DENTAL CASTING ALLOY

PRESENTED BY :
KHUNDRAKPAM HARISH SINGH
ROLL NO. =22
BDS 2 N D YEAR
Contents:
Topic : Dental casting alloy
Introduction
Historical Perspective
Classification
Desirable Properties
Introduction:
Today the dental profession has access to a wide variety of casting
alloys.
These alloys are designed for specific clinical purposes like:
. Inlays
. Bridges
. Partial dentures
.Onlays
. Crowns
. Porcelain fused to metal restorations
ALLOY :
 A mixture of two or more metals or metalloids that are mutually soluble
in the molten state; distinguished as binary, ternary, quaternary, etc.,
depending on the number of metals within the mixture.
 Alloying elements are added to alter the hardness, strength, and
toughness of a metallic element, thus obtaining properties not found in
a pure metal
Casting:
Something that has been cast in a mold; an object formed by the
solidification of a fluid that has been poured or injected into a mold.

Historical Perspective on Dental Casting Alloys

Year Event
1789 Jean Darcet introduced Low-fusing metal alloy
1907 Introduction of Lost-Wax Technique by W.H.Taggart
1933 Replacement of Co-Cr for Gold in Removable Partial Denture
1950 Development of Resin Veneers for Gold Alloys
1959 Introduction of the Porcelain Fused-to-Metal Technique
1968 Palladium-Based Alloys as Alternatives to Gold Alloy
1971 Nickel-Based Alloys as Alternatives to Gold Alloys
1980s Introduction of All-Ceramic Technologies
1999 Gold Alloys as Alternatives to Palladium-Based Alloys
CLASSIFICTION OF DENTAL CASTING ALLOY
• The carat system specifies the gold content of an alloy based on parts of
gold per 24 parts of the alloy.
• Fineness is the unit that describes the gold content in noble metal alloys
by the number of parts of gold per 1000 parts of alloy.
• Dental alloys for dental castings can be classified according to
1.their composition,
2.their intended usage,
3.their mechanical properties.
ALLOY CLASSIFICATION BY NOBLE METAL CONTENT

American Dental Association (1984)

1. High noble (HN)----- Must contain ≥40% Au and ≥60% by
weight of noble metal elements*
2.Noble (N)----- Must contain ≥25% by weight of noble metal elements
3.Predominantly base metal (PB)------ Contains <25% by weight of noble
metal elements
*Noble metal elements include Au, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, Ir, and Os.
ALLOY CLASSIFICATION BY MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Type Descriptor Yield strength Elongation(%) Examples of
(Mpa) application
1 low 80 18 Inlays

2 Medium 180 10 Inlays and onlays

3 Hard 270 5 Onlays, thin cast

backings, full
crowns, saddles
4 Extra hard 360 3 Saddles, bars,
claps, crowns,
bridges, and
partial denture
frameworks
ALLOY CLASSIFICATION BY PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
• Alloys may be classified based on the principal or most abundant
element (e.g., a palladium-based alloy), or they may be named based on
the two or three most important elements (e.g., Pd-Ag, Co-Cr, or Ni-Cr-
Be alloys).
ALLOY CLASSIFICATION BY DENTAL APPLICATIONS
There are three categories of dental alloys designated by their application ,
including all-metal fixed prostheses, metal ceramic prostheses, or
removable partial dentures.
Classification of Metallic Material for Dental Applications—ISO 22674 (2006)
Type Yield Strength Elongation (%) Examples of Applications
(MPa)
0 -- -- Single-tooth fixed restorations—e.g., small
veneered one-surface inlays, veneered
crowns
1 80 18 Single-tooth fixed restorations, veneered or no
veneered one-surface inlays,
veneered crowns
2 180 10 For single-tooth fixed restorations—e.g.,
crowns or inlays without restriction on the
number of surfaces
3 270 5 For multiple-unit fixed restorations—e.g.,
bridges
4 360 2 For appliances with thin cross sections that are
subjected to very high forces—e.g.,
removable partial dentures, clasps, thin
veneered crowns, wide-span bridges or
bridges with small cross sections, bars,
attachments, implant retained
superstructures
5 500 2 For thin removable partial dentures, parts with
tin cross sections, clasps

*Metallic materials for metal-ceramic crowns produced by electroforming

or sintering belong to type 0.
Desirable Properties of Dental Casting Alloys

 All casting alloys must first be biocompatible and then exhibit sufficient
physical and mechanical properties to ensure adequate function and
structural durability over long periods of time.
 Depending on the primary purpose of the prosthesis, such as to restore
function, enhance aesthetics, or maintain occlusion, the choice of casting
alloy or metal is made.
Some of the clinically important properties and requirements of the
alloys are :

Biocompatibility: The alloy should not react with the oral fluids and
release any harmful products in oral environment.

