Atlantic Precious Metal Refining, a Pittsburgh-based precious metal refinery serving dental professionals worldwide, released a free white paper that aims to remove the mystery about determining the value of dental scrap and provides a step-by-step process of how dental and laboratory professionals can receive maximum returns from their unwanted precious metal scrap.

“Many dental professionals are simply not taking advantage of highly valuable metals left over from dental restorations,” remarked Tom Mappin, vice president of operations at Atlantic Precious Metal Refining. “Even those that do oftentimes miss out on the full value of their scrap lots by dealing with individuals who offer ‘cash on the spot’ with seemingly attractive offers or companies claiming they have the highest payouts yet do not employ any type of scientific testing or analysis. Moreover, I’m always amazed at the number of dentists and lab technicians that I speak with that do not collect valuable precious metals and basically relinquish additional profit altogether.”

The white paper, titled “Recycling Dental Office Precious Scrap Metal: Best Practices from Experience,” details efficient and effective collecting methods that dental professionals can easily employ in their own practices that are inexpensive to implement. In addition, the white paper provides a number of important criteria for dental professionals to consider when they are choosing a reputable refiner, the impact of geography on the value of scrap metal, and more importantly, understanding the science behind the process of refining.

“One of the main reasons why we felt it was so important to share the science of refining is that customers need to understand that they should be paid for all gold, silver, platinum, and palladium present in their scrap,” Mappin continued. “Most alloys used in dental restorations contain at least three or four precious metals in varying amounts. If the refinery does not have a refining system in place that establishes scientific control, standardized testing methods, and a concrete analysis of the results that can be provided in a customer-friendly report, then it is time for the customer to re-evaluate who they are trusting with their money.”