Dental Materials

Amalgam
 Mercury + powdered metal alloy (mainly silver, tin and copper)
 Alloy may also contain small amounts of Zinc (scavenger), Palladium (strength) and Mercury (known
as pre-amalgamated alloys – faster reaction)
 Most of the alloy is made up of Ag3Sn – intermetallic Contra-indications to amalgam use:
compound called γ
1. Proven allergy
 γ readily undergoes amalgamation with Mercury
2. Lichenoid reactions
 The shape and size of the alloy particles can vary
3. Anterior tooth/aesthetic
considerably
concerns
o Lathe-cut particles
4. Little remaining tooth tissues –
o Spherical particles
no retention possible or ethical
 Setting reaction (conventional amalgams):
o Ag3Sn + Hg  Ag3Sn + Ag2Hg3 + Sn7Hg
o γ + Hg  γ + γ1 + γ2
o Considerable amounts of unreacted alloy remain in the final set material
 Copper-enriched/Non gamma-2 amalgams (up to 30% copper c.f. 6%)
o Gamma-2 is thought to
 Reduce strength
 Increase corrosion
 Increase creep
o If you add more copper (usually silver-copper alloy) then the setting reaction becomes
 Ag3Sn + Hg + Cu  Ag3Sn + Ag2Hg3 + Cu6Sn5
 γ + Hg + Cu  γ + γ1 + Cu6Sn5
 Advantages of amalgam include:

o Easy to insert o Biocompatible

o Maintains anatomical form
o Relatively long service life (8-12yrs)
o Adequate compressive strength
o Insoluble in oral fluids
o Good adaptability to cavity walls
(and corrosion products fill space)
o Easily removed due to its colour
o Little dimensional change on set
o Low recurrence of secondary caries
(breakdown products too toxic?)
o Least operator/technique sensitive

 Disadvantages include:
o Weak tensile and shear strengths (no thin sections and must be supported by tooth)
o Poor aesthetics (colour)
o Creep – plastic deformation under a static load (causes protrusion out of the cavity and the
thin edges will then fracture causing “ditching” of the enamel around the edges)
o High thermal/electrical conductivity – liner needed
o Susceptible to tarnish (discolouration of the surface due to chemical attack from foods etc.)
and corrosion (roughing and pitting of the surface due to chemical attack from foods etc.)
o No adhesion – requires retentive cavities (may require removal of sound tooth tissue)
o Toxicity – patient exposure likely to be highest during placement, carving and removal. May
be inhaled or ingested and distributed to various organs. Minute levels are constantly released.
 EU commission concluded that no scientific evidence to support claims that amalgam
damages health. Oral lichenoid lesions adjacent to amalgams often improve if removed
o Environmental concerns?

Etches and bonds

 With adhesive materials, it’s no longer necessary to remove sound tooth to provide physical retention
 The 3 main mechanisms of adhesion
o Bonding through micromechanical retention (e.g. acid-etch technique)
o Chemical adhesion to enamel or dentine (e.g. systems containing coupling agents)
o Complex bonding involving wetting, penetration and the formation of a hybrid layer (dentine
bonding systems)
Applications of acid-etch
 Acid-etch system:
technique:
o Application of 37% phosphoric acid to enamel causes
etching patterns  Retention and reduced
 Type I – removal of enamel prism cores (edges microleakage
intact) – most common  Reduces cavity preparation
 Type II – removal of the edges of the enamel  Strengthening/splinting
prisms (core intact)  Fissure sealants
 Type III – areas of Type I and II with some  Orthodontic bracket
indistinct areas attachments
o This creates lots of small undercuts which resin can set  Resin-bonded bridges
in to form a mechanical ‘lock’
o The success/failure of acid-etch mainly determined by
 Etching time – long enough to cause effective etching (white/chalky appearance) but
not too long to allow apatites to reprecipitate back onto the surface as phosphates
 Washing stage – important to remove debris
 Drying stage – drying is critical if using a hydrophobic resin (e.g. Bis-GMA/fissure seal)
o Although composites could be added to the etched surface, many manufacturers supply a
bonding agent which is the same resin as the composite but without any filler. So it flows
readily into the undercuts to form resin tags. It then chemically bonds to the composite.
 Dentine bonding:
o Historical concerns regarding dentine bonding were based upon: 1) acid irritation to pulp
2) moisture flow from dentine tubules 3) relatively small area occupied by tubules
o Total etch technique – etch dentine as with enamel but do not over-dry (causes collapse of
the collagen fibre network in the etched dentine) – this stage removes the smear layer
o Apply a primer (often HEMA - incorporated within the bond) which is hydrophilic and
penetrates the moist collagen fibre network
o The bond then polymerises with the primer to produce a hybrid layer and then the
composite can be added
 Chemical adhesion:
o Chemical coupling agents were developed to try and bridge the gap between the resin filling
material and the tooth surface
o M – R – X (M = methacrylate group which chemically binds to resin, X = reactive group which
interacts with the tooth surface)
o Mainly involved bonding with calcium – better bond with enamel than dentine
o It was then tried to bond with collagen to improve dentine bonding
 Bonding to alloys, amalgams and ceramics:
o Build in mechanical retention (e.g. through design, electrolytic etching, sandblasting)
 o Silane coupling agent needed after sandblasting, before conventional resin-based composite
o Some specialist resin-based adhesive systems developed (e.g. Panavia)

