Dental gold can be valuable. There’s no doubt about that.

Years ago, gold was commonly used by dentists when creating fillings for cavities. These days, most dental work involves using other substances — usually materials that are more cosmetically attractive. That is, stuff that doesn’t stand out as much when we smile.

If you’re the one with the gold in your teeth, it’s probably a whole lot more valuable right where it is. After all, your dental work is not cheap. Think twice (or more, please) before you think about getting rid of it. Among other good reasons to leave that gold right where it is, remember this: replacing just one crown can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars.

But for the people who have had gold fillings or other dental repairs replaced, if you still have that old precious metal that used to make your smile golden, you’re in a good position.

There is a market for your dental gold. If you still have it and you’re planning to sell it, here’s a little background that might be useful.

Usually, 16-karat gold was used to make gold fillings, bridgework and crowns. That’s because 16-karat gold is a mixture –or an “alloy” — that has other metals in it, too. When dealing with teeth, using an alloy was a big benefit. This made dental gold hard enough to create a solid biting surface, but soft enough to be shaped so that it fit the tooth.

Some examples of dental work that may have scrap gold value include:

– dental bridges

– crowns

– fillings

– gold caps

Because single pieces of dental work contain such a small amount of gold, selling them may not bring you much of a profit. If you’re looking for ways to make money by selling scrap gold, selling one gold tooth may not be worth your effort.

But if you have a stockpile of old dental gold, a gold refiner would probably buy it from you…with a grin.