BONDING OF

PORCELAIN TO METAL
SHALINI MARIA
 CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• MECHANISMS
• FAILURES
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES
 INTRODUCTION
• Metal-ceramic restorations are widely used in dental
prosthetics
• The PFM restorations were first introduced in the late 1950s
• These restorations combine the natural effect of a brittle
material (dental porcelain) with mechanical strength and
marginal adaptation of the metal cast.
• Porcelain-to-metal bonding, also called ceramo-metal
bonding.
 MECHANISM OF PORCELAIN –METAL
ATTACHMENT

• Four theories have been proposed to explain the

processes that lead to porcelain-to-metal bonding:
1. Van der waals forces.
2. Mechanical retention.
3. Compression bonding.
4. Direct chemical bonding.
 VAN DER WAALS FORCES
1. The attraction between charged atoms that are in
intimate contact yet do not actually exchange electrons is
derived from van der waals forces.
2. These secondary forces are generated more by a
physical attraction between charged particles than by an
actual sharing or exchange of electrons in
primary(chemical) bonding.
3. Van der waals forces are generally weak, because
nearly all the positive and negative charges present in
these atoms are satisfied in a single molecule.
4. It is also believed that bonding entails some measure of
true adhesion based on the extent to which the metal
substructure is wetted by the softened dental porcelain.
5. The better the wetting of the metal surface, greater the
vanderwaal’s forces.
6. Furthermore, porcelain’s adhesion to metal can be
diminished or enhanced by alterations in the surface
characters(texture) of the porcelain-bearing surface on
the substructure.
7. A rough, contaminated metal surface will inhibit
wetting and reduce the vanderwaals bond strength. On
the other hand, a slightly textured surface, created by
finishing with uncontaminated aluminum oxide
abrasives and followed by air abrasion(blasting) with 50
microns aluminium oxide, reportedly will promote
wetting by the liquid porcelain.
8. Improved wetting is then accompanied by an increase
in adhesion through vanderwaals forces.
 MECHANICAL RETENTION
• 1. The porcelain-bearing area of a metal casting
contains many microscopic irregularities into which
opaque porcelain may flow when fired.
• 2. Air abrading the metal with aluminum oxide is
believed to enhance mechanical retention further by
eliminating surface irregularities ( stress
concentrations) while increasing the overall surface
area available for bonding.
3. Despite it’s presence, mechanical retention’s
contribution to bonding may be relatively limited.
4. Dental porcelain does not require a roughened area
to bond to metal. In fact porcelain will fuse to a well
polished surface, but some surface roughness is
effective in increasing bonding forces.
 COMPRESSION BONDING

• Dental porcelain is strongest under compression and

weakest under tension.
• Hence , if the coefficient of thermal expansion of the
metal substructure is greater than that of the porcelain
placed over it, the porcelain should be placed under
compression on cooling.
• 1. When cooling a restoration with a full-porcelain veneer,
the metal contracts faster than the porcelain but is resisted
by the porcelain’s lower coefficient of thermal expansion.
• 2. This difference in contraction rates creates tensile forces
on the metal and corresponding compressive forces on the
porcelain. Without the wraparound effect created in a full
porcelain restoration, there is less likelihood this
compression bonding will develop fully.
 THERMAL EXPANSION
• Generally substances increase in the length and volume
when they are heated. This phenomenon is called as thermal
expansion.
• The specific rate of change in length of a particular
substance per unit change in temperature is called
coefficient of linear expansion.
• These may generally be called coefficient of thermal
expansion or simply thermal expansion.
RELATION BETWEEN METAL AND PORCELAIN

• When porcelain is fused to metal, three possible

relations can exist in thermal expansion:
1. Thermal expansion (or contraction) is greater in
porcelain than in metal.
2. Thermal expansion (or contraction) is equal
between metal and porcelain.
3. Thermal expansion (or contraction) is greater in
metal than in porcelain.
 THERMAL EXPANSION IS GREATER IN PORCELAIN
THAN IN METAL