Composites
 A composite material = product which has at least 2 different phases (normally formed by blending
together components with different structures and properties)
 Main components = resin phase + reinforcing filler
 Resin → moulded at room temp, quite quick polymerisation – mainly methacrylate monomers
 Most common monomers = Bis-GMA and urethane dimethacrylate
 Filler → rigidity, hardness, strength, ↓ coefficient of thermal expansion, ↓ setting contraction
 Common fillers incl. quartz, fused silica and many types of glass
 The type, concentration, particle size and distribution of the filler majorly affects properties
 Conventional composites:
o 60-80% filler particles 1-50micrometres in size
o Pre-treated with a coupling agent to improve bonding between filler and resin
 Newer composites tend to have smaller filler particles
 Micro-filled composites have tiny silica particles →massive ↑ in surface area of filler but clump
 Hybrid composites = conventional glass/quartz + tiny silica particles – can achieve a higher % filler
 ‘Packable’ composites are more viscous than ‘flowable’ composites
 Setting reaction = free radical polymerisation
 Polymerisation may be activated chemically (activator + initiator) or by external ultraviolet or
visible (blue 470nm – quartz tungsten halogen lamp) light source
 Monomer may remain after setting due to their size and the rapidly increasing viscosity during set
 Properties:
o Biocompatible? – generally acceptable but may be potentially harmful (monomer)
o Longer working time for light-cured – command setting
o Limited depth of cure for light-cured, uniform curing for chemically-activated
o Setting contraction ↓ by the filler content (1.5-3%) – but may compromise marginal seal
 Reduced by…
 Incremental placement technique
 Directional curing techniques
 Increasing the filler content
o Even with ↑ filler levels there is a ↑ difference in coeff. thermal expansion to dentine
o Excellent appearance – good for anterior teeth
o Adhesive when used with etch and bond – reinforces teeth and allows veneers/ortho etc.
o Moisture control is crucial
 Use of a matrix band helps in placement of a DO/MO composite because…
o Helps guide peripheral profile formation/contact point etc
o Isolates resin from the environment – i.e. reduced oxygen inhibition of cure
o Layer of material next to the matrix is resin-rich which gives a glossy appearance
 Microfilled composites are much easier to polish than conventional or hybrid composites
 The union between existing composite and new additions is relatively weak because
o Few un-reacted double bonds on the surface which the new resin can bond to
o Majority of old composite surface will be filler, and most of the coupling agent will have worn
off, so little chance of bond between the old filler and the new resin
o Old composites take up water over time and water-imbibed surfaces more difficult to bond to
GICs Uses of GIC:
 Powder = sodium alumino-silicate glass (20% CaF - significant
amounts of fluoride)  Temporary restorations
 Liquid = aqueous solution of polyacrylic acid or acrylic  Atraumatic restorative
acid/maleic acid polymer + tartaric acid (controls the setting treatment (ART)
time)  Permanent restorations
 The ratio of powder to water dramatically affects the properties  Fissure seals
(i.e. 3:1 in restorative materials, 1.5:1 in linings/base materials)  Luting cement
 Dried liquid may be added to the powder and just add water  Cavity liner/base
 Setting reaction
o Acid-base reaction to form a salt (acid + Ca2+/Al3+ released from glass  acid chains X-linked
o Calcium ions released rapidly  primary set (weak and soluble)
o Al3+ ions released slowly  secondary set (1-24hrs)  maturation of physical properties
o Must be protected from water for the first hour or strength/solubility affected  varnish
o Varnish is a hydrophobic resin in a volatile solvent (e.g. ethylacetate)
 Set material
o Unreacted glass cores in a matrix of set cross-linked polyacid
o Fluoride leaches out of glass into matrix  reservoir of fluoride for release and uptake
(rapid burst and sustained release)
 Method of adhesion to tooth:
o Polyacid molecules chelate with calcium at the tooth surface? – stronger bond to enamel
than dentine
o Acid initially dissolves outer layer of tooth tissue, which then reprecipitates as a mix of
calcium phosphate (from the tooth) and calcium salts from the polyacid matrix – binds
 10-15% Polyacrylic acid may be used to pre-treat the cavity to dissolve/reprecipitate the smear layer
 Properties:
o Weak tensile strength with tendency to cohesive failure
o Weak flexural strength – i.e. brittle (avoid thin sections)
o Acceptable biocompatibility despite acidic nature (polyacids weaker than phosphoric acid)
o Adequate thermal insulation properties (coeff. Thermal diffusivity similar to dentine)
o Fluoride release and reload – but how much do you need for a therapeutic effect?
o Poor abrasion resistance – change in form and surface roughening
o Susceptible to acid erosion
o Reasonable aesthetics but not as good as composites
o Conventional GICs are radiolucent – cannot be seen on X-rays so hard to diagnose 2° caries
 Gaining wide acceptance for restorations in deciduous teeth
 Fissure sealant?
o May be used for children with poor moisture control as temporary measure until teeth
erupted sufficiently/child more cooperative
o Poor retention when compared to resin, but good fluoride release and caries preventative
effects
o Need a GIC with small glass particles to get to base of fissure
 As adhesive cavity lining (SANDWICH TECHNIQUE)
o Advantages = bond to dentine, release fluoride (help prevent 2° caries)
 o Use GIC to replace dentine, and then cover with composite to replace the enamel
o Wash the GIC to roughen the surface slightly for composite to attach (then use bond)
o Need to etch is GIC has been there a while
o Need to use a purposefully designed GIC (radiopaque) so can distinguish 2° caries on x rays

