Contact dentist to extract gold teeth before cremation

Question: Your Sept. 20 column about an extracted gold tooth made me wonder what the policy is regarding returning gold crowns or fillings. What happens to gold crowns when someone is cremated? My mother had a lot of gold in her teeth, but after she was cremated, we only got her ashes back in a small urn.

Question: I am 93 years old and have a lot of valuable gold in my teeth. What happens to the gold in a deceased person’s teeth? I would like to be cremated and the gold in my teeth given to my beneficiaries.

Answer: With the price of gold being what it is today (around $1,650 per ounce at last check, compared with $37 per ounce in 1970), the gold in some people’s mouths is nothing to scoff at.

Generally, if a family wants to have a deceased person’s gold fillings or crowns, it should be prepared to contact a dentist to extract the golden teeth.

“Each funeral home can handle this on an individual level, but the standard policy seems to be if the family wants this done, they should contact the dentist,” said Mitchell Dodo, vice president of Dodo Mortuary in Hilo and a past president of the Hawaii Funeral & Cemetery Association.

“While it may be simple to extract a tooth, (funeral homes) don’t know the ramifications of how much gold is in there, how to separate the gold from the tooth,” he explained. “So we always recommend the family call the decedent’s dentist.”

Asked about recovering any gold after cremation, Dodo said that basically, because of the high heat, everything would melt.

At Oahu Cemetery, if a family asks for any gold fillings after cremation, “we will try to make every effort to try to recover it,” but it’s not a sure thing and no guarantee is made, an official told us. “The only way for sure to get it back would be to get a dentist to extract it.”

Meanwhile, gold used for dental work is not the same as gold used in jewelry, but it’s still very valuable, said Karen Mizokawa, vice president of Premier Dental Lab Inc. in Honolulu.

Dental gold is mixed with different alloys, such as palladium and silver, she said. “We used to use up to 75 percent gold, but because prices are so high, we are now down to 40 percent” with more of the different alloys mixed in.

For someone 93 years old, gold used “way back when is … probably worth quite a bit,” Mizokawa said.

It’s “very common” for someone to bring in dental gold, said Jon Langseth, co-manager of The Gold Guys Hawaii, a business that buys gold jewelry and other items. It’s nothing “to be embarrassed about,” he said. Dental gold is usually 16-carat gold, he said, so “there’s a very real value to it.”

Question: I am 65 years young and just returned home to Hawaii to live and work. Do you know of any surf clubs or groups of folks in this age group that surf?  None of my friends are surfing, and I need to go with a group for safety. If you know of any group, site, etc., I would greatly appreciate the information.

Answer: Any reader know of such a group of senior surfers? If so, please call 529-4773 or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.

Auwe

To the lazy, inconsiderate people who leave shopping carts in the middle of parking lots instead of returning them to the store area or designated cart return space. These unattended carts block available parking spaces and can cause damage to parked cars. — Irritated

Mahalo

To everyone who helped when my husband fell and injured his hands in front of McDonald’s on Friday, Sept. 2, as we walked along Keeaumoku Street. Mahalo to Linda, who saw him fall and came to our aid. She also called an ambulance to take us to an emergency room. Also mahalo to the McDonald’s workers who brought out chairs for us to sit on while waiting for the ambulance. My husband was treated at a local hospital and is recovering. — J.H. Kaya

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Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.