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Fdocuments - in - Tarnish Corrosion Orthodontic Courses by Indian Dental Academy
Fdocuments - in - Tarnish Corrosion Orthodontic Courses by Indian Dental Academy
Introduction
that it must not produce corrosion products that will be harm full to the body.
If the corrosion process is not too marked, these products may not be
reorganised easily.
to fluctuation in temperature. The food and liquids ingested have wide ranges
of pH. Acids are liberated during the breakdown of foodstuffs. This food
between corrosion products and the metal or alloy. All of these environmental
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Gold resist chemical attack of this nature very well, therefore it was
natural that this nobilest of the metals was employed early for the construction
of dental appliances.
Definition
Terminology
Oxide.
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Concentration Cell
Crevice corrosion
leakage takes place between restoration and the tooth, under a pellicle or under
Galvanic Corrosion
environment.
Galvanic Shock
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Pitting Corrosion
oxide. In the presence of chlorides in the environment the film locally breaks
down and rapid dissolution of the underlying metal occurs in the form of pits.
Stress corrosion
Causes of tarnish
2) Calculus is the principle hard deposit and its color varies from light yellow
to brown.
3) It’s color varies also with oval hygiene of the patient and is specially dark
in the mouth of a heavy smoker.
Tarnish may be found anywhere in the mouth but are more optional to
be as surfaces that are protected from the abrasive actions of food and the
toothbrush.
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Causes of Tarnish and Corrosions
distinguish between the two phenomena, and the terms are often used
completely cover the substrate metal, the corrosion activate rate may
actually increase with time. In due course it causes severe and catastrophic
mechanical factor at a structure even though the metal loss of material is quit
small.
3. Tarnish is often the forerunner of corrosion the film that is deposited and
that chemically attack the metallic surface for example, eggs and certain
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hydrogen or ammonium sulfide, corrode silver, copper, mercury, and
4. Also water, oxygen and chloride ions are present in saliva and contribute to
corrosion attack. Various acids such as phosphoric, acetate and lactic acids
are present at times. At the proper concentrations and pH there can lead to
corrosions.
Classification of corrosion
1. Chemical corrosion
Chemical corrosion
nonmetallic elements.
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This type is exemplified by:
a) Oxidation
b) Stalogenation
c) Sulfurization reactions
1st Example
This type is also referred as wet corrosion since it requires the presence
of water or other fluid electrolytes. It also requires a pathway for the transport
1. The auscle is the surface where positive ions a formed, that is the metal
surface which is corroding.
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2. At the cathode a reaction must occur that will consume the free electrons
produced at the anode.
3. The electrolytic sever to supply the ions that are needed at the cathode and
to early way the corrosion products at the anode.
called electrolysis. The following reaction can be written for the above
discussion.
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Current Producing (Galvanic Cells)
Consider now two electrodes of different metals. Eg. Copper and Zinc,
Zinc are being converted to zinc ions (i.e. essentially an oxidation reaction)
is formed. The metal with the lowest electrode potential goes into the solution.
The strength and direction of the current thus depends primarily upon
contact.
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1. If a gold inlay comes in contact with an amalgam restoration, because both
restorations are wet with saliva, an electrical couple exists, with difference
found. Thus part of a grain can be the anode and other part cathode.
When the teeth are not in contact, the difference in electric potential
(or) electromotive force between the two fillings still exists, thus a circuit also
exists. In this core, the saliva forms the electrolyte, and the hard and soft
tissues can consists the external circuit internal and external depending an a
contact.
fluid. Because dentinal fluid contains higher Cl- concentrations than does
active.
compositions of the metal surface. Example of this type may be the intectic
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When an alloy containing a extentic is immersed is an electrolyte, the
metallic grains with the less electrode potential are attacked and corrosion
results.
potential.
corrosion because of the difference in structure between the grains and their
boundaries.