RMGIC and Compomers

Composite  Modified composite  Compomer  Giomer  RMGIC  GIC

 Modified composites:
o Resin-matrix composites where the normally inert filler is replaced by aluminosilicate glass
o This is to try and encourage fluoride release
o No acid-base reaction when set (i.e. setting reaction = polymerisation of methacrylate groups)
 Compomers (aka acid-modified composites):
o Resin matrix composite with aluminosilicate glass as filler
o Also contain some acidic groups in the resin to try and encourage some acid-base reaction
o This doesn’t really happen though because there is no water from any of the components
o The majority of the setting reaction is free radical polymerisation of methacrylate groups
o Setting characteristics and strength almost identical to conventional composites
 Giomers:
o Similar to compomers but uses pre-reacted GIC particles as filler
o Full reaction or surface reaction depending on how much of the glass particles have been
exposed to acid (full reaction release more fluoride but compromises physical properties)
o Set by light-activated polymerisation of methacrylate groups
o Setting characteristics almost identical to conventional composites
 Resin modified glass ionomers (RMGICs)
o Powder = aluminosilicate glass
o Liquid =
 Methacrylate resin (will polymerise)
 Polyacid (acid-base reaction with the glass)
 HEMA (allows resin and acid components to co-exist in aqueous solution)
 Water (allows acid-base reaction to occur)
 Activators and initiators (speed up setting reactions)
o Acid-base reaction begins immediately on mixing and then polymerisation can then occur
(same light source as with composite)
o Do not have the same long working times as conventional composites
o No varnish needed as not as sensitive to moisture contamination after set
o Can be polished eetc immediately after curing (unlike GICs)
o Undergo rapid and excessive expansion when setting if contaminated with water before set as
HEMA is hydrophilic
o Best hybrid in terms of adhesion to tooth tissue – especially if condition with polyacrylic acid
 ALL GLASS COMPONENTS IN THE HYBRIDS INCLUDE HEAVY METALS  RADIOPAQUE
 They all undergo shrinkage on set due to resin polymerisation component
 Although many have the potential to bond to tooth tissue, most are used with bond as the
concentration of free acid groups for bonds is limited and it cannot move much in the resin
 Fluoride release:
o RMGIC fluoride is of a similar pattern to GIC (i.e. rapid burst and sustained release)
o Giomers and compomers have low initial release which is maintained (like a GIC after 40days)
but still have the potential to be ‘recharged’
 o Unsure what level of fluoride release is needed for caries prevention
o Fluoride release is greater when the pH is lower (good because fluoride needed most when
acid attacks)

