How do I extract gold filling from teeth

Discussion in 'Chemistry' started by skaught, Sep 22, 2010.

  1. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    So get this. I'm walking along and I find a tooth on the ground with a gold filling in it!!! No joke, Maybe some dudes got into a fight and someone lost it... who knows, anyway, anybody have a good tip as to how to separate the two?
     
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  3. Gremmie "Happiness is a warm gun" Valued Senior Member

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    I'd guess take a hammer, and smash the tooth. The filling should be fine.:shrug:
     
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  5. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Dissolve the tooth in acid (or coca cola).
     
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  7. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Ahh! Brilliant thinking! Does coke really work? I guess I could try that. If not, how strong of an acid do I need to dissolve it?
     
  8. Shadow1 Valued Senior Member

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    did coke work?
     
  9. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Maybe not, but a strong acid should do the trick. Or a hammer. Or just take it to a dentist and they will remove it for you. The gold is probably worth a couple dollars.
     
  10. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    I figured I'd leave it in the coke for about 24 hours or so. I'll let y'all know if it is true.
     
  11. alephnull you can count on me Registered Senior Member

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    So get this. I'm walking along and BAM, some guy damn near takes my head off with a sucker punch. So I'm laid out on the floor and just before I black out I can feel him take some pliers to my teeth. No joke. Anyway, anybody have a good tip on how to find the guy and separate him from my gold filling ?

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    On a serious note, I'll be interested to see if the coke actually works. I know the stuff is pretty corrosive, luckily I hate fizzy drinks so it's never been an issue for me, but I know some people who drink it by the litre every day.
     
  12. Gremmie "Happiness is a warm gun" Valued Senior Member

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    Coke will take at least several days to dissolve any bone.

    It will discolor the tooth in a day or two though, depending on how much enamel is left on tooth;

    Best bet, is place tooth inside a rag, and take a hammer to it.
     
  13. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Hmm... The net seems to suggest that coke has a pH of about 2.5
    Lemon juice is 2.3 Vinegar, 2.4
    ...
    Hmm... wondering if theres any other household products I could use or purchase...
     
  14. John99 Banned Banned

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    you should try and find the owner and return it.
     
  15. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Shut up
     
  16. Kat9Lives Registered Senior Member

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    i can't belive you actually picked it up!!
    you are what us Aussie's call a "Collingwood supporter".
     
  17. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Well it looked like it had been there a while, I didn't actually touch it either. I took the cellophane off my pack of smokes and used that to pick it up.
     
  18. Kat9Lives Registered Senior Member

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    394
    classy!!
    ps- you shouldn't smoke
     
  19. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah your tellin me!

    Sick of waking up in the middle of the night caughing my ass off...
     
  20. jmpet Valued Senior Member

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    Hammer it, sell it to a smelter, use the proceeds to party for your good luck.
     
  21. SrasRodriguez Registered Senior Member

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    I wish we had 'like' buttons on here
     
  22. skaught The field its covered in blood Valued Senior Member

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    Holy shit!

    Well, there were actually two pieces of teeth. The coke totally dissolved the larger piece, but strangely, the smaller piece is still intact.
     
  23. Gremmie "Happiness is a warm gun" Valued Senior Member

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    2,593

    That's because the larger piece was probably fractured, as well as being more pouros (sp). So, the acid was able to penetrate faster.

    Now put the smaller piece back in the coke, and see how long that takes to dissolve.
     

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