If you run a dental practice or lab, chances are you have a container somewhere filled with extracted crowns, old bridges, PFM pieces, and grindings collected over months or years. Most dentists toss everything into one jar and forget about it. But that mixed pile of dental scrap often contains gold, platinum, palladium, and silver — and in today's precious metals market, it can add up to a surprising amount of cash.
Here's what determines the value of your dental scrap, what to realistically expect, and why selling locally in Los Angeles puts more money in your pocket than mailing it across the country.
What Makes Dental Scrap Valuable?
Dental restorations are rarely made of pure gold — pure gold is too soft to handle daily chewing. Instead, they're made from alloys that blend precious metals (gold, platinum, palladium, silver) with other metals for strength. The value comes from how much precious metal is actually in the mix.
Dental alloys generally fall into three categories:
- High noble alloys — at least 60% precious metal, with gold as the main component. These are the most valuable.
- Noble alloys — at least 25% precious metal.
- Non-noble alloys — less than 25% precious metal. Worth less, but still worth recovering.
One important tip: older restorations tend to be worth more. Before the 1980s, high-gold alloys were standard because of their durability. As gold prices climbed, dentists shifted toward cheaper materials like porcelain, zirconia, and lower-gold alloys. So if your scrap has been accumulating for a long time, there's a good chance it's richer in gold than newer material.
How Much Is a Gold Crown Worth?
This is the question we hear most. The honest answer: it depends on the metal content. But to give you a realistic ballpark, a single gold crown commonly ranges from around $100 to $150 or more, depending on how old it is and how much precious metal it contains.
Most dentists don't sell one crown at a time — they sell a full jar of accumulated scrap. A container built up over months or years frequently adds up to hundreds, even thousands of dollars once everything is melted and assayed together.
Here's a rough guide to the kinds of materials that make up your scrap and their relative value:
| Material Type | Relative Value |
|---|---|
| Solid gold crowns & bridges (high noble) | Highest |
| PFM (porcelain-fused-to-metal) | Moderate — thin metal layer under porcelain |
| Inlays, onlays, partials | Varies by alloy |
| Grindings & bench sweeps | Adds up in volume |
You don't need to sort or clean anything. Keep it all together — crowns, bridges, PFM, grindings, whatever you've collected. The material is melted down and tested as a whole, so separating it yourself isn't necessary.
Why You Can't Know the Exact Value by Looking
Here's the truth most buyers won't tell you upfront: nobody can accurately value dental scrap by sight. The crown in your jar was fabricated by a dental lab, not by you, so its exact alloy composition is unknown until it's properly tested.
That's why reputable buyers perform a melt and assay — the scrap is melted down and chemically analyzed to determine exactly which precious metals it contains and in what quantity. Only then can a fair, accurate value be calculated based on current market prices. Anyone who quotes you an exact figure just by looking is guessing.
Why Los Angeles Dentists Get Paid More With TrayScrap
National refineries make you mail your scrap across the country — adding shipping costs, insurance, delays of a week or more, and the risk of lost packages. TrayScrap is local to Los Angeles. We pick up in person, assay transparently, and pay fast. Because we operate locally without shipping costs or middlemen, we're able to pay you more than mail-in refineries.
How to Sell Your Dental Scrap in Los Angeles
Selling to TrayScrap is simple and built around your schedule:
- Get in touch — call us or request a free valuation through our website.
- On-site pickup — we come to your office across the LA area. No mailing, no shipping labels, no waiting.
- Transparent assay — your material is weighed and tested so you know exactly what it's worth.
- Fast payment — get paid quickly, with no hidden refining fees eating into your payout.
Whether you have a single crown or a jar packed with years of accumulated scrap, it's worth finding out what it's really worth — and getting paid fairly by a local buyer who values your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is dental scrap worth?
It depends on the precious metal content. A single gold crown commonly ranges from about $100 to $150 or more, and a full jar of accumulated mixed scrap is often worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. The only way to know the exact value is a professional assay.
Do I need to sort or clean my scrap before selling?
No. Keep everything together — crowns, bridges, PFM, inlays, grindings. We accept dental scrap as-is and handle the sorting and assay for you.
Why sell locally instead of mailing my scrap?
Selling locally to TrayScrap means no shipping costs, no week-long waits, no risk of lost packages, and convenient on-site pickup across Los Angeles. Operating locally without middlemen is exactly why we can pay more.
What types of dental scrap do you buy?
We buy gold crowns, bridges, PFM, inlays, onlays, partials, dental gold, and lab grindings — any dental material containing precious metals.
Values mentioned are general estimates for informational purposes only and vary based on the actual precious metal content of your material, which is determined by assay, and on current market prices. They are not a guaranteed offer or quote.