Impression materials

Elastic impression materials

HYDROCOLLOIDS:

 Either reversible (e.g. agar) or irreversible (e.g. alginate)

 Made of a colloidal suspension (cross between solution and suspension)of polysaccharides in water
 Exist in two forms – sol (fluid form) and gel (more viscous and may develop elasticity if chains align)
 Setting reaction = sol → gel (alignment of polysaccharide chains)
o Reversible: mutual attraction (VdW) and hydrogen bonds between chains on cooling (sets
quickest closest to tray) – special water bath (100-45 degrees)
o Irreversible: strong intermolecular crosslinks between chains
 Alginate powder
 Sodium/postassium salt of alginic acid (chains)
 Gypsum (source of Ca ions for crosslinking of chains)
 Sodium phosphate – controls the working time by reacting with calcium ions
 When you add water, the gypsum dissolves to release calcium
 These preferentially react with sodium phosphate, and when all of this is used up, they
can then form cross links between the alginate chains
 Sets quickest adjacent to the tissues – careful as moving the tray may cause distortion
 Properties
o Mucostatic – low viscosity and degree of pseudoplasticity
o Good working time and rapid set (can be controlled)
o Viscoelastic (flexible enough to be withdrawn from undercuts)
o Susceptible to syneresis and imbibition
o Poor tear resistance
o Detail reproducibility acceptable (agar slightly better than alginate)

SYNTHETIC ELASTOMERS:

 Polysulphides:
o Supplied as light-bodied or heavy-bodied and must be used in a special tray
o Mainly used where the high tear resistance is invaluable – e.g. deep undercut/subgingival
crown preps
o Also hydrophilic so good for subgingival impressions/poor gingival health
o Unpleasant taste and smell due to thiol/sulphur groups and long setting times
o Often contain lead – possible health hazard?
o Set by condensation polymerisation – produce water as by-product (dimensional change?)
 Polyethers:
o Similar tear resistance and elastic properties to the silicones
o Hydrophilic and very good detail reproducibility
o Dimensionally stable as set by addition polymerisation so no by-product
o Quite rigid – engages IMPLANT impression parts well and flexible enough so that it doesn’t
matter if implants aren’t quite parallel
 Condensation-type silicones
 o Near ideal elastic properties and adequate tear resistance
o Set by condensation polymerisation → alcohol as by-product (dimensionally unstable?)
o Available in light, medium, heavy and putty-bodied materials (putty less setting contraction)
o Highly hydrophobic
o Not used as much now addition silicones developped
 Addition-type silicones
o Normally auto-mixed nowadays
o Platinum-catalysed addition reaction – no by-products so dimensionally more stable
o Adequate setting characteristics and tear resistance
o Near ideal elasticity
o Accurate impressions can be taken with heavy and light-bodied technique
o Hydrophobic

