Rough estimates where possible; your final offer follows inspection.
No obligation. Free tracked return if you decline. We aim to pay within one working hour of acceptance.
Gold crowns, bridges, inlays and gold teeth can be sold by post with porcelain or tooth still attached. Dental alloys are not pure gold and vary from piece to piece, so every piece is weighed and XRF-tested before a written offer. Silver-grey amalgam is not bought. Send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value your dental gold before you post anything.
Send a photo on WhatsApp for a rough estimate where possible, or arrange to post your items for assessment. We confirm our purchase offer after inspection, and you decide whether to accept. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Free Special Delivery label, usually within 30 minutesPurity tested in-house by X-ray (XRF)
What is a gold crown worth?It depends on the gold in the alloy, which varies: cast yellow crowns are often around 60–75% gold, porcelain-fused units less, and most silver-coloured crowns have none. We XRF-test each piece on exposed metal, weigh out porcelain, cement and tooth, and email a written offer that shows the reading, the payable weight and the figure. Decline it and everything comes back free.
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you.
Send photos of your items and any hallmarks. We give a rough estimate where possible; your final offer follows inspection. You do not need to arrange postage to ask us a question.
We arrange postage with you after our conversation.
Before you post
The questions people ask before they send anything, answered here rather than at the end of the page.
Can I ask first?
Yes. WhatsApp a photo to 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm, every day, and we reply with an idea of what it is worth. Nothing is posted until you decide.
Is it safe to post?
Your parcel travels by Royal Mail Special Delivery, tracked and signed for. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post.
How is it tested?
Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each item is weighed and tested with an XRF analyser, an X-ray test that reads the metal without marking it. Your written offer lists each piece with its weight, purity and figure.
What if I say no?
We return everything by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. Saying no costs you nothing.
When am I paid?
Only if you accept the written offer. We aim for the money to reach your bank within 24 hours of posting. We use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed, test your items promptly on receipt, and aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. The 24-hour target is an aim, not a guarantee: it depends on posting before the local cut-off, the applicable working-day delivery service, prompt acceptance, completed identity checks and bank processing.
How long does an offer last?
Each written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because metal prices move. If it lapses, we re-run it at that day’s rate.
Who am I dealing with?
GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales, run by founder Rocco Clayfield. Our office is at Unit 217, Bristol Business Centre, 179 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2AG. We are postal only, so there is no counter to visit. Before we pay, we ask every seller for a photo of their passport or driving licence.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
How dental gold is assessed
Dental alloys are not hallmarked carat gold. We XRF-test each piece, weigh out porcelain, cement and tooth, and email a written offer that shows the reading, the payable weight and the figure. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Selling gold teeth, crowns and bridges
A “gold tooth” is almost always a cast gold crown or cap, sometimes still on the tooth root or with porcelain on the front. It sells as dental gold, and nothing needs removing first.
How much is a gold tooth worth? A single crown or cap usually weighs 2 to 6 g as it comes out, porcelain and tooth included, and bridges run 5 to 15 g. The figure depends on how much of that weight is gold alloy and how much gold the alloy holds, which only the XRF test and the scales can settle.
What a photo can tell us. Colour and construction: a yellow cast crown is usually a gold alloy, and a silver-coloured crown is usually cobalt-chrome or steel with no gold. We tell you which it looks like before you post.
Is one worth posting? The label and the return are free, so it costs nothing to find out.
What dental gold we buy
Gold crowns, caps and gold teeth
Gold bridges and bridgework
Gold inlays and onlays
Cast gold fillings and dental scrap
Dental gold is an alloy: gold mixed with other metals for hardness. A crown or bridge often still has porcelain, cement or tooth attached. Do not remove anything. The XRF test reads the alloy on exposed metal, and the non-gold material is weighed out.
How much gold is in a crown, bridge or filling
Dental alloys vary widely, chosen decades ago by whichever laboratory cast the piece. These are the ranges commonly seen by weight; they describe restoration types, not your particular items, and two crowns that look identical can be different alloys.
Restoration
Typical gold content
Worth knowing
Cast yellow gold crowns and caps
Often around 60–75%
High-noble alloys, usually with palladium, platinum and silver alongside
Gold inlays and onlays
Often around 60–75%
Similar alloys to full crowns; small, but denser than they look
Porcelain-fused-to-metal units
Roughly 40–52% when high-noble
Many PFM units are base metal, with no gold at all
Bridges and bridgework
Varies within one bridge
Retainers, pontics and solder joints need not be the same alloy
Gold fillings
Near-pure down to none
Direct gold work is close to pure but uncommon; most are cast inlays
Silver-coloured crowns
Usually none
Typically cobalt-chrome or stainless steel; a few white alloys carry gold
Porcelain, tooth and how to pack it
An XRF test reports what an alloy is made of, not how much gold a whole piece holds, and a reading through porcelain is unreliable. On a porcelain-fused unit the reading is taken on exposed metal, usually the bare fitting surface inside the crown. Porcelain, cement, tooth and any base-metal core carry weight but no gold, so they come off the payable weight, and the deduction is shown against that piece on the written offer.
