental gold is not pure gold, but a precious-metal-bearing dental alloy developed specifically for use inside the human mouth. The requirements are strict: the material must be corrosion-resistant, biocompatible, dimensionally stable and durably load-bearing. For decades such alloys have been used for crowns, bridges, inlays, onlays and telescopic prostheses. Anyone who owns old dental gold — from their own mouth or that of a relative — can sell it to a refinery or a precious metal buyer and receive the melt value based on the current gold price.

Composition: three classes of dental alloy

Dentistry distinguishes dental alloys according to their precious metal content into three main classes:

High-gold alloys often contain, alongside gold, platinum (for strength and tarnish protection), palladium (raises the melting point and improves hardness), silver (a cheaper extending additive) as well as small amounts of copper, zinc or indium to adjust casting and processing properties.

Reduced-gold alloys (also precious-metal alloys without high gold) often consist of a palladium-silver base system with comparatively little gold. Their precious metal content is nevertheless far above that of jewellery made from 333 gold.

Why precious metal at the dentist at all?

The physical and chemical properties of precious metals make them particularly suitable for dentistry:

• Corrosion resistance: in the saliva environment with changing pH values and temperatures (10–60 °C), precious metals hardly rust or oxidise.
• Biocompatibility: high-gold alloys are considered very well tolerated; allergic reactions are rare (in contrast to nickel-containing base-metal alloys).
• Workability: dental gold can be cast, ground and polished precisely — important for the exact fit of a prepared tooth.
• Longevity: well-processed dental gold can last decades.

Since the 1990s, all-ceramic crowns and zirconia restorations (tooth-coloured, metal-free aesthetics) have gained importance. Gold consumption in dental technology has declined since then, but still accounts globally for a notable share of gold demand.

Calculating the melt value of dental gold

The value of dental gold results from the fine weight of the precious metals it contains multiplied by their daily prices. Since dental gold generally consists of several metals, each must be valued separately.

Melt value = (gross weight × gold share × gold price)
           + (gross weight × palladium share × palladium price)
           + (gross weight × platinum share × platinum price)
           + ...

Example: a crown of 2.0 g gross weight from an alloy with 75 % gold, 10 % palladium and 5 % platinum:

• Gold: 2.0 g × 0.75 = 1.50 g fine gold
• Palladium: 2.0 g × 0.10 = 0.20 g fine palladium
• Platinum: 2.0 g × 0.05 = 0.10 g fine platinum

The actual payout, depending on the buyer, is around 75–90 % of the calculated melt value. You can determine the full melt value with the dental gold calculator or the general melt value calculator based on the current gold price.

Purchase: how the sale works

1. Collect: keep crowns, bridges and inlays after removal by the dentist. Dental practices are generally required to hand removed restorations back to the patient.
2. Identify: visual inspection (high gold = yellowish-golden; reduced gold = whitish-silvery). No reliable statement without analysis.
3. Obtain a quote: buyers (refineries, precious metal dealers, online purchasers) usually quote flat prices per gram based on the visible alloy class or carry out an X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF).
4. Analysis and payout: reputable refineries melt down the material, analyse the alloy exactly and pay based on the actually determined fineness.

Note on taxes (Malta): Malta levies no capital gains tax on private disposals of movable assets such as precious metals. Maltese capital gains tax applies only to specific assets (immovable property, securities, business interests), so a private sale of dental scrap gold is generally not subject to Maltese capital gains tax. Unlike investment gold, dental gold does not qualify for VAT exemption as an investment product; note that fine silver, platinum and palladium content is subject to 18 % VAT at Malta's standard rate. This is a note — not tax or investment advice; please consult a tax adviser in case of doubt. Sources: cfr.gov.mt, legislation.mt, eur-lex.europa.eu.

Dental gold and recycling

Dental gold is a significant component of scrap gold recycling. Considerable quantities of dentally used precious metals arise worldwide each year — from practices, dental technology laboratories and crematorium residues. Refineries melt down the material, separate the metals pyrometallurgically or hydrometallurgically and recover pure gold, palladium and platinum. This secondary material flows back into precious metal production and thereby conserves primary resources.

In brief

Dental gold is a complex precious-metal alloy with gold, palladium and platinum as value-determining components — the actual value depends on the exact fineness and the daily price of all metals contained. Anyone wishing to sell old dental gold should calculate the melt value beforehand and compare offers from several reputable buyers.