GOLD ALLOYS

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 metal

• A crystalline material that consists of positively

charged ions in an ordered, closely packed
arrangement and bonded with a cloud of free
electrons.
• This type of bond, called a metallic bond, is
responsible for many of the properties of metals-
electrical and thermal conductivity, metallic
luster, and (usually) high strength

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 Alloy

• A material that exhibits metallic properties and

is composed of one or more elements-at least one
of which is a metal.
• For example, steel is an alloy of iron and
carbon, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and
bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.

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Types of metals:

Noble Metal – A metal that is resistant to

oxidation; includes gold, platinum, palladium and
the other platinum group metals.

Precious Metal – A metal that is relatively high

in cost; includes gold, platinum, palladium and
silver.

Base Metal – A metal that readily oxidizes or4

dissolves to release ions.

 GOLD
• Soft, rich yellow color and a strong metallic luster
• Most malleable and ductile
• 0.2% lead – brittle
• Soluble in aqua regia
• Air or water at any temperature does not tarnish
gold
• Alloyed with copper, silver, platinum – increases
hardness , durability and elasticity

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 PLATINUM
Bluish white metal
Tough, ductile and malleable
Hardness similar to copper
Higher melting point ( 1772°C) than porcelain
Coefficient of thermal expansion close to porcelain
Lighten the color of yellow gold based alloys
Common constituent in precision prosthetic
attachments

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 PALLADIUM
White metal darker than platinum
Density little more than half that of Pt and Au
Absorbs hydrogen gas when heated
Not used in pure state in dentistry
Whitens yellow gold based alloys.

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IRIDIUM, OSMIUM, RHODIUM, ruthenium
• Grain refiners
• Improves mechanical properties and uniformity of
properties within alloy
• Extremely high melting point of Ir - 2410°C and Ru -
2310°C – serve as nucleating centers
• Osmium(Os) has a very high melting point, and is very
expensive, hence not used in dentistry.

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 SILVER
Malleable, ductile; white metal.
Stronger and harder than gold, softer than copper.
Absorbs oxygen in molten state-difficult to cast
Forms series of solid solutions with palladium and
gold .
 Neutralizes reddish color of alloys containing
copper
Prone to tarnish and corrosion

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Alloying Elements in Dental Gold Alloys

Largest fraction for these alloys is Gold with lower amounts of silver and copper.

Silver - Has a slight strengthening effect and counteracts the reddish tint of
copper.

Copper - increase the strength and reduces the melting temperature.

 Amount that can be added is 16%.

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Platinum and Palladium – increases both the strength and the
melting temp.

Zinc – Act as scavenger during casting, preventing oxidation and

improves the castability.

Iridium, Ruthenium and Rhodium( <0.5 % )

Have very high melting temp and act as nucleating sites during
solidification, thus produce fine grain size  they are the grain
refiners. 11
The Amount of Gold in an Alloy is defined in one of two
ways :

1. Carat

 Pure gold has a carat value of 24.

 An Alloy carat is expressed in terms of the number of the 24th part
of Gold within it.
 An alloy with 50% of gold will be designated as 12 carat gold.

2. Fineness
 Pure gold has a fineness of 1000. 12

 18 carat gold is 750 fine ; 9 carat gold is 375 fine.

 DESIRABLE PROPERTIES

Choice of alloy is governed by a number of Factors :

1) Cost

2) Biocompatibility of the Alloy

3) Its resistance to corrosion and tarnish.

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4) Mechanical Properties
a. Stiffness
b. Strength
c. Ductility
d. Hardness

 Higher the elastic modulus , the stiffer the structure would be

 this is a important consideration for long span bridges,
partial dentures and denture clasps.
 Alloys need to be very ductile and soft.
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5) Ease of Casting

 Important to know the melting range and casting range of the alloy .
 Higher these are more problem in handling of alloys.

 Quality of fit may alter  casting shrinkage and cooling contraction of

the alloy.

6) Density

 Casting are carried out in a centrifugal force casting machine.

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 The higher the density of the alloy, the easier it is to force the air out of
the mould space completely with the alloy.
The ideal hardness of the gold alloy is that
it shall wear at the same rate as the teeth.