• Greater thermal expansion in porcelain means that

during the time after porcelain has lost thermoplastic
fluidity in the course of cooling, but after melting of
porcelain at high temperature, porcelain is apt to
contract to be smaller and shorter than metal until it
reaches room temperature.
• Therefore, assuming that they are separated, there will
be a difference in length between them.
• Hence porcelain becomes shorter after cooling
although they had the same length before heating.
• In the ceramo-metallic system, porcelain side is
subjected to tensile stress while the metal side is
subjected to compressive stress as they are fused
together.
• As a result, the porcelain, which is very weak against
tensile stress, will crack immediately.
 THERMAL EXPANSION IS EQUAL BETWEEN
METAL AND PORCELAIN
• As metal and porcelain expand or contract at the same
rate, there will be no difference in dimensions between
them at all.
• As a result, porcelain receives no stress from metal and
thus cracking does not occur in the stable porcelain
unless undue external force is applied.
• It is very difficult, however, to obtain the identical curves
for coefficient of thermal expansion between porcelain
and metal, and under ordinary conditions there is a
discrepancy to some extent.
 THERMAL EXPANSION IS GREATER IN METAL THAN IN
PORCELAIN
• In general, this thermal expansion relationship exists
between metal and porcelain in the dental metal-ceramic
system.
• The objective of such a relationship is to obtain the most
stable assembly after firing.
• Fractures do not usually occur since porcelain has very high
compression strength, although the porcelain side is
subjected to compressive stress as the metal contracts more
than porcelain during cooling to ambient temperature after
firing.
• However, this does not mean that cracking will never
occur.
• If there is a significant difference in thermal
expansion between metal and porcelain, a shearing
force acts on their interface, and if stress is
sufficiently great, cracking, or fracture may occur.
 CHEMICAL BONDING
• The single most significant mechanism of porcelain-metal
attachment is a chemical bond between dental porcelain and
the oxides on the surface of the metal substructure.
• There are those who believe that two mechanisms might
exist within the chemical (or molecular) bonding theory.
• According to one hypothesis, the oxide layer is
permanently bonded to the metal substructure on one side
while the dental porcelain remains on the other.
• The oxide layer itself is sandwiched in between the metal
substructure and the opaque porcelain.
• This sandwich theory is undesirable in that a thick oxide
layer might exist that would weaken the attachment of metal
to porcelain.
• The second, and more likely, theory suggests that the
surface oxides dissolve, or are dissolved by the opaque
porcelain layer.
• The porcelain is then brought into atomic contact with the
metal surface for enhanced wetting and direct chemical
bonding so metal and porcelain share electrons.
• From a chemical standpoint, both covalent and
ionic bonds are thought to form but only a
monomolecular( single) layer of oxides is believed
to be required for chemical bonding to occur.
 MECHANISMS
• Physical Bonding: Nil
• Mechanical Bonding: Extensive :
Body
Porcelain 1. Surface energy determines “wetting.”
Opaque 2. Surface roughness (from sandblasting)
determines
Porcelain

degree
Metal of mechanical inter-digitation.
Alloy
• Chemical Bonding: Extensive

1. Occurs by oxide mixing:

a. Thin metal oxide alloys with porcelain oxide.
b. Transition zone of oxides from metal to porcelain.
• 2. Oxidation of metal alloys (or surface pre-treatments)

a. Sn, In, Fe, or Zn may be added to alloy.

b. Pre-oxidizing treatments may be painted on surface.
c. Metalizing bonding agents may be painted on.
• 3. Precautions for bonding:

a. Overheated alloy prematurely oxidizes the

bonding
elements.
b. Thick oxide layers should be sandblasted to
minimize oxide thickness before adding porcelain.
 FAILURES
• A. Porcelain-to-Metal Fracture:
Most common site for “short-term” failures to occur.
More common for base metals.
1. Fractures originating at the metal surface:
a.Surface metal contamination
b.Incomplete degassing
c.Under-fired opaque porcelain
d.Improper metal thickness
e.Incorrect metal conditioner
f.Reused metal alloy
2. Fracture at the opaque and entering the bulk
porcelain:
a.Porosity at the opaque layer
b.Cracks at the opaque layer
c.Incomplete opaque bonding from firing at too low a
temperature.
• B. Porcelain Fractures:
Most common site for “long-term” failures to occur.
Design or fatigue problems.
• 1. Design or procedural errors:
a. Too little bulk of metal
b. Sharp angles in porcelain
c. Improper margin design

• 2. Malocclusion or impact stresses:

• 3. Thermal contraction incompatibility:
• a. Built-in stresses - generate cracks at pores
• b. Thermal fatigue - propagates cracks
 CONCLUSION
• Since its introduction in the 1950’s, porcelainfused-to-metal
restorations have played an important role in restorative
dentistry because they are able to combine a great color
stability with resistance provided by the metal framework.
• Success of porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations depend
fundamentally on the union ability between the two materials
that should not undergo fatigue or fracturing under different
conditions.
THANK YOU
 REFERENCES
• REVIEW ARTICLE :STUDIES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF
METAL-CERAMIC BOND IN MERGING CERAMIC
MASS ON METAL COMPONENT : 2013
• COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CERAMIC-TO-METAL
BONDING, BRAZ DENT J : 2007
• DENTAL MATERIALS – ANUSAVICE 11th ed