HAL 355-357

Color is one of the most obvious physical properties of an alloy.

Although the color has no biologic significance, it is equated with
quality in the minds of many dentists. Sometimes this color factor
seems to matter more to the dentist than to the patient.
When the gold content of an alloy is decreased and metals such as
silver and palladium are substituted, yellow color is lost. These less
yellow dental alloys are not yet widely accepted. In fact, the
profession's desire for