Alloys for cast partial dentures

Definition
An alloy is defined as a solid mixture of metal
with one or more metals or with non metal.

Classification of Dental Casting Alloys

Dental casting alloys are classified according to
1. Function.
2. Application.
3. ADA specification
Alloy Type by Function
i. Hardness increases from Type I to Type IV.
ii. Type I and Type II alloys are otherwise called inlay
alloys.
iii. Types III and IV are also called as crown and bridge
alloys

 Alloy Type by Function

i. Hardness increases from Type I to Type IV.
ii. Type I and Type II alloys are otherwise called
inlay alloys.
iii. Types III and IV are also called as crown and
bridge alloys

 Type I (Soft Tissue)

i. Used for small inlays, class III and class V
cavities, which are not subjected to high
stress.
ii. They are easily burnished on dies using
indirect technique.
iii. These being highly malleable and ductile
have self-sealing margins like gold foil fillings.

 Type II (Medium)
i. These are indicated for restorations, inlays
subjected to moderate stress like full crowns,
abutments, pontics and occasionally small
saddles.
ii. These alloys are malleable and ductile but to
a lesser degree than Type I alloys because of their
slightly higher hardness value and yield strength.
iii. They are less resistant to tarnish and
corrosion than Type I. They are not self-sealing
like Type I gold alloys.

 Type III (Hard type)

i. These are indicated for restorations, which
are subjected to high stress like abutments,
pontics, full crowns, short span bridges and
denture bases.
ii. They can be age hardened.
iii. Harder and stronger than Type I and II, but
less malleable and ductile than Type II and I.

 Type IV (Extrahard type)

i. These alloys are indicated for long span
bridges, denture bases, bars and clasps of
removable partial dentures, for inlays in patients
with heavy masticatory forces, precision
attachment and three quarter crowns.
ii. These are the strongest and hardest of all
gold alloys and lack ductility and malleability.
iii. These are less resistant to tarnish and
corrosion than Type I, II and III alloys

According to Application
There are three types of alloys
i. Crown and bridge alloys
ii. Metal ceramic alloys
iii. Removable partial denture alloys

 Crown and bridge alloys:

Noble and base metal alloys have been used in the
fabrication of full metal and partial veneer crowns and
fixed partial dentures
i. Noble metal alloys
Gold based: Type III and IV gold alloys, low gold alloys.
Non-gold based: Silver-palladium alloys.
ii. Base metal alloys
Nickel based
Cobalt based

Metal Ceramic alloys

i.
In metal ceramic alloys a strong bond is formed at the porcelain- metal interface. Referred
to as porcelain fused to metal or ceramo-metal alloys.
ii.
High noble alloys
Gold -platinum-palladium alloys
Gold-Platinum-silver alloys
Gold -palladium alloys
iii.
Noble metal alloys for porcelain bonding
High palladium
Palladium silver alloys
Palladium copper alloys
Palladium cobalt alloys
Palladium gallium silver alloys
iv.
Base metal alloys for porcelain bonding
Nickel-chromium
Cobalt -chromium
Titanium and its alloys

 Removable partial denture alloys

Although type IV gold alloys are occasionally employed, most
partial denture frameworks are constructed using base metal alloys.
i.
Gold alloy: (only Type IV is used).
ii. Base metal alloys
Cobalt-chromium
Nickel-chromium
Cobalt chromium-nickel
Titanium and its alloy
According to ADA Specification
In 1984, ADA proposed a simple classification for Dental casting
alloys

Classification of dental casting alloys (ADA specification)

Alloy type
Total noble metal content
1.
High noble
Contains greater than or equal to 40wt percent Au and 60 wt percent of the noble metal elements
(Au+Ir+Os+Pt+Ph+Ru)
2.
Noble metal
Contains greater than or equal to 25 wt percent of the noble metal alloys used for inlay, crown and
bridge, metal ceramic alloys, by virtue of their tarnish and corrosion resistance.
3.
Predominantly base metal
Contains less than 25wt percent of the noble metal elements. Base metals are Ni, Cr, Co, Ti,V, Mo.
They are used in preference to noble metal alloys because of their low cost, increased mechanical
properties, lighter weight and oxide formation (required for bonding to porcelain)

 Common Requirements of the Alloys

1.Stiffness
Important in long span bridges and partial
denture frameworks.Palladium based alloys
have higher stiffness than gold alloys.
2.Resilience
Amount of energy absorbed by a structure
when it is stressed to its proportional limit.

 Crown and bridge alloys

It should have suitable mechanical properties
like high yield strength as these restorations
are subjected to greater masticatory stress.If
the alloy is insufficiently ductile, it may
fracture during the burnishing
process.Hardness of the alloy is an indication
of the difficulty of grinding and finishing of the
alloy.

 Metal ceramic alloys

The main function of metal ceramic alloys is to
reinforce porcelain, thus increasing its resistance
to fracture.The alloy must form surface oxides to
bond to porcelain.The coefficient of thermal
expansion should be compatible with that of
porcelain'Its melting temperature should be
higher than the porcelain firing temperature. It
should be able to resist creep(or) sag at these
temperatures.It should not stain or discolor
porcelain

 Removable partial denture alloys

The material for the connectors of a partial denture should have
the following mechanical properties.
-A high modulus of elasticity, so that it is rigid in thin sections.
-A high proportional limit, so that permanent deformation is
unlikely to occur.
For clasp construction, the materials should have a high
proportional limit.
But a lower modulus of elasticity, so that the clasp is flexible
enough to be withdrawn over undercuts, without either the tooth
or clasp is flexible enough to be withdrawn over undercuts, without
either the tooth or clasps being overstressed.

