18-c gold teeth worth more than £4,500

A dentist has sold a bag of gold teeth that he collected over his 50-year career for C$8,000 (£4,556), according to reports.

Toronto jewellery buyer Mr Harold was recently asked by the Toronto Sun what was the strangest gold item that he had ever bought from a client.

He explained that an 80-year-old dentist had sold him a collection of 14 to 18-carat gold teeth that he had acquired from patients over the years.

Mr Harold said: "There were about 1,000 teeth in there. I didn't like to touch the teeth but I could tell the gold was real."

Other unusual items that the jeweller has dealt with include items from a man who claimed to be a descendant of Al Capone and a pendant that once belonged to Elvis Presley.

Gold teeth are worn as a status symbol or an indication of wealth in certain regions of the world such as the Caucasus and the former Soviet central Asia.