Refinery for dental scrap recommendations

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cals400ex

Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2018
Messages
7
Hello, I'm looking for suggestions for a refinery for dental scrap. I'm sending off a very small amount, usually once or twice a year. I've always used American Recycling Associates (ARA) in the past. They haven't been very upfront, but I don't believe they are paying anything for Platinum or Palladium. Most of the dental scrap I send has gold, platinum, palladium silver, etc. I'll usually get a check for around $1500 from them for the small amount that I send. The last time, I received a check for a little over $800. There very well could have been less gold, but it left me skeptical. Any suggestions on a reliable refinery?
 
Are you doing any testing of the material?

This testing pamphlet has a small dental material section that may help you out;

The Pawnbrokers Guide to Testing Metals
http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/download/file.php?id=1765
 
I do not do any testing, and I'd prefer not to. I realize this might slightly cut into profit bc I have no idea what materials are in each and every crown that I send off, but the time to test every one won't be worth it to me. I'm more interested in sending the materials to a place that is known to be honest and fair. I probably only have a 1/2 of a cup full of old crowns a year.
 
I think taking the time to learn how to test is in your best interest. At least learn the tips to quickly identify the worthless alloys. When you send them to a refiner, they realize that they can fudge the numbers.

How can you honestly know that a refiner is being honest and fair, unless you have a general idea of what you really have? Dental material can be tricky and can vary greatly.

Maybe you can find a trusted member here to deal with.

Jim
 
For a 1/2 cup of material, your check sizes could be a lot too small, but without educating yourself, you've really got no clue.

I may be able to share with you a buyer that handles a LOT of dental, but I'm honestly not sure as you aren't an established member and security concerns are always huge. I don't have a PO box yet, though I need to get one, and I'm not sure if he does, and I'm not going to hand out his physical address or even his company name, as he's made it a point to maintain limited web presence....anyway.

Remember that ambiguity is almost always the knowledgeable buyers friend, but that it shouldn't be a license to rip off the seller...it's just another service that they can charge for. With that, you shouldn't expect prime prices on white dental material, without doing testing on your part to ensure that it is precious. BUT...even without sorting, you should be able to find an honest buyer, but the only way you'll know they are honest is with sorting.

So, here's my advice. Keep your gold teeth in a separate lot.

White dental material...hit it with a hammer. If it breaks or doesn't move, and you hit it hard enough to make it move, put it in one pile...good chance it's junk. If it smashes, or distorts, put it in another pile...great chance it's precious metal.

Now you've got three different lots, at least the yellow gold and the white malleable material have value, and almost always good value...the non-malleable, is likely junk, but let an expert on dental material make that decision.
 
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