A filling material should be hard enough to

resist excessive wear but not so hard that it
does not wear evenly with the biting
surfaces of the teeth.
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 CLASSIFICATIONS

I. Formerly, ADA specification No. 5 classified casting alloys

as :
Depending upon its content of gold and platinum group metals
a) Type –I
b) Type –II
c) Type – III
d) Type – IV
Noble metal content ranged from 83 to 75 wt% respectively and
all alloys were gold based.
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II. Current, ADA specification Classifies into 3 groups :

1) High Noble
2) Noble
3) Predominantly Base Metal
Alloy Type Total Noble Metal Content

High noble metal Contains > 40 wt% Au and > 60% of the noble
metal elements

Noble metal Contains > 25 wt% of the noble meal elements

(Au, Pd, Pt)

Base metal
Contains < 25 wt% of the noble metal elements
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Mechanical property requirements proposed in
iso draft
international standard 1562 for casting gold
alloys( 2002)
Alloy type Minimum yield Minimum elongation
strength(0.2%) in MPa after fracture (%)

Type 1 80 18

Type 2 180 10

Type 3 270 5

Type 4 360 3
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 CLASSIFICATION OF CASTING METALS
FOR FULL METAL, METAL CERAMIC AND
PARTIAL DENTURES.
Metal type All metal Metal ceramic Partial denture
framework
High noble Au –Ag –Pd Au-Pt-Pd Au-Ag-Cu-Pd
Au-Pd – Cu- Ag Au –Pd-Ag(5 –
12% ag)
Au-Pd-Ag(>
12% ag)
Noble Ag-Pd-Au-Cu Au-Pd
Pd-Au
Pd-Au-Ag

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 CLASSIFICATION BASED
ON ALLOY COLOUR
According to their color and principal element or elements
(Phillips, 1982).

• Yellow golds-
yellow color, with greater than 60% gold
content

• White golds-
white color, but with more than 50% gold content
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• Low (or economy) golds-
usually yellow colored, with less than 60% gold (usually 42% to
55%)

• High palladium –
white colored, with palladium the major component; may contain
small quantities of gold (2%) and a limited amount of either copper or
cobalt

Copper adds a reddish colour and silver lightens the red or yellow colour of
alloys .
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As the number of casting Alloys is immense it is possible to
subdivide each ADA composition group into several
classes :-

Three Classes For High Noble Alloys –

1. Au-Ag-Pt  Typically consists of 78 wt% gold with roughly

equal amounts of silver and platinum.

2. Au-Cu-Ag-Pd-I  Alloys are typically 75wt% gold with

Approx 10 wt % each of silver and Cu & 2-3 wt% palladium.

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3. Au-Cu-Ag-Pd-II  have less that 60 wt% gold, with silver
content increased to accommodate the reduced gold content.
 HIGH GOLD ALLOYS

According to ANSI/ADA Specification No.5 for

Dental casting Alloys :
A) Type I - Soft (VHN 60 to 90)
B) Type II - Medium (VHN 90 – 120)
C) Type III - Hard (VHN 120- 150)
D) Type IV – Extra Hard (VHN 150 – 250)

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Type I alloys
 Are weak, soft and highly ductile
 Useful in areas not subject to Occlusal stress
 Do not harden by heat treatment.

Type II alloys
 Used for inlays where burnishability of margins is important than
strength.

Type III alloys

 Used in higher stress applications for inlays, onlays, three quarter
crowns and for fixed partial denture retainers and pontics.
 Restoration design makes burnishability less important than strength.
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Type IV

Are strong , hard and non-ductile .

Used for high stress applications such as – partial dentures,
cast posts and long span bridges.

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[

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 Type %Au & Pt VHN Restoration

I (soft) 83 50-90 Inlay

II (medium) 78 90-120 Inlay/onlay

Onlay/
III (hard) 78 120-150
Crown&Bridge

Crown &
IV (extra-hard) 75 150-250
Bridge/RPD

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Medium & Low Gold Alloys

 Rise in the prices of noble metals in 1970’s stimulated

Manufacturers to produce new alloys with reduced gold
content.

a) Medium Gold Alloys

 Gold content varying from 40 to 60 %.

 Palladium & silver contents were increased to compensate for
reduced gold content.
 Cu content range from 10-15% 31

 Pd is added to counteract the tendency of silver to tarnish.

b) Low Gold Alloys

Gold content is 10-20%

Other elements –
a) Silver 40 to 60%
b) Palladium upto 40%

Due to reduced gold content, these alloys are white in

appearance.

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Properties

Medium Gold Alloys are used/ recommended for same

application as type III and type IV gold alloys.
• ductility tends to be lower than that of type IV gold alloys
• Their high yield stress makes them difficult to burnish.

Low Gold Alloys

• Tend to have lower mechanical properties than the medium
gold alloys.
• Recommended / used as an alternative to type III gold alloys.
• Less popular due to its WHITE colour. 33
Strengthening Mechanism

 All alloy elements increase in the yield strength of

the Gold alloy by forming a solid solution.

