Dentist donates gold from dental procedures to charity

That gold crown in your mouth could go toward helping someone in need that is, if you get your teeth checked at Dr. Dawn Webster's dental office in Victoria.

She and her husband, Dr. Matt Evans, save the gold from patients' old crowns and bridges, sell it, and donate the proceeds to charity. This year they donated almost $20,000 to the Dandelion Society, an organization that helps the homeless in Victoria.

Dr. Webster says most clients love the idea.

"They're actually very gracious. They usually say they're probably not going to use the gold themselves."

From crowns to bars

The dental office stores the gold from dental procedures in pill bottles.

"If you would imagine, 10 or 12 pill bottles filled with little pieces of gold cut out of people's mouths or crowns," said Dr. Webster.

Every couple of years, the staff take them to a gold buyer for assessment.

Dr. Webster says the metal is simply melted down and is put back on the market as a bar of gold.

A personal story

The idea to donate to the Dandelion Society came from a staff member's personal tragedy.

"One of our staff members at the dental office lost a son to mental disease this year, and he'd been on off the streets," said Dr. Webster.

"We're trying to make it mean something for our staff."

Dr. Webster hopes their donation will help others like him living on the street.

"[We're] trying to help somebody just like him, get them back to their family and keep them safe."

To listen to the full audio, click the link labelled: Dentist donates gold from patients mouths to charity.