Wollaton Dental Care on reaping charity and sustainability benefits by donating waste dental metal.
Since principal dentist Anna Lawson discovered Gold for Kids two years ago, she’s never looked back. After becoming aware that scrap metal merchants paid dentists in exchange for their unwanted metal restorations, she says it just ‘didn’t feel right’ to be paid for patients’ scrap crowns. She knew there must be a better way – and that’s when she found Gold for Kids.
Anna, who is a co-principal with her husband Simon Lawson at Wollaton Dental Care in Nottingham, says: ‘We used to use the money on charity spending because we didn’t feel right about it somehow. But Gold for Kids felt like the most ethical and beneficial way to dispose of our waste patient crowns. It felt like the right thing to do for us.
‘I’m not sure that all practices will be asking patients for their permission about how they want their crowns disposed of. Dentists are simply too busy and it goes by the wayside. But individuals don’t want them and when you tell them about how you are donating this tiny piece of metal to charity on their behalf, they can see the collective good.
‘It is really worthwhile – and they are both surprised and delighted when we tell them how much we have raised. They think it’s ingenious.’
Giving back
The award-winning Gold for Kids charity collects unwanted crowns, bridges and other restorations to help transform the lives of underprivileged children.
Over the last seven years, the charity has raised in excess of £55,000, helping children and their families with essentials like food, clothing, shelter and providing dinners during school holidays. But it doesn’t stop there. The money raised also helps cover the cost of counselling, education and training opportunities.
Anna says it’s such a simple process and it doesn’t take any time at all, even for the busiest of dental practices: ‘Donating to Gold for Kids is an easy fundraising win because we don’t have to do anything. We literally just collect the metal and send it off.
‘It has become part of our everyday, normal practice, a quiet thing that goes on in the background and we (and our patients) are amazed when we hear how much we have raised – from doing nothing!
‘When we ask patients if they would like to keep their crown, the usual response is to laugh, not realising that there’s any value to it. They’re not really interested in having it, so a quick mention to them about Gold for Kids and the work they do supporting children, and it goes in the pot – done!’
Since starting to collect its waste dental products in March 2023, Wollaton Dental Care has raised £3,409.60.
‘As a practice we do a lot of charity work and fundraising, so this fits very well with our core ethos. And being open and honest with patients – that’s who we are really.
‘It’s about giving back and doing good for the community.’
A movement for change
Nearly 30% of children are living in poverty across the UK, that’s more than 4.5 million. It’s impossible not to be shocked at such a stark statistic – but this figure is the driving force behind Gold for Kids, which is on a mission to eradicate childhood poverty from these shores.
Set up by husband and wife David Holmes and Leticia Casanova, of London Periodontics, Implants and Dentistry (LPID), they are asking more dental practices to join their cause.
Leticia, co-founder of the charity, which has been described as a movement for change within the dental industry, says: ‘We are so grateful to Wollaton Dental Care for their continuing support and the fantastic amounts they have raised.
‘Importantly, Anna has spoken about how easy it has been to incorporate the waste metal collection into their practice. This is something that some dentists worry about. They think it will take up too much of their time, but that’s simply not the case.
‘We are very proud to have raised over £55,000 since 2018 with just 30 dental practices. Just imagine what we could achieve if every practice across the UK, that’s over 12,000 of them, came on board.
‘We are just scratching the surface in terms of what we can achieve to help children who are in desperate need, right now, today. It’s almost too simple an idea, but if we all work together, the collective impact is limitless.’
Sustainability
Gold for Kids also aligns with sustainability trends in dentistry by turning unused gold into life-changing support for children. Recycling gold reduces the demand for new mining, supporting environmental goals while helping practices meet their corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments in a tangible and impactful way.
Mark Topley, chair of Gold for Kids, adds: ‘Gold for Kids is the perfect blend of environmental impact and social good. It’s a simple way for dental practices to support sustainability while making a real difference for children in need.’
Being part of the Gold for Kids movement has many benefits, including the recycling of waste material. Anna Lawson continues: ‘Donating unwanted crowns and other waste metals fits in perfectly with our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. It would be wasteful for us not to recycle it. Who wouldn’t want to do that, really?’
Feel-good factor
Meanwhile, as part of its ambassador role, Wollaton Dental Care has leaflets and posters in the practice about Gold for Kids and regularly posts on social media about it.
‘We are increasing awareness at the practice and across our social media channels. We are also getting more engagement from our patients. Feedback both in person and virtual is always positive. So, while we are donating to Gold for Kids, we are helping children and their families who need a roof over their head, food to eat or warm clothes to wear, and in return we are building awareness of our brand and our values.
‘It’s a win-win situation. We do a lot of work with charities, but Gold for Kids is by far the easiest one to do because we are just doing what we’re what doing anyway.
‘In addition, any fundraising charity work makes you feel good. Everyone wants to help and having that sense of being part of something bigger is a nice thing. The fundraising we are doing is evolving more and more.
‘It’s part of our whole business ethos. But for me, the main thing about Gold for Kids is its simplicity. It doesn’t make a huge difference to everyday life. It just slots in.
‘That’s the beauty of it. It’s not a big deal, but it’s doing such a load of good.’
You can help
Anna urges dentists not to delay their decision to donate, like she did, for fear they didn’t have the right type of metal or that it would create lots of hard work.
‘You might worry that you won’t have enough crowns to donate or that the charity only wants certain crowns or restorations, but that’s not really the case,’ she says. ‘We have only donated a couple of gold crowns in the last two years and the rest have been other types of metals. Non-precious bonded crowns have a value. It might not be as big a value as gold crowns, but it’s still a value and if everyone puts that together, there’s an incredible compound effect.
‘This was actually a sticking point for me. So don’t think what you have to offer is no good – because it absolutely is. When we hear the amounts that we’re raising, we can’t believe it.
‘I also thought we’d have to put the crowns through a different decontamination process, so I really asked a lot of questions before realising that we could help. Gold for Kids clarified that we just had to put them in the pot they send and the rest is organised by them – that was it – so practices may think they don’t have what they want, but they have. I honestly can’t recommend this enough. It’s been such a beneficial thing for us to do.’
Your practice can also make a huge impact in transforming the lives of underprivileged children. Get started today by requesting a welcome pack. Email info@goldforkids.org or visit www.goldforkids.org.
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