 Guidelines for selection of alloys

1. The composition of alloys used in the laboratory
should be known.
2. The alloy to which the patient has known allergy
should be specified
in the laboratory prescription.
3. Selection of the alloy should be based on long term
usage and documented clinical results.
4. Alloys with minimal tarnish and corrosion should
be chosen.
5. Single phase alloys should be chosen in
comparison to multiphase
alloys.

 Recent development has been the use of a

sintered metal composite as a metallic
substructure for metal-ceramic restorations.
These composites consist of a sintered high
noble alloy . The result is a composite
between two gold alloys that is of low cost
and fired into a special refractory die. The
porcelain does not bond to an oxide layer in
these systems but presumably bonds
mechanically to a micro-rough gold surface.

 Noble metal alloys

1. Noble metals according to the periodic table are
platinum, palladium,
rhodium, ruthenium, gold,
iridium, osmium and silver.
2. Common property to all these metals is their nobility,
i.e. resistance to tarnish and corrosion.
3. This is attributed to their inertness or inability to form
surface oxides.
they occupy a higher position in the
electromotive series.
4. In dentistry, silver is not noble as it undergoes tarnish
in the oral fluids.
5. The most commonly used noble metals in dentistry
include gold,
palladium and platinum.

 Units of Gold
Karat: It refers to the parts of pure gold in 24
parts of an alloy, e.g. 22 karat means 22 parts of
pure gold and 2 parts of other metals.
Fineness: it refers to the number of parts per
1000 parts of gold, e./g. 750- fineness means 75
percent of pure gold had 25 percent of other
metals.
High noble alloy contains40wt percent Au and60
wt percent of the noble metal elements
(Au+Ir+Os+Pt+Rh+Pd+Ru)

 Uses
i. High noble for all metal and resin veneered
restorations: the alloys contain gold, silver,
copper and platinum.
ii. High noble alloys for metal ceramic
restorations; Metal -ceramic restoration is one in
which the core is made of an ally to which the
porcelain is veneered, the advantage of this
restoration is it combines the strength of the
metal with esthetics of porcelain.

Requirements of alloys for metal ceramic bonding.

i.
Its melting temperature should be higher than the porcelain-firing
temperature. It should be able to resist creep or sag at these
temperatures.
ii.
Its coefficient of thermal expansion should be compatible with that of
porcelain, the alloy and porcelain when subjected to different
temperatures should expand and contract at the same rate.
iii.
They should be able to bond with porcelain,. that is form an oxide layer
that bonds chemically with porcelain. that is form an oxide layer that bonds
chemically with porcelain.
iv.
It should be rigid when mechanical forces are applied. Lack of stiffness
causes the porcelain to fracture.
v.It should not discolor porcelain. this is called greening effect, in which the
corrosion products cause discoloration at the metal procelain junction.
Minimised by: Adding less than 1 percent of oxide forming elements such as iron,
indium, and tin to high gold alloys to improve bond strength. This addition
provides an oxide film on the surface of the substructure to achieve a chemical
bond.

 High noble alloys used are the following

Gold based metal ceramic alloys
PFM alloys containing 740wt/gold at least
60wt/of noble metals.
Gold platinum-palladium alloys
Au-88% , with varying amounts of Pd, Pt and
small amounts of base metal.These alloys are
yellow in color.
Properties; Susceptible to sag deformation.

Gold palladium silver alloys

Au- 39.77%
Od - 3%
Ag-22%
Gold - palladium alloys
Au-44.55%
Pd- 35-45%
Lack of silver results in decrease in coefficient of thermal
expansion. Absence of discoloration of porcelain. So alloys
of this type must be used with porcelains having low
coefficient of thermal expansion to avoid tensile stress in
porcelain

 Noble alloys
It contains 25 percent wt. of noble metal
elements.The noble alloys have moderately high
solidus temperature.Reducing the gold content
lowers the density, which makes the casting less
reliable. Less dense alloys have lower kinetic
energy during casting which in turn reduces
penetration of molten metal into the mold. As a
result these alloys are more difficult to cast

Noble alloys for metal and resin veneer restoration

Silver palladium alloys: these alloys are white and predominantly silver in
composition.
Ag- 70-72
Pd - 25%
Twenty five percent of palladium provides nobility and promotes corrosion and
tarnish resistance.
Palladium based alloys: These are alloys that contain 54 to 88 wt. palladium. They
are economical. workability and scrap value.Palladium has a strong whitening
effect, which means that most of these alloys will have a silvery appearance.
Pd- 53-63%
Ag- 28-40%
Tin or indium-increases alloy hardness and promotes oxide formation for bonding
to porcelain.
Advantages:Ease of castability and workability, adequate porcelain bonding.
Disadvantages ;Discoloration of porcelain during firing is termed as greening.

Greening: The silver vapor escapes from the surface of these alloys during firing of porcelain,
diffuses as ionic silver into the porcelain, and is reduced to form colloidal metallic silver into the
surface layer of porcelain.
Minimizing greening effect
Reducing silver content.
Gold metal conditioners or ceramic coating agents.
Palladium copper alloy
it contains 74 to 80 percent palladium and 9 to 15 percent copper.These alloys are multi-phased.
Copper (i) imparts reddish color and hardens the alloy through solid solution hardening and
formation of phases (ii) reduces melting point.
Advantages
-increased hardness, yield strength and elongation values.
-easier to handle.
Disadvantages
-susceptible to creep deformation because of low melting range.
-dark brown or black oxide formation during oxidation and porcelain firing cycles.
-copper ions have been implicated in producing lichenoid reactions