A rinse in warm soapy water and a dry on kitchen roll is enough. Cleaning is not a condition of sending.
Do not pick, scrape or grind anything off. Working porcelain off by hand tends to lose gold.
Seal the pieces in a small bag; a pill pot inside the bag suits small crowns and fillings.
If a whole natural tooth is still attached, message us before posting.
GoldPaid does not buy dental amalgam. Silver-grey amalgam contains mercury, is classed as hazardous waste, and belongs with a licensed dental waste contractor, not in the post.
Is it legal to sell dental gold in the UK?
Selling your own crown, bridge or inlay after it has been removed is not prohibited. The Human Tissue Act 2004 bans paid dealings in human material only where it is for transplantation (section 32, England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 has the same transplant-only ban (section 20). A cast restoration is a manufactured article. General information, not legal advice.
If you want to keep a crown, tell the practice before the appointment. Once it has gone into the practice’s waste it usually cannot come back. The legal position in more detail.
What we do not buy, and the ID we ask for
What we pay nothing for. Dental amalgam is not bought and should not be posted: the silver-grey filling material contains mercury, is classed as hazardous waste, and belongs with a licensed dental waste contractor. The full list, and where those items can go instead, is on what we don’t buy.
Stones and non-metal parts. Porcelain, cement and tooth can stay attached. They are not gold, so they are excluded from the payable weight rather than removed before posting.
ID and ownership checks. Every seller sends a photograph of UK photo ID, a passport or a driving licence, whatever the parcel is worth. We check the name and address on the Royal Mail label against the name on the bank account, and ask you to confirm that the items are yours to sell. GoldPaid only buys from sellers aged 18 or over. Why we check, and what the law does and does not require, is set out on payments, cash and money-laundering rules.
Dental practices, laboratories and bulk lots
Practices and laboratories build up precious-metal scrap: failed castings, sprues and buttons, old bridgework left behind, and bench sweepings. Bulk lots are welcome, sorted by type before weighing and tested by piece type rather than from one sample, since a consignment usually holds several alloys.
Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used, so message us before a larger consignment and we will confirm whether to split it across parcels. Send only scrap the practice or laboratory is free to sell. Laboratories and surgeries with recurring scrap can use the dental gold collection service for labs, which sets out the decontamination standard for material sent from practices.
How selling dental gold by post works
Send a photo. WhatsApp the crowns or bridge to 07944 014111. A silver-coloured crown is usually cobalt-chrome or steel with no gold, and we say so before you post.
Get the label. A free Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed label by email, usually within 30 minutes between 8am and 9pm, or a QR code for the Post Office counter.
Post it. Bagged and sealed, in any padded envelope. Keep the Post Office receipt.
We test and write it up. Your parcel is signed for on arrival and opened at our Bristol office, where each piece is XRF-tested on exposed metal and weighed. The itemised offer usually follows on the working day it arrives.
You decide. Accept and we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. Decline and it comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost.
What decides your offer
Every parcel is opened at our Bristol office and each piece is handled on its own. Nothing is averaged across the parcel.
Weight. Each item is weighed on scales. Stones, steel springs, non-gold clasps and cores are not paid as gold. The written breakdown explains the payable metal weight for each item, rather than treating everything on the scales as precious metal.
Purity. Each item is tested with an XRF analyser, which reads the metals at the points tested without marking the item. A surface reading alone cannot establish the composition of a plated or filled piece. Hallmarks, construction and different components all need to be considered alongside the test.
The market on the day. Gold and silver are priced against the live precious-metal market at the time your parcel is assessed, not at the time you posted.
Condition and intact value. Broken is fine and does not reduce a metal offer. Where a piece is worth more intact (a named maker, a collectable coin, a locket with provenance) we tell you before testing, so you can choose.
Anything that is not gold or silver. Plated, rolled-gold and base-metal items are listed on the offer at nothing and returned to you free. We never quietly keep them.
