Meet The 38-year-old Japanese Dentist, Who Earns Loads Of Money; All By Stealing This One Thing

A 38-year-old dentist was apprehended on suspicion of stealing a silver tooth from Kyushu University Hospital in Fukuoka City, Japan. As per The Japan News, the dentist, whose identity has not been disclosed, stole the teeth intending to exchange them for cash. As per the Fukuoka prefectural police, the man told investigators that he had stolen mainly used silver teeth from the hospital more than 100 times in about ten years. He exchanged them for cash and earned about 30 million dollars (more than Rs 25 crore). As per the report, the suspect had previously worked for the hospital. He commanded the authority to be able to freely enter and exit the hospital with his ID card for training purposes.

The hospital did not notice the robberies because the teeth were no longer in use. He was, however, arrested on April 2 on suspicion of stealing an unused silver tooth (about 2.5 grams) from the same hospital on the night of Aug. 13, 2023. The hospital observed that the tooth was missing because he targeted new items, unlike in the past. As per the dentists, disposal of used silver teeth is usually left up to the clinic where patients are treated. These teeth are often sold to recycling companies but they are not stored particularly carefully.

Some, however, opined that used silver teeth are an extremely valuable resource. To increase strength and durability, silver teeth are manufactured by mixing expensive gold and palladium. Palladium is a rare metal used in smartphones, and the typical content is 40 per cent to 50 per cent silver, 12 per cent gold and 20 per cent palladium, according to a dentist.

While the market rate of silver is around ¥150 per gram (Rs 81.07), the price of gold-silver-palladium alloys is rising. As per the Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry, the official price of the alloy used for silver teeth was ¥619 (Rs 334.52) per gram in April 2010. It increased to ¥3,715 (Rs 2,008.46) in July 2022 and stood at ¥2,909 (Rs 1,572.71) as of April this year. This situation has happened due to the weakening yen and a supply shortage caused by the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Russia is a major producer of palladium.