USED IN PROSTHODONTICS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION PERIODIC TABLE DEFINITIONS GENERAL CHARACTERSTICS OF METALS STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF METALS STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF ALLOYS CLASSIFICATION OF ALLOYS CASTING ALLOYS ALLOYS USED FOR METAL CERAMICS METALS FOR PARTIAL DENTURES WROUGHT ALLOYS METALS FOR IMPLANTS BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF METALS CONCLUSIONS REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

PERIODIC TABLE

DEFINITIONS

GPT 8 (2005) defines METAL as any strong relatively ductile substance that provides electropositive ions to a corrosive environment and that can be polished to a high lustre. Characterized by metallic atomic bonding.

The metals handbook (1992) defines a metal as an opaque lustrous chemical substance that is a good conductor of heat and electricity and, when polished, is a good reflector of light

METALLURGY
The science and art of the extraction of metals from their ores together with the refinement of these metals and their adaption to various uses.

Metallography is primarily the microscopic examination of the internal structure of metals. This metallographic examination gives some indication of the physical behavior which the metal can be expected to exhibit.

General characteristics of metals

A metal is any element that ionizes positively in solution. Metals have certain typical and characteristic properties that tend to identify and distinguish them from the nonmetallic elements, such as lustre, opacity, density, thermal and electrical conductivity.

Extreme ductility and malleability are often desirable in metals used in dentistry and these are found to predominate in pure metals rather than in alloys.

STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF METALS

Metals usually have crystalline structures in the solid state.

A SPACE LATTICE can be defined as any arrangement of atoms in space such that every atom is situated similarly to every other atom. It is also called a crystal.

When a molten metal or alloy is cooled, the solidification process is one of crystallization and is initiated at specific sites called nuclei. The nuclei are formed from impurities within the molten mass of metal. Each crystal is known as a grain and the area between two grains in contact is the grain boundary

The arrangement adopted by any one crystal depends on specific factors such as atomic radius and charge distributions on the atoms. Although there is a tendency towards a perfect crystal structure, occasional defects occur.

Such defects are normally referred to as dislocations and their occurrence has an effect on the ductility of the metal or alloy.

When the material is placed under a sufficiently high stress the dislocation is able to move through the lattice until it reaches a grain boundary. The plane along which the dislocation moves is called a slip plane and the stress required to initiate movement is the elastic limit.

Grain boundaries form a natural barrier to the movement of dislocations. The concentration of grain boundaries increases as the grain size decreases. Metals with finer grain structure are generally harder and have higher values of elastic limit than those with coarser grain structure. Hence it can be seen that material properties can be controlled to some extent by controlling the grain size.

A fine grain structure can be achieved by rapid cooling of the molten metal or alloy following casting. This process, often referred to as quenching, ensures that many nuclei of crystallization are formed, resulting in a large number of relatively small grains.

COLD WORKING
For an applied tensile force the maximum degree of extension is a measure the ductility of the metal or alloy. For an applied compressive force the maximum degree of compression is a measure of malleability. These changes occur when the stress is greater than the elastic limit and at relatively low temperatures.

Such cold working not only produces a change in microstructure, with dislocations becoming concentrated at grain boundaries, but also a change in grain shape. The grains are no longer equiaxed but take up a more fibrous.

Annealing
It is process of heating a metal to reverse the effects associated with cold working such as strain hardening, low ductility and distorted grains. In general it has 3 stages. 1) Recovery 2) Recrystallization 3) Grain growth.

 Recovery

: is considered the stage at which the coldwork properties begin to disappear before any significant visible changes are observed under the microscope.

Recrystallization : when a severely cold worked metal is annealed, recrystallization occurs after the recovery stage. The old grains disappear completely and are placed by a new set of strain free grains.

 Grain

growth: The crystallized structure has a certain average grain size, depending on the number of nuclei .The more severe the cold working, the greater the number of such nuclei. Thus, the grain size for completely recrystallized material can range from rather fine to fairly coarse.

CLASSIFICATION OF METALS AND ALLOY SYSTEMS

Metals can be broadly classified according to composition as

NOBLE METALS The term noble identifies elements in terms of their chemical stability i.e., they resist oxidation and are impervious to acids. Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Iridium, Osmium, and Silver are the eight noble metals. In the oral cavity Silver is more reactive and therefore is not considered as a noble metal.

BASE METALS These are Ignoble elements. These remain invaluable components of dental casting alloys because of their influence on physical properties, control of the amount and type of oxidation, or for their strengthening effects. e.g., Chromium, Cobalt, Nickel, Iron, Copper etc.

The bureau of standards established gold casting alloys type i through type iv according to function, with increasing hardness from type i to iv (1927)

In 1984, ADA proposed a simple classification for Dental casting alloys

Alloy types by description

Removable partial denture alloys

Although type IV noble metal alloys may be used, majority of the removable partial frame works are made from base metal alloys. E.g., Cobalt-chromium, Nickel-chromium.

DENTAL CASTING ALLOYS

The history of dental casting alloys has been influenced by three major factors. a) The technological changes of dental prosthesis. b) Metallurgic advancements c) Price changes of noble metals since1968. In 1932, the dental materials group at national bureau of standards surveyed the alloys being used and roughly classified them type I-IV.

Uses 1) Fabrication of inlay, onlays 2) Fabrication of crowns, conventional all metal bridges, metal-ceramic bridges, resin bonded bridges. 3) Endodontic posts. 4) Removable partial denture frameworks.

Desirable properties 1) Biocompatibility. 2) Ease of melting. 3) Ease of casting, brazing and polishing. 4) Less solidification shrinkage. 5) Minimal reactivity with the mould material. 6) Good wear resistance. 7) High strength and sag resistance. 8) Excellent tarnish and corrosion resistance.

Nickel-chromium and Cobalt-chromium Alloys

Dental applications: 1) Partial denture framework: Co-Cr, Ni-Cr 2) Porcelain - metal restorations: Co-Cr, Ni-Cr 3) Crowns and bridges: Ni-Cr

During the years since the Co-Cr casting alloys became available for cast removable partial denture constructions, they have continued to increase in popularity.

Function of various alloying elements:

Chromium is responsible for the tarnish resistance

and stainless properties of these alloys.

When chromium content of alloy is over 30% , the

alloy is difficult to cast. With this percentage of chromium, the alloy also forms a brittle phase, known as sigma phase. Therefore cast base metal dental alloys should not contain more than 28-29% of chromium.

Cobalt increases the elastic modulus, strength and hardness of alloy more than does nickel. One of the effective ways of increasing their hardness is by altering carbon content. 0.2% increase changes the properties such that alloy would no longer be used in dentistry. [Too brittle] 0.2% decrease will reduce yield and ultimate tensile and yield strengths.

Aluminum in nickel containing alloys increases the ultimate tensile and yield strengths.

Base metal alloys

Compared with ADA certified type IV gold alloys. Cobalt based alloys, Nickel based alloys, and Pure titanium have the following advantages. 1) Low cost 2) Low density 3) Greater stiffness 4) Higher hardness 5) High resistance to tarnish and corrosion.

Composition Co-Cr 53-67% of cobalt 25-32% of chromium 02-06 wt % molybdenum. Ni-Cr 61-81 wt % Nickel 11-27% chromium 02-05 wt of molybdenum. Chromium provides passivation and corrosion resistance.

Properties: 1) Higher hardness and stiffness. 2) More sag resistant at elevated temperatures. 3) It deforms only less than 25 m when porcelain is fired over it.