What to Do With Old Dentures: Donate, Recycle or Dispose
Quick answer: Old dentures cannot be worn by anyone else – they are custom-moulded medical devices – but they do not have to go in the trash. You can donate them to a program that recycles the metal for charity, offer them to a dental or nursing school as a teaching model, sell a gold or precious-metal framework to a refiner, or simply disinfect and dispose of them in household waste. Dentures left behind at a dental office are stored, the patient is contacted, and unclaimed sets are eventually disposed of as medical waste.
Reviewed by the dental team at Crescent Family and Cosmetic Dentistry, Sumter and Columbia, SC. Last reviewed September 2026.
Can you donate dentures?
Yes, but not for someone else to wear. Dentures are shaped to one person’s gums and bite; a second-hand set cannot be safely refitted, and no reputable charity places used dentures in another patient’s mouth. Donation means one of two things: the denture is recycled for its materials and the value goes to charity, or it is used for teaching.
Your options for old dentures
| Option | Who it suits | How it works | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metal-recycling charity donation | Dentures or partials with a metal framework or gold clasps | Mail cleaned dentures to a recycling program; the metal is refined and the proceeds donated. The best-known program is run by the Japan Denture Recycling Association, which has funded UNICEF projects for years. | Confirm on the program’s own website that it still accepts international donations and get the current mailing address before you post. Acrylic-only dentures have little recyclable value. |
| Teaching donation | Any complete or partial denture | Dental schools, dental-hygiene and dental-assisting programs, and nursing programs use dentures for demonstrations. In South Carolina, start by asking MUSC’s College of Dental Medicine in Charleston and the dental-hygiene programs at technical colleges. | Call first – acceptance varies by semester. |
| Sell the metal | Gold, palladium or other precious-metal frameworks and crowns | Dental-scrap refiners buy frameworks by weight; a gold partial framework can be worth a meaningful amount, an acrylic denture nothing. | Use a refiner that publishes its assay method and pays after testing. |
| Household disposal | Acrylic dentures with no metal | Soak in denture cleaner or a 1:10 bleach solution for 10 minutes, dry, wrap, and place in household trash. Dentures are not classed as hazardous waste once cleaned. | Do not flush – acrylic does not break down and blocks pipes. |
What to do with dentures after someone dies
Families ask us this often. The dentures belong to the estate and can be handled like any personal item. If the person is being buried, funeral directors will place dentures in the mouth if the family wishes – tell the funeral home early, because the mouth is set during preparation. For cremation, dentures are removed beforehand. If you would rather they do some good, the recycling-charity and teaching options above accept them. If they hold no value to anyone, disinfect and dispose of them as described – there is no rule requiring anything else.
Can dentures be refitted for another person?
No. Even a relative with a similar mouth cannot wear them safely; poorly fitting dentures cause sores, bone loss and infection. If your own dentures are loose after years of wear, that is a different question – a reline or a new set of dentures is the usual fix, and implant-retained dentures stop the slipping altogether. Our dentures vs implants guide compares the two.
What happens to dentures left behind at the dental office
Many dental practices have a dedicated drawer or box for “forgotten” dentures – sets patients leave behind after a fitting, cleaning, repair or surgery. The staff label them with the patient’s name and date, keep them in a sealed, sterilized container, and contact the patient by phone, text or email. If the denture goes unclaimed, most practices hold it for weeks or months before disposing of it.
How do people forget their teeth? Post-sedation fog after oral surgery, the stress of an emergency visit, repair drop-offs that are never collected once a replacement arrives, patients who switch to implants and no longer want the old set, and transportation or communication problems for residents of care facilities. And occasionally a set wrapped in a napkin on the tray gets thrown out unknowingly – napkins are not secure storage.
Unclaimed dentures are not simply tossed in the trash. Because they are custom medical devices that have been in a patient’s mouth, offices treat them as regulated medical waste, and some are returned to the lab if they were never worn. Used dentures are never reused for another patient. They may, however, be disinfected and kept as teaching models, or their metal components reclaimed – the same options available to you at home.
Frequently asked questions
Can you donate dentures?
Yes – to metal-recycling charities or to schools for teaching. They cannot be given to another person to wear.
Can dentures be recycled?
The metal framework and any gold can be recycled or sold to a refiner. Acrylic is not commonly recycled and can go in household waste after disinfecting.
What do I do with a deceased relative’s dentures?
Bury them with the person if that is the family’s wish, donate them for recycling or teaching, or disinfect and dispose of them. Any of the three is fine.
Are used dentures worth anything?
Only if they contain gold or other precious metal, which a dental-scrap refiner will buy by weight. Acrylic dentures have no resale value.
Can dentures be refitted for another person?
No. Dentures are custom to one mouth; a second-hand set causes sores and bone loss.
What should I do if my own dentures no longer fit?
See your dentist – a reline, a new denture or implant-retained dentures are the options. Follow our full denture and partial denture care instructions to make the current set last.
Dentures that fit – in Sumter and Columbia
Crescent Family and Cosmetic Dentistry makes, relines and replaces full and partial dentures and places implant-retained dentures. Read how modern dentures have changed, or visit us at 434 N Guignard Dr, Sumter – (803) 773-5411 · 656 Bultman Dr, Sumter – (803) 778-2337 · 1211 Greenlawn Dr, Columbia – (803) 784-1304.