Non-elastic impression materials

 Impression plaster
o Calcium sulphate hemihydrate → calcium sulphate dihydrate when mixed with water
o Add more water to mix than modelling plaster → fluid mix for high accuracy & mucostatic
o Setting expansion minimal thanks to anti-expansion agents (potassium sulphate –
speeds up the reaction though so a retarder is used e.g. borax)
o Needs to be used in a special tray as it is too fluid for a stock tray
o May also use it as a wash impression over primary compound impression
o “Puddle” the impression into place
o Absorb moisture from the oral tissues allowing intimate contact between plaster and tissues
o May be uncomfortable for patients due to drying effect on oral mucosa
o Extremely brittle – not suitable for undercut areas as will just fracture
o Used in Window Technique (flabby ridges) - ZnOE imp then paint plaster impression
 Impression compound
o Thermoplastic material which softens on heating (55-60) and hardens on cooling
o Type I – sheets/sticks for impressions/border moulding, Type II –making impression trays
o Made of natural/synthetic resins/waxes + filler + lubricant (stearic acid)
o High viscosity => lack of fine detail + mucocompressive (good for primary imps)
o Fairly rigid after setting and has poor elastic properties
o Main use = primary impressions of edentulous arches for special tray production
 Impression waxes
o Rarely used for complete impressions
o Main uses:
 Repairing small defects in ZnOE impressions
 Produce a mucocompressive impression of a lower free-ended edentulous saddle
(APPLEGATE TECHNIQUE)
o High degree of flow at mouth temperature
 Zinc oxide eugenol impression pastes
o Set via an acid-base reaction of ZnO with eugenol to form zinc eugenolate salt
o Accelerated by water so sets quickly when in the patient’s mouth
o Normally used in a thickness of about 1mm – Insignificant dimensional change on setting
o Low viscosity and pseudoplastic so records high detail
o Major restriction is the lack of elasticity (distort or fracture when removed from undercuts)
Denture base polymers
 Denture bases are predominantly made of ACRYLIC RESIN nowadays
 They can be produced by
o Dough moulding method – most common
o Injection moulding method (compensates for shrinkage)
o Pourable resin technique
 Requirements of a good denture base material include:
o Physical: appearance, glass transition temperature high enough to resist distortion in the
mouth, dimensional stability over time, lightweight, high thermal conductivity, radiopaque
(so if fracture/swallow parts)
o Mechanical: rigid (high modulus of elasticity), sufficient flexural strength to resist fracture,
adequate fatigue life, sufficient abrasion resistance
o Chemical: inert, insoluble in oral fluids, not absorb water or saliva (unhygienic)
o Biological: not harmful to technician in unmixed state, non-toxic and non-irritant to patient,
not sustain the growth of bacteria or fungi
o Miscellaneous: cheap, long shelf life, easy to manipulate, easy to repair fractures
 Most supplied as a powder and a liquid
o Powder: polymethylmethacrylate beads, benzoyl peroxide initiator, pink pigments
o Liquid: methylmethacrylate monomer, crosslinking agent, inhibitor, activator
 Mixing → sandy → sticky → stringy → doughy → rubbery → hard
 Transition between stages due to increase in viscosity due to
o Small PMMA beads dissolve in monomer
o Large PMMA beads absorb monomer
 Types of porosity
o Granular – either powder : water ratio too high, or monomer evaporated from mix
o Contraction – insufficient dough in mould during curing results in porosities when the
material shrinks
o Gaseous – temperature of the dough raised above 100.3 degrees causing monomer to boil and
resulting in spherical porosities in hottest parts (thickest parts)
 Curing:
o Normally denture bases are heat cured
o Curing cycles often just above 65-70 degrees for a while (7hrs) initially (Benzoyl peroxide can
initiate the reaction above 65) so the temp is unlikely to rise above 100.3 even with exotherm
o Then when most cured, blast at 100 degrees for 3hrs to convert any remaining monomer
 Set structure is PMMA beads in a matrix of freshly polymerised material (tightly bound by
interpenetrating polymer networks)
 Properties of acrylic resin
o Adequate appearance
o Glass transition temperature adequate (about 105 degrees for heat cured)
o Relatively lightweight
o Radiolucent – not good if patient swallows/inhales a fragment (additives not really successful)
o Thermal insulator – denies mucosa normal stimuli and hot drinks may burn the throat
 o Rigidity and strength are adequate provided sufficient thickness of material
o Poor impact strength (likely to fracture if dropped) – especially if notched (e.g. around teeth)
o Absorbs water –perhaps why candida colonise fitting surfaces
o Residual monomer may causes irritation or allergy in some patients