Why we do not publish a per-gram price list. A single printed rate hides the things that change the figure: hollow versus solid, stones, mixed carats in one bag, a mark that does not match the metal. We would rather show you the weight, the tested purity and the figure for each item, in writing, and let you decide. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
What you see before you decide. A written, itemised offer by WhatsApp or email: every item, its weight, its tested purity, and its figure. Accept and we aim to pay by bank transfer within one working hour. Decline and the whole parcel comes back by Royal Mail Special Delivery at our cost. No fee, no deduction, no questions.
Nothing. The label, the XRF test, the written offer and the return if you decline are free, and there is no testing, handling or administration fee.
Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post.
The written offer is dated and holds for a limited time, because gold prices move. If it lapses before you reply, it is re-run at the day’s rate.
Who you are posting to
GOLDPAID LTD, registered in England and Wales. The record is public at Companies House.
Three differences from a counter sale. You see a measured valuation in writing, not a verbal estimate. You decide at home, with nobody waiting. And if you decline, the return is free, tracked and signed for, so obtaining the valuation costs you nothing.
Common questions
Where can I sell dental gold in the UK?
Specialist postal buyers and refiners that test dental gold are the main routes. High-street jewellers and pawnbrokers can decline it, because it carries no hallmark and often has porcelain attached. GoldPaid buys gold crowns, bridges and gold teeth by post from anywhere in the UK with a free prepaid Royal Mail Special Delivery label, XRF-tests each piece, and returns everything free if you decline. Every seller provides photo ID.
Why is my crown worth less than the gold price?
Because a crown is not pure gold. Dental alloys mix gold with other metals for strength, and porcelain, cement and tooth add weight with no gold in them. The written offer shows the XRF reading and the payable weight for each piece, and a photo first is enough for us to tell you how we would value it before you post.
Can I sell a gold tooth?
Yes. A gold tooth is a cast gold crown or cap, and it sells as dental gold. Send it as it is, with any porcelain or tooth still attached, and send a photo first so we can tell you whether it looks like gold alloy.
Do I need to remove the porcelain or tooth first?
No, and do not pick at it: working porcelain off by hand tends to lose gold. Rinse the piece in warm soapy water, dry it and seal it in a small bag. If a whole natural tooth is still attached, message us before posting.
How can XRF read a crown with porcelain on it?
It reads exposed metal, usually the bare fitting surface inside the crown, because a reading through porcelain is unreliable. A jewellery-trade XRF analyser reports gold content to about ±0.1 to ±0.5 per cent absolute. Porcelain and tooth are excluded from the payable weight, and the offer shows the deduction.
Is one crown worth posting?
Postage is free both ways, so it costs nothing to find out. Send a photo first: a silver-coloured crown is usually cobalt-chrome or steel with no gold, and we will tell you before you post.
Can I get my crown back from the dentist?
Ask the practice before the appointment that you would like to keep it. Once it has gone into the practice’s waste it usually cannot come back.
Can I sell a gold dental bridge?
Yes, and send it whole. Retainers, pontics and solder joints within one bridge need not be the same alloy, so a bridge is tested piece by piece rather than cut apart at home.
What if I think the offer is too low?
Decline it and everything comes back free by Special Delivery. Each piece is listed with its gold reading, payable weight and any deduction, so you can see how the figure was reached.
What happens if Royal Mail loses my parcel?
Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. While the parcel is travelling to us it remains yours, so a claim for a lost parcel is made to Royal Mail by you, the sender, using your Post Office receipt. GoldPaid’s normal process is sender-led, with our help and records, even when we paid for the label. Tell us straight away: we check the tracking with you, supply the label and consignment details, and help you make the claim.
Can I sell gold fillings?
Yes. Cast gold fillings, inlays and onlays are dental gold alloy and are bought the same way as crowns: each piece is XRF-tested and valued on its gold content and payable weight. A single filling weighs very little, so it is usually worth sending alongside other gold in the same parcel. Silver-coloured amalgam fillings contain mercury and are not bought.
Do you buy amalgam or silver fillings?
Not amalgam: it contains mercury and is hazardous waste. Silver-coloured crowns are usually cobalt-chrome or stainless steel with no gold, though some white dental alloys carry gold or palladium, so send a photo first.
Who am I sending it to?
GOLDPAID LTD, run by its founder Rocco Clayfield. Labels are addressed to our Bristol office, and there is no shop or counter. Every seller sends a photo of UK photo ID, and we only buy from people aged 18 or over.
Not the question you had? The full GoldPaid FAQ covers the rest, from postal cover and ID checks to what happens if you decline the offer.
Speak to us before you post
Please send us photos on WhatsApp, and we will help you. We give a rough estimate where possible and arrange postage with you after our conversation. Your final offer follows inspection.
