Artificial teeth containing platinum and palladium are among 40kg worth of gnashers collected as part of a charity initiative in Japan, the Mainichi Daily News reports.

The Nippon Foundation and the Japan Dental Association joined forces for the 'Tooth Fairy Project', which was launched in June with the aim of raising money to help build schools in Myanmar.

They asked individuals to donate unwanted teeth featuring the two pgms - plus gold and silver - and have now extracted an astonishing 13.6 million yen (£92,687) worth of metals.

"If the project takes root in society, it will be the world's largest social contribution," one official involved in the initiative told the news provider.

The teeth were collected by the organisers of the appeal from 113 dental clinics and thousands of individuals across the country between June and November.

According to the Mainichi report, the impressive figure raised by the project can be attributed in part to the sizable gains being made in gold prices so far this year.

There are 32 teeth in a full adult human set (including wisdom teeth), all of which are made of tissues of varying density and hardness.

Source:

Dental group gets teeth into charity work with 13.6 million yen denture donation (03/12/09)

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