Most effective strengthening mechanism is the

addition of Copper  “Order Hardening”

Carried out after homogenizing anneal at approx 700°

this ensures uniform composition through out the
casting.
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It involves reheating the alloy at 400°C & holding it at
that temperature for approx 30 min.

The Copper atoms arrange themselves in little ordered

clusters.

Cannot occur in type I & II gold alloys.

Type III and type IV show significant improvement in

strength.
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“Self Hardening”

For some alloys, the hardening process is to allow the

alloy to cool slowly on the bench rather than
quenching it immediately on casting.

Disadvantage – Not well controlled.

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 HEAT TREATMENT

Two types of Heat Treatment :

Softening Hardening
Heat Heat
Treatment Treatment

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The Softening Heat Treatment
• Also referred as “Solution Heat Treatment”

• The casting is placed in an electric furnace for 10 min at a temp of

700° C & then quenched in water.

• All intermediate phases are changed to a disordered solution

• Rapid quenching prevents ordering from occurring during cooling.

• Tensile Strength, Proportional Limit and Hardness  REDUCED

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• Ductility  INCREASED
Hardening Heat Treatment

Also termed as “Age Hardening”

Soaking or aging the casting at a specific temp for a definite time

, usually 15-30 min; before it is water quenched.

Aging temp depends on the alloy composition generally b/w

200°C (392° F) & 450° C (842° F)

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 Alloys used in metal ceramic
restorations
Essential requirements:

• Potential to bond with porcelain

• Compatible coefficients of thermal expansion with that of

porcelain

• Sufficiently high melting points to resist sag deformation

during sintering of porcelain
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 Thermal compatibility
• Porcelains have coefficient of thermal expansion between
13.0 and 14.0 X 10-6 and metal between 13.5 and 14.5 X
10-6.

• The difference of 0.5 X10-6 in thermal expansion between

metal and porcelain causes the metal to contract slightly
more than does the ceramic during cooling after firing the
porcelain.
•
• This puts the ceramic under slight residual compression
which makes it less sensitive to applied tensile forces.
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• If the porcelain has much larger coefficient of
contraction than that of metal, tensile strength of
porcelain may be exceeded since of large tensile
stress causing crack propagation in porcelain
veneer.

• If contraction coefficient of porcelain is much lower

than that of metal, failure level stresses can occur at
the metal porcelain interface.
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GOLD PLATINUM ALLOY

• Developed alternative to palladium alloys

• For full cast as well as metal-ceramic restorations.

 More prone to sagging, they should be limited to short span bridges.

 A typical composition is Gold 85%;

 Platinum12%;
 Zinc 1%;
 Silver (in few brands)
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• Good corrosion resistance
• Precipitation hardening due to formation of FePt3
• Optimum heat hardening for 30 min at 550 degree
centigrade.
• Costly due to high noble metal content
• Yellow in colour so better esthetics compared to
white alloys.
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GOLD PALLADIUM ALLOY

• Used for full cast /metal-ceramic restorations.

• Palladium - high melting temperature

- impart a white or gray color
- improves sag resistance

 These alloys usually contain indium, tin or gallium to promote an oxide layer.

A typical composition :

 Gold 52%;
 Palladium 38%;
 Indium 8.5%;
 Silver (in some brands).
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• Good corrosion resistance
• Solution hardening done
• Stronger, stiffer, more ductile compared to gold
platinum alloys
• Easy to cast and solder due to higher casting
temperature
• Less good esthethic results compared to gold
platinum alloys
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GOLD ,COPPER, PALLADIUM,
SILVER ALLOY
• Two types
Low silver (5 to 11.9%)
High silver ( more than 12%)

Greening of porcelain due to silver

Copper tends to cause sagging during porcelain

processing
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• Typical composition:
• Gold 72%
• Copper 10%
• Silver 14%
• Palladium 3%

• Good tarnish and corrosion resistance

• Poor esthetics due to white alloy and greening effect

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Finishing and polishing of gold
alloys
• Slow speed hand piece should be used

• Contour with carbide burs, green stones, or heatless stones.

• Finish with pink stones ( aluminum oxide) , or medium grade

abrasive impregnated rubber wheels and points

( brown and green)

• Apply fine abrasive- impregnated rubber wheels, cups and points .

• Apply Tripoli or rouge with rag or leather wheels

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References :

• Craig’s Restorative Dental Materials – 12th Edition

• Phillips Science of Dental Materials – 11th Edition

• Gold in dentistry:alloys, uses &performance Article in gold

bulletin 2003

• Hardening of gold based alloys- JDR march 1977 56: 335-

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