The grains boundaries may act as anodes and the interior of the grains
as the cathode. This results in the corrosion of the material in the anodic region
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This type is primarily with a stress condition in the alloy or metal. For
example, even in a pure metal not previously subjected for external forces, a
Stress corrosion
are most optional to occur because of fatigue of the metal when associated
denture, for example, may build up a severe stress pattern in certain types of
alloys especially at the grain boundaries combined with an oral condition that
Slight surface irregulation at that point, such as pit, can accelerate the
process, so that ordinary fatigue starts below the normal limit and failure
results.
intergranularly.
in the composition of the given electrolyte with the system. For example, there
are often occumulations of food debris in the interproximal areas of the mouth,
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This debris produced one type of electrolyte in that area and the normal
occurring around the areas containing the least oxygen. Irregularities, such as
points, contribute to this phenomenon. The areas at the bottom of the surface
concavities do not have oxygen because they are covered with food debris and
mucin.
The material at the bottom of the pit then becomes the anode and the
In this manner, metal atoms at the base of the pit ionise and go into
solution, causing the pit to deeper. The rate of such corrosion may be very
rapid, and failure may occur much before what would be anticipated if only a
polished for example, a polished amalgam restoration will corrode less than
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Multiple corrosion process / Complex corrosion
an inlay and an amalgam restoration. Owing to the surface changes than can
The high copper 2 free amalgams are more corrosion resistant, but they
also suffer deterioration, the least stable being the (copper tin) phase. The 2
The protective film of tin oxide breaks down main corrosion products
are tin – oxide and tin chloride hydroxide. Corrosion resistance of are
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amalgams is decreased by porosity. The corrosion damage causes loss of
strength. The most intensive corrosion takes place in the areas of the margins.
boundary corrosion of the 1 (silver mercury) phase (Espevik and Mjor 1979).
The high copper 2 free amalgams are most resistant to both corrosion
gold and platinum gp metals) are highly resistant in the oral environment to
materials.
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Silver is attacked by the oral environment, but its resistance to chloride
includes passivation.
Cobalt, Nickel, Iron and Titanium as well as the major elements used in
because of the superior properties of the passive film. Base alloys are not
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Protection Against Corrosion
Choice of alloy
1) Noble or 2) Passive
1) Noble
Noble metals are those such as gold, platinum and palladium. Dental
alloys contain some copper which has poorer corrosion resistance, however,
such alloys must contain at least 70-75% noble metals. For this reason it is
estimated that at least half the metals in dental alloy should be gold, with
alloys that contain silver, palladium tends to retard the formation of silver
sulphide and thus has become a common addition to silver containing dental
gold alloys.
2) Passive alloys
chemical reaction, which protects them from further corrosion, such a metal is
metal does not readily corrode because it has already corroded, so rapidly and
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so uniformly that the film of corrosion product formed does not mar its
reflectivity.
adsorbed oxygen or a closely packed chromic oxide with each molecule being
be used to prevent corrosion. The coating material must be less active than the
base metal.
If a noble metal eating is applied to the base metal surface and becomes
scratched or pitted to such a depth that the base metal is exposed to the
coatings.
It has been proved that small galvanic currents associated with electro
galvanium are continually present in the oral cavity. As long as metallic dental
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The cement base itself, although it is a good thermal insulator has little
effect in minimizing the current that is carried into the tooth and through the
pulp.
highly unlikely.
pulp, the current concentration and pulpal stimulation may be reduced some
what by replacing the deepest portion of the metal restoration with a lower
patients. However, such post operative pain usually occurs immediately after
It has often been suggested that the reason the pain does not last
or that the cemetal base such as Zn-oxide eugenol cement, becomes a better
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Practically the best method for reducing or eliminating galvanic shock
long as the varnish remains, the restorations is insulated from saliva and no
cell is established. By the time the varnish has worn away. The pulp has
Hence the very important requirement of any metal or the alloy that is
to be used in the mouth is that it should not produce corrosions products that
and is situations which are likely to lead to corrosion must be avoided as far as
possible.
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