When a person with medical or dental implants is cremated, most implants survive the cremation process in some form because they are made of metals or materials that withstand the high temperatures inside a cremation chamber. After the cremation is complete, these implants are separated from the cremated remains and are either returned to the family, disposed of, or recycled through specialized metal recovery programs.
There are two important exceptions in opposite directions. Pacemakers and other battery-powered devices must be removed before cremation because they can explode under extreme heat, posing a serious safety risk to crematory staff and equipment. At the other end, soft implants such as saline and silicone breast implants do not survive at all -- they melt, burn, or evaporate, and nothing of them is left to recover. Everything in between, from titanium dental implants to hip replacements, comes through the chamber and is separated out afterward.
Understanding what happens to each type of implant during cremation can help families prepare and ask the right questions.
How Cremation Temperatures Affect Implants
The cremation chamber, called a retort, operates at temperatures between 1,400°F and 1,800°F (760°C to 982°C). At these temperatures, organic tissue and bone are reduced to calcium phosphate fragments. However, many metals and synthetic materials used in medical implants have melting points at or above these temperatures, meaning they do not fully disintegrate.
Here is how common implant materials respond to cremation temperatures:
| Material | Common Use | Melting Point | Survives Cremation? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium | Hip/knee replacements, dental implants | 3,034°F (1,668°C) | Yes |
| Cobalt-chrome alloy | Joint replacements | 2,570°F (1,410°C) | Yes |
| Stainless steel | Surgical pins, screws, plates | 2,500°F (1,371°C) | Yes |
| Gold | Dental crowns, bridges | 1,948°F (1,064°C) | Mostly yes |
| Silicone | Breast implants, shells | Burns at ~392°F (200°C) | No (melts/burns) |
| Saline (salt water) | Breast implants | Evaporates well below 1,400°F | No (evaporates) |
| Porcelain | Dental crowns | 2,300°F+ | Usually yes |
Specific Implants and What Happens to Them
Pacemakers and Cardiac Devices
Pacemakers and implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) contain lithium batteries that can explode violently when exposed to the heat of a cremation chamber. This explosion can damage the retort, injure crematory workers, and compromise the cremation process.
For this reason, all pacemakers and battery-powered cardiac devices must be removed before cremation. This is a universal requirement at every licensed crematory. The removal is typically performed by a funeral home, a medical professional, or the crematory's own staff before the body enters the chamber.
Families should inform the funeral home or cremation provider if the deceased had a pacemaker or any other implanted electronic device. In many cases, the provider will ask this question directly as part of the standard intake process.
Hip and Knee Replacements
Joint replacement prostheses are among the most common implants encountered during cremation. These devices are made primarily of titanium or cobalt-chrome alloy, both of which have melting points well above cremation temperatures. After the cremation is complete, the intact or partially distorted metal components are separated from the bone fragments during the processing stage.
These metal pieces are typically set aside and, depending on the crematory's policy, may be:
- Offered to the family for return
- Recycled through a metal recovery program
- Disposed of according to local regulations
Dental Implants, Crowns, and Bridges
Dental implants made of titanium will survive cremation largely intact. Gold and porcelain dental crowns may partially melt or fuse but will still leave recoverable remnants. These pieces are typically separated during processing.
It is worth noting that older dental fillings containing mercury amalgam will vaporize during cremation. Many modern crematoriums are equipped with filtration systems designed to capture mercury emissions, and some jurisdictions require these systems by law.
Surgical Pins, Screws, Plates, and Rods
Orthopedic hardware such as pins, screws, plates, and intramedullary rods are made of stainless steel or titanium. These items survive cremation and are removed during the processing of the cremated remains. They are easily identifiable and are routinely separated before the remains are placed in the urn.
Artificial Heart Valves
Mechanical heart valves are typically made of titanium, carbon, and polymer materials. They do not pose an explosion risk like pacemakers and do not need to be removed before cremation. The metal components will remain after cremation and are separated from the ashes during processing.
Cochlear Implants and Hearing Devices
Cochlear implants contain small batteries and electronic components. While they do not pose the same explosive risk as pacemakers, most crematoriums prefer that any battery-powered device be disclosed before cremation. The provider will determine whether removal is necessary based on the specific device.
Breast Implants and Cremation: Saline and Silicone
Yes, a person can be cremated with breast implants in place, and the implants do not need to be removed first. Unlike a pacemaker, a breast implant contains no battery and poses no explosion risk, so no crematory requires their removal and no family needs to arrange a procedure beforehand.
Neither type survives the chamber:
- Saline implants are sterile salt water inside a thin silicone shell. The water evaporates almost immediately at cremation temperatures and the shell burns away, leaving nothing behind.
