Re: OT: sale of dental gold

Golly. dentist pocketed mine

Dentist? What's a dentist?

My only gold crown fell out all by itself and now sits in a little pot while I wonder if I could use it for gold electroplating something or other. I'm not sure how much money I'd get for it because there's there's a base metal peg embedded into it which was how it had been fitted to the stump.

Nick

Have to wonder about Funeral Directors!

OTOH I went in for major surgery with a very loose tooth.

"I really don't like the look of that" said the anaesthetist "I don't want to intubate that - you might inhale it".

"If it happened not to be there when I wake up", I said, "I wouldn't mind in the least".

It was in a little cardboard box by my bed when I woke up.

Cheapest most painless extraction ever...

"Nuclear Materials"

The place that bought it had a large gun-like deice that was capable of analysing it. The first one I sold, quite a few years ago, the analysis was by means of a colour chart.

XRF scanner.

The dentist kept my first one but he might not have realised, in those more innocent days, that they were saleable. I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure if the NHS, which had paid for it, still laid claim to it. By the same the same dentist took the second one out someone had obvioiusly had a conversation with him because he offered it to me without me saying anyhing but seemed quite puzzled by the idea that they could be sold. I made it quite clear to the current dentist that the removal of this tooth, which was at the back, loose, and not doing anything, would depend on the price of gold.

From Google -

The Danger of Explosion: If not removed, the high heat of the cremator (often around 1,000°C or 1,800°F) causes the batteries to explode, which can damage the furnace walls and endanger staff.

Radioactive Specifics: While most modern pacemakers use lithium/iodine, older devices may contain radioactive materials like plutonium-238. Radioactive implants, such as iodine-125 seeds, also require removal to prevent releasing radioactive fumes.

Device Disposal/Recycling: After removal, the devices are typically returned to the manufacturer for recycling. Some are donated for re-use in veterinary practices or, in some cases, refurbished for human use in developing nations. <------ :-)

If Not Removed: If a, pacemaker is missed and enters the furnace, it can cause severe damage; one report noted a finger-sized hole in a cremator wall from a pacemaker explosion.

I presume I watched the same video, it was Rhenium alloyed with Tungsten...

I have seen the fragments of an exploded pacemaker. I don't think it caused any damage, but the mourners were distressed by the bang.

John

I wasn't under the impression that cremation took place as soon as the curtains had closed ....

I'm sure the exploding pacemaker did not relate to the ceremony that had just taken place but to an earlier one.

I was shown the fragments by the head of medical physics at Guy's hospital who had been called out to check for radioactivity by the crematorium. There was nothing significant. This was just a lithium battery in a metal case - probably titanium.

John

In message snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net>, at 13:46:55 on Wed, 4 Mar

Arrangements seem to differ. The most recent cremation I went to the coffin was still in the chapel, and the curtains hadn't been drawn, by the time the fifty or so mourners had all departed and were making their way to the wake.

The one before that, the relatives were handed an urn with ashes in it, to scatter in the adjacent Garden of Remembrance, surprisingly quickly after everyone had gone outside.

In message snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, at 19:51:40 on Mon, 2 Mar 2026, Peter Johnson snipped-for-privacy@parksidewood.nospam remarked:

Currently there's a glut of scrap silver and gold waiting to be smelted, and the prices are very volatile. So despite continuing to advertise their services, and do road-shows, many "we buy gold" dealers won't.

Presumably they are surviving by buying other things on their list.

Odd. Gold is at a record high.

That is indeed surprising. Most sources suggest that the whole process, including cooling and grinding takes between one and three hours.

Chris

If you are buying, that is a bad thing. Its very high and therefore may fall a lot before they have time to smelt and re-cycle it.

Dave

In message <10obf6c$3kphu$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, at 08:34:20 on Thu, 5 Mar

No it's not. Over 4,150 an ounce earlier in the week, then dropped to

It's that volatility which is putting dealers off holding too much stock.