Denture lining materials

 Tissue conditioners
o Main uses include
 Traumatised tissues
 Functional impressions
o They only really last 2-3 days as they harden due to plasticiser and alcohol leaching out
o Made chairside by mixing a higher methacrylate polymer with plasticiser and alcohol
o Set via a physical reaction (not chemical) – small particles dissolve in plasticiser/alcohol,
larger particles absorb plasticiser/alcohol
o Oxygenating cleaners cannot be used
 Temporary soft liners
o Similar to tissue conditioners but have a different proportion of plasticiser and alcohol so last
a few weeks rather than a few days
o Main uses include
 Improve fit of ill-fitting dentures while waiting for new set to be made
 Diagnostic aid (to determine whether problem is ill-fitting dentures or poor
tolerance)
 Alternative to tissue conditioner
o Made chairside
o Initially slightly harder than tissue conditioners but stay softer for longer
o Oxygenating cleaners cannot be used
 Permanent soft liners
o Main uses include
 Pain (especially under lower denture)
 Ill-fitting denture
 Thin covering of sift tissue
 Uneven ridge
 Exposed nerve
 Aid to retention (engages bony undercuts)
 Obturator (fills spaces in bone – e.g. cancer patients after tumour resection)
o If added to existing dentures, you need to adjust the fitting surface to make room (box-in)
o Avoid oxygenating cleaners and abrasive brushing (soak in NaOCl)
o Acrylic – harden with age (loss of plasticiser), viscoelastic, bond well to acrylic base
 Light cured – can be done chairside
 Made of urethane dimethacrylate (similar to composite) – relatively stiff/hard
 Heat-cured – dentures need to be sent to the lab
o Silicone – remain soft with aging, elastic
 Cold-cure condensation type – can only be added to existing dentures
 Ethanol produced as by-product
 Require adhesive
 Cold-cure addition type – can only be added to existing dentures
 Require adhesive
 Heat-cure – can be added to new or existing dentures
  Bond well to acrylic base through co-polymerisation

Gypsum
 Gypsum is calcium sulphate dihydrate (produced from hemihydrate + water)
 Types of gypsum
o Type I – impression plaster
o Type II – dental plaster – models
o Type III – dental stone – models
o Types IV and V – high strength dental stone
 Setting reaction is exothermic – maximum temperature reached during final hardening
 Dental stone is stronger, harder and less porous than plaster as less water is used to make it
 Dental stone also records greater detail than plaster
 Stone is used if accuracy and mechanical properties are crucial (e.g. dentures, crowns etc.)
 Small expansion due to outward thrust of crystals (larger if in water at initial set – hygroscopic)
 Anti-expansion agents (potassium sulphate) used, and borax added (retarder) to counteract effect on
working time
 Cheap and easy to use, and can record fine detail from the impression
 Gypsum is a very brittle material which occasionally leads to fracture
 Dimensional stability after set is good and rigid enough to resist deformation when work is performed

Porcelains and ceramics

 Ceramic = non-metallic, inorganic material which tends to be characterised by ionic bonds and have a
crystalline structure
 Glass = subset of ceramic with an amorphous structure
 Main benefits of ceramics
o Appearance (glasses = transparent and ceramics = opaque → combination = opalescence)
o Hardness
o Resistance to chemical attack
 Modern porcelains
o Type 1 = high fusing
 Feldspar matrix, silica discreet phase
 Need to be fired at 1300-1400 degrees
o Type 2 = low fusing
 Feldspar matrix, silica discreet phase, added glasses
 Glass lowers the firing temperature to 850-1100 degrees
 Porcelains are manufactured in various stages:
o Ingredients mixed and fired to form a liquid
o Quench in cold water and shatter to fine powder – FRIT
o Mix frit with water to make paste and apply in layers to platinum foil on die
o Fire in the oven so particles SINTER (fuse to form solid body) to BISCUIT STAGE (fragile)
o Allow to cool slowly so that the layers can shrink onto each other (makes it stronger)
o Glaze with some sort of glass to cover any microcracks which would be a source of weakness
 Platinum foil is needed to support the frit paste and also creates space for the luting cement
 Dental Zirconia was developed from traditional ceramics (it is a glass-free ceramic)
o The structure changes as the material cools from tetragonal to monoclinic
 o Adding Yttrium oxide partially stabilises the structure so some of both crystal types remain
o When the porcelain has been sintered, the crystal structure can spontaneously change
between different types around areas of weakness/cracks. This causes a change in volume and
prevents cracks from propagating (transformation toughening)
 Emax CAD is made from a block of lithium disilicate ceramic (glass ceramic with fillers)