- Silicone gel implants, including firmer cohesive-gel designs, are made from polymers that melt and then combust well below the 1,400°F to 1,800°F range inside a retort. They are consumed along with soft tissue.
Because nothing solid remains, breast implants are not among the items separated out afterward, and they do not appear in the cremated remains returned to the family. There is also no reason to think an implant changes the appearance, color, or weight of the ashes, since what you receive is processed bone.
Who removes what. For battery-powered devices, removal is a small procedure handled by the funeral home or crematory staff, an embalmer, or a medical professional at the hospital or hospice before the body is released -- families are not expected to arrange this themselves. For breast implants, nobody removes anything: they simply stay in place through the cremation. The one related exception is breast reconstruction hardware such as a tissue expander, which can include a small metal port. That metal piece behaves like any other surgical hardware and is separated from the remains during processing.
You are still better off mentioning implants when the provider asks. Most intake forms include a question about implanted devices, and answering it fully lets the crematory confirm there is nothing that needs to come out.
Metal Recovery and Recycling After Cremation
Many crematoriums participate in metal recycling programs that recover orthopedic implants and other metal hardware from cremated remains. These programs collect the metal, melt it down, and recycle it for industrial use.
Some recycling programs donate the proceeds from recovered metals to charitable organizations or bereavement funds. Families are typically informed of this practice and given the option to have the metals returned to them instead.
Common metals recovered through these programs include:
- Titanium from joint replacements and dental implants
- Cobalt-chrome from hip and knee prostheses
- Stainless steel from surgical hardware
- Small amounts of gold and other precious metals from dental work
Recycling implant metals is both an environmentally responsible practice and a way to generate funds for charitable causes within the bereavement community.
What Families Should Do
If your loved one had any type of medical implant, here are the steps to take:
- Disclose all implants to the cremation provider: This is essential for safety and regulatory compliance. Be sure to mention pacemakers, defibrillators, or any battery-powered device.
- Ask about the crematory's implant policy: Find out whether the crematory recycles metals, returns them to families, or disposes of them.
- Request return of metals if desired: Some families wish to keep the implant as a keepsake or memento. Most crematoriums will honor this request.
- Confirm pacemaker removal: If the deceased had a pacemaker, confirm with the funeral home or cremation provider that it has been removed before cremation proceeds.
Helpful Resources
For authoritative, up-to-date information on cremation costs, consumer rights, and planning:
- FTC: Shopping for Funeral Services
- Cremation Association of North America (CANA)
- National Funeral Directors Association
Related guides on this site:
- compare cremation costs in your area
- average cremation cost by state
- cheapest direct cremation options
- the complete cremation cost guide
Frequently Asked Questions
Do medical implants need to be removed before cremation?
Pacemakers and other battery-powered implanted devices must be removed before cremation because their batteries can explode in the extreme heat. Most other implants, including hip and knee replacements, dental implants, and surgical pins, do not need to be removed and are simply separated from the cremated remains after the process is complete.
Can you be cremated with breast implants?
Yes. Saline and silicone breast implants can stay in place, and no crematory requires their removal. Saline evaporates and silicone melts and burns at temperatures far below those inside the cremation chamber, so neither leaves a remnant and neither poses a safety risk to staff or equipment.
Do saline implants have to be removed before cremation?
No. Saline implants are salt water inside a silicone shell, with no battery and no explosion risk. The water evaporates and the shell burns away during the cremation. Only battery-powered devices such as pacemakers and defibrillators must be removed beforehand.
Who removes implants before cremation?
For devices that must come out, the removal is handled by funeral home or crematory staff, an embalmer, or a medical professional at the hospital or hospice -- not by the family. Implants that stay in, such as joint replacements and dental work, are separated from the remains after cremation by the crematory during processing.
What happens to gold dental work during cremation?
Gold dental crowns and bridges may partially melt during cremation but typically leave recoverable remnants. These are separated from the cremated remains during processing. Families can request the return of any recovered dental gold, or the crematory may include it in a metal recycling program.
Are implants included in the cremated remains returned to the family?
No. Metal implants and other non-organic materials are separated from the bone fragments before the remains are processed into the fine powder that is returned to the family. The cremated remains you receive should contain only processed bone fragments.
Can cremation damage the cremation chamber if implants are present?
Standard metal implants like joint replacements and surgical hardware do not damage the cremation chamber. However, pacemakers and battery-powered devices can cause explosions that damage the retort lining and create safety hazards. This is why their removal is mandatory.
What happens to mercury from dental fillings during cremation?
Mercury amalgam fillings vaporize during cremation, releasing mercury into the exhaust stream. Many modern crematoriums use filtration systems to capture mercury emissions. Some regions require these filtration systems by law to protect air quality. If environmental impact is a concern, ask your cremation provider about their emissions controls, or consider water cremation as an alternative that does not release mercury into the air.