Are You Down to Your Last Gold Tooth?

In previous hubs, I've talked about doing "whatever it takes" to survive financial hard times. Today, I'm worried about those who are down to their last gold tooth, and what it means when they become financially toothless -- for them, and for us who have managed to keep our teeth.

Panicked times may call for desperate actions and now our local paper, is reporting that people are pawning and selling their gold teeth, dental caps, fillings, and bridge work (among other surprising things) at an alarming rate.

If this were only the young, who were selling and pawning their removable gold grillz' -- I would fully understand that such decorative dental jewelry is totally expendable.

However, It was somewhat of a shock to me, as someone who is seldom surprised by anything, to read that it is Central Florida seniors pawning gold teeth, often to buy medicine.

Apparently, more and more seniors, are also pawning WWII wedding rings, and family heirlooms to pay for needed medicines, food, and utility bills.

The selling and pawning of family heirlooms, collectibles, and sentimental items are nothing new to the poor and lower middle class -- in an ever-and-never-ending quest to pay rent, cover outrageous rising utility bills, and to pay for medical prescriptions and treatments.

What is new, is that now, people who never pawned or sold things before, are doing so in alarming and growing numbers. Moreover, they are doing so in desperation, and often attempting to liquidate the unexpected.

Even more appalling perhaps, is that the children of deceased dentists are turning up at pawn shops with sizable amounts of gold teeth. Not that this type of post death behavior is limited to the offspring of dentists. Very often after the death of a loved one, there is a rush to dispose of anything of value among some people.

The cries of desperation can be found in what type of items they are bringing into pawn shops in hopes of obtaining needed funds. Pawn shop dealers are reporting a growing number of individuals showing up wanting to unload prosthetic devices, and other such unusual objects. Some have even been asked to buy pets, china, and above the ground swimming pools.

So this leads me to ponder upon, what happens when they are down to their last gold tooth and there is nothing left to sell or get a loan on?

During the Great Depression, desperate people sold fruit and anything they had on the street corner and from door to door. Now, the Internet is playing a role in these new times of impending economic depression.

Signs of desperation aren't just showing up in pawn shops, they are also showing up on popular online collectibles listings, such as Craig's List and Ebay, where old jewelry is skyrocketing in terms of listings.

For some, it is qualms of a worsening economy driving many people, not just seniors, to try to unload anything that can give them both needed funs and extra income. For others, they are down to their last gold tooth in trying to stay afloat financially until their next check.

Maybe, it's a better alternative than selling items that hold sentimental value, such as your grandmother's or mother's wedding ring?

• You are advanced funds in exchange for personal property that will be held by the pawnbroker until you either redeem it (according to contract), or let the item default.
• The interest fees or service charge that the pawn broker will charge is governed by your state's laws. In many states, it is 25%, while in some states it can be as low as 4% to 10%.
• State laws also govern the number of days from pawn to pick up and whether or not you can arrange an extension.
• Your transaction is confidential to a point, in that pawn shop records are shared with the police and other government agencies.
• You may sell your items instead of pawning them, it won't get you any greater amount as a rule.
• In the UK, typical fees are between 5% and 12%.

Despite the hype about how much you can make off of old dental gold, don't expect huge amounts under your tooth fairy pillow. Pawn shops are there to make money, they are not benevolent entities. As I write this, the price of gold is around $887.00 per ounce. So what are people pawning gold getting in terms of dollars?

The average gold crown (which weighs about an ounce) fetches about $50.00, which doesn't fill up a gas tank in many cars these days. Like everything else when it is pawned or sold, you are only going to get a fraction of what the item's true value is.

Obviously, heavier pieces of gold dental gold can fetch a few hundred dollars, depending on the quality and the weight. Gold crowns, fillings, and bridgework typically contain 16 kt. gold to bind together other metals, specifically silver, zinc, and copper. All of this, contributing to manufacturing gold dental soft to shape, but strong enough to bite upon. After purchase, the pawn shop broker usually resells it to a gold smelter.

Additionally, fewer pawn shop client are returning for their items. In the past, generally seventy percent of pawned merchandise was picked up.

Today, less than forty-five percent of pawned merchandise is picked up. Pawn shop owners are reporting that they've not seen things this bad, ever.

Today's reality is that more and more people are surviving from pay check to pay check.

For those of you in small town America and elsewhere, the gold fronts or gold grillz popular with young rappers and ballers, popularized by the singer Nellie in 2005 (and Flavor Flay) -- may seem like just another youthful extreme fashion statement. Most are removable gold and often bejeweled, dental accessories, and are often a way to emulate celebrities (of sorts). They also come in removable silver, white gold, and platinum and have been popular for about a dozen years. They are known as grillz, gold fronts, gold caps, gold slugs, and grills.

However, such gold teeth are also a form of dental prosthesis that is both cosmetic, and sometimes necessary. Still for others, there are actually dentists who make permanent custom gold and porcelain and gold grills, that are dental restorations for those with deeper pockets. Some are even combined with dental veneers. It's only here in the U.S. from the 1980s until recently, that they fell out of favor in dental restoration work. In other parts of the world, they are popular and a form of a status symbol, denoting wealth.

Bridging the generation gap by making gold grillz for a younger generation might put gold smiles on more than one generation. It isn't lost on me that for some, maybe there is a new career path hidden in these interesting financial times to explore.

Just kidding, of course -- Perhaps in the knowledge of this sad state of affairs, where circumstances have forced old people to contemplate selling their last gold tooth -- maybe they'd do better to collectively gather up old gold scraps, broken jewelry and the like, and start a new retirement career paved with gold?

It might be less humiliating than going to a pawn shop and getting little in return.

Obviously, this is no laughing matter and there are no easy or quick fixes to the current states of economy world wide. I remember being taught that the Great Depression was something that would never happen again.

This is sort in the category of being taught that World War II was the war to end all wars. It makes me angry when every day I see evidence of how difficult today is for so very many people.

Of course, selling your gold teeth might seem bizarre, but no less than selling your body parts. Today, people are selling their eggs, sperm, blood, platelets, and even their illnesses (for research). Aren’t we glad there isn’t a pawnbroker for that too

Hong Kong and other Chinese pawn shops are a humbling experience for the customer, who must offer up their item to a broker who is above them (for security). The traditional symbol for such a shop is depicted by a bat holding a coin. The bat symbolizes "fortune" and the gold coin embodies "benefit." The Japanese use the symbol of a circled digit seven. While in India, the business is often transacted in your home or part of a jewelry store.