Resistance to tarnish: Tarnish is a thin film of a surface deposit or an

interaction layer that is adherent to the metal surface. Tarnish is usually
on silver alloys and on gold alloys with higher silver content.

Resistance to corrosion: Corrosion may lead to catastrophic failure;

oxidized components may discolor natural teeth, porcelain veneers and
soft tissues.
Corrosion also contribute to galvanic shock due to the electrons released
during corrosion.
Released metallic components may cause metallic taste in the mouth.
The presence of noble metals in alloy increases resistance to corrosion.

Non-allergenic: Although toxic materials are eliminated from the alloys.

However, some individuals exhibits allergic reactions
to some components.
Aesthetics: The alloys must be in optimal balance among the properties of
aesthetics, fit, abrasive potential and clinical survivability.

Thermal Properties: For metal-ceramic restorations, the alloys or metals

must have closely matching thermal expansion to be compatible with a
given porcelain, and they must tolerate high processing temperatures.

The melting range of alloys must be low enough to form smooth surfaces
with the mold walls of the investment.
Liquidus and solidus temperatures:

Liquidus temperature: Temperature at which an alloy begins to freeze on

cooling or at which the metal is completely molten on heating.
Solidus temperature: Temperature at which an alloy becomes solid on
cooling or at which the metal begins to melt on heating.
Hence we can say that the melting of the alloys starts at solidus temperature
and is completed at liquidus temperature.
• An alloy must be heated above its liquidus to be cast successfully.
• Alloys with the lower the solidus temperature is preferred as the lower
shrinkage occurs during cooling.
Hardness: The hardness of an alloy should be sufficient enough to
resist wear by the opposing tooth or restoration. At the same time, it
should not be high enough to cause wear of the opposing enamel
(VHN of enamel is 340 kg/mm²).Hardness of an alloy should not be
less than 125 kg/mm² or greater than 340 kg/mm²
Ease of fabrication: The material should be easily manipulated and the
procedure for fabrication should not be too complicated and lengthy.

Castability: To achieve accurate details in a cast framework or prosthesis,

the molten metal must able to wet the investment mold material very well
and flow into the most intricate regions of the mold without any appreciable
interaction with the investment and without forming porosity within the
surface or sub surface region.
Finishing of cast metal: Some metals are harder, hence more difficult to
finish and polish. Some noble metal alloys are more ductile and malleable,
hence care should be taken during finishing of the casting. The hardness of
an alloy is a good indicator of the difficulty in grinding and finishing of
the alloy.

Porcelain Bonding: The alloy used in metal-ceramic restorations should be

able to form a thin, adherent layer of oxide on its surface to enable proper
bonding with ceramic.
The alloy must have a coefficient of thermal expansion/contraction closely
matching to that of ceramic so as to create compressive stresses to enhance
fracture resistance of the ceramic.
Fatigue resistance:
Fatigue behavior is determined experimentally by subjecting a material to a
cyclic stress between two value and determining the number of cycles
required to produce failure (fracture).
Co-Cr alloys have high fatigue resistance, followed by type 4 gold alloy,
Ti-6Al-4V and CP Ti.
 CONCLUSION:
 Although the use of metal and alloys is on decline in the field of
dentistry owing to esthetics concerns of the patients and disadvantages
of various properties of metal and their alloys.
 They are still use in restorative and implant dentistry.
 The use of these material will not become obsolete and the clinician
needs to have a better understanding of their properties in order to use
them judiciously in clinical situations.
REFERENCE:
1. Phillips’ science of dental materials
2. Material use in dentistry – S.Mahalaxmi
THANK YOU