Most metal implants survive cremation intact. Cremation chambers operate between 1,400°F and 1,600°F (760°C to 871°C), which is hot enough to reduce a human body to bone fragments but well below the melting point of titanium, cobalt-chrome, and most surgical-grade stainless steel. After the process is complete, these implants are physically separated from the remains and set aside.
Which Metals Survive and Which Don’t
The outcome depends entirely on the type of metal and its melting point. Titanium, the most common material in orthopedic and dental implants, melts at 3,034°F (1,668°C), roughly double the temperature inside a cremation chamber. The standard surgical alloy (titanium mixed with aluminum and vanadium) melts between 2,920°F and 3,020°F. Cobalt-chrome alloys used in knee and hip replacements also have melting points far above cremation temperatures. These metals come out of the chamber looking scorched and discolored but structurally recognizable. You could still identify a knee replacement or a spinal rod after cremation.
That said, prolonged exposure to extreme heat does change the metal’s properties. Titanium becomes brittle after hours in a cremation chamber, and it can fracture like glass under pressure during the processing stage. It doesn’t melt, but it’s no longer as strong as it was.
Gold is a different story. Pure 24-karat gold melts at 1,943°F, which is above the typical cremation range, but dental gold is never pure. 18-karat gold melts at 1,700°F and 14-karat gold at 1,615°F, both within the normal operating temperature of a cremation chamber. Any gold dental work will melt during the process, mixing into the bone fragments. If a family hoped to recover gold from dental crowns, they’d find it unrecognizable and inseparable from the rest of the cremated remains.
How Operators Separate Metal From Remains
What comes out of the cremation chamber isn’t fine ash. It’s a mixture of bone fragments and whatever metal hardware was in the body. The crematory operator separates these using a combination of high-powered magnets (for ferrous metals like stainless steel) and visual inspection for non-magnetic metals like titanium and cobalt-chrome. Once the metal is removed, the bone fragments are processed into the fine powder that families receive as ashes.
The metal pieces are set aside. Families can request them, though most don’t. In many cases, the crematory collects the recovered metal for recycling.
What Happens to Recovered Metal
Recycling programs for cremation metals have grown significantly over the past two decades. In Britain, around 100 out of 250 crematoriums participate in recycling schemes. In 2009, one British program raised £33,500, with proceeds going to charities like Macmillan Cancer Support, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, and the British Heart Foundation. In the United States, more than 2,000 crematories participate in similar programs, donating over $40,000 to local and national charities.
The metals recovered have real value. Titanium, cobalt-chrome, and surgical stainless steel are all high-grade alloys that can be melted down and reused. Crematories typically work with specialized recycling companies that sort the metals by type (titanium, stainless steel, cobalt-chrome) before processing them.
Pacemakers and Other Battery-Powered Devices
While passive metal implants like hip replacements pose no danger during cremation, pacemakers are a serious safety risk. Modern pacemakers contain lithium batteries that react violently at high temperatures. When a cremation chamber reaches around 2,400°F (1,300°C), the iodine inside the battery turns to gas and rapidly expands, bursting the pacemaker casing. Simultaneously, the lithium melts and reacts with the gaseous iodine, releasing years’ worth of stored energy in less than one second.
The resulting explosion is powerful enough to damage cremation chamber doors and brickwork. A survey of crematoria that experienced pacemaker explosions found that 45% reported loud explosions and 42% suffered damage to the cremator doors and walls. In 3% of cases, the cremator was damaged beyond repair, and at least one incident injured a staff member.
Because of this risk, cremation paperwork includes a mandatory question about whether the deceased had a pacemaker. If one is present, it must be surgically removed before cremation can proceed. Nearly all crematoria (99%) check the cremation forms for this information, and 54% also confirm directly with the funeral director. If a pacemaker hasn’t been removed, the cremation can be legally blocked. This protocol has been standard in the UK since the first reported pacemaker explosion in 1976.
Common Implants and Their Fate
- Hip and knee replacements: Made from titanium or cobalt-chrome, these survive intact and are removed from the remains afterward.
- Spinal rods and screws: Typically titanium or stainless steel, these remain whole but may become brittle.
- Dental implant posts: Usually titanium, these survive. The porcelain or ceramic crowns attached to them may crack or shatter.
- Gold dental crowns: Melt during cremation and blend into the bone fragments. Effectively unrecoverable.
- Surgical plates and pins: Survive cremation if made from titanium or stainless steel.
- Pacemakers and defibrillators: Must be removed before cremation due to explosion risk from their lithium batteries.
Families don’t need to arrange for implant removal before cremation (with the exception of pacemakers and similar battery-powered devices). The crematory handles the separation of metal hardware as a routine part of the process. If you want the implants returned, it’s worth asking the funeral home in advance, as policies vary by facility.