Metals, alloys and casting

 Metals which would be used for PFM crowns
o GOLD ALLOYS (HIGH OR LOW GOLD)
 High platinum/palladium to allow it to withstand the high firing temperatures for
porcelain – still a risk of sag during firing as MP not that high
 No copper so no discolouration of porcelain
 Oxide-forming alloys to promote bonding between the alloy and the porcelain
 No particularly stiff so copings have to be quite thick for adequate strength (0.5mm)
o SILVER-PALLADIUM ALLOY
 Bit of indium or tin added to promote bonding (oxide layer)
 Stiffer and higher melting point than gold alloys
 Cheaper than the gold alloys
o NICKEL-CHROMIUM ALLOY
 Very stiff – supports porcelain well, and better for long-span bridges
 High MP – not affected by porcelain firing (no sag)
 Thick oxide layer forms which forms a weak bond (point of weakness)
 Need a lot of skill to cast due to unpredictable shrinkage patterns
 Not suitable for patients with a Nickel allergy

 Metals which could be used for full metal crowns

o BASE METAL ALLOY
 Range of compositions but mainly Co/Cr/Ni
 Can contain Beryllium and Cadmium which can be hazardous
 Any with more than 0.1% Ni have to carry a warning and should not be used if allergic
 Need special investment materials and a special electrical induction furnace
 Less dense, so less thrust when casting – risk that they might not fill the mould
 Very hard and so very difficult to polish
o TYPE III GOLD CASTING ALLOY
 Typically about 70% gold with 14% silver and bits of palladium and copper
 Less shrinkage on casting than base metal alloys
 More expensive
 Softer, so easier to polish, but doesn’t keep the polish for as long

 Orthodontic wires
o Orthodontic wires are drawn from an ingot (i.e. WROUGHT), not cast
o Making them like this makes them stiffer, harder and stronger
o The amount of residual ductility left in a wire depends on how much they have been work
hardened already (need suffucuent ductility to shape them by bending)
o Stiffer wires move teeth faster
o Flexible wires place smaller forces on teeth and so teeth move slower
o The stiffness is mainly determined by the diameter – thicker wires are much stiffer
o The spring back ability of a wire depends on yield strength and modulus of elasticity
 o It is important that orthodontic wires are corrosion resistant, as otheriwas they could release
metal products which could affect biocompatibility and durability
o STAINLESS STEEL WIRES (mainly Iron and Carbon alloy)
 Stiff – used to apply quite high forces
 Sufficient ductility to allow bending without fracture (3 grades of softness)
 Can be joined by soldering (eutectic Ag-Cu) or welding (electric current)
o COBALT-CHROME WIRES (Elgiloy)
 Supplied in a ‘softened’ state so really ductile
 After bending they can be hardened by heat treatment to produce good springback
 Very stiff – apply very high forces
 Hard to join by soldering
o NiTi WIRES
 Low stiffness – flexible – apply low forces
 Excellent springback
 Low ductility and not amenable to soldering or welding (use in single strands)
 Not suitable for patients with a Ni allergy

 Partial dentures/clasps
o Connectors
 Need to be rigid and have a high proportional limit (not deformed by chewing etc.)
 COBALT CHROMIUM ALLOYS are good because
 They have low density -> lightweight
 Rigid
 High proportional limit
o Clasps
 Should be flexible so that they can engage quite deep underuts
 Need to have a high proportional limit so that they are not permanently deformed
when they are moved past bulbosities
 Should be ductile so that they can be adjusted without fracture
 In theory, the best alloy for clasps would by Type IV gold, but as most partial
denture connectors and clasps are cast together from the same alloy, COBALT-
CHROMIUM is most often used despite its limitations
 Means that you cannot engage them in undercuts which are too deep
 Have to reduce the thickness in order to make them flexible enough to move
past undercuts (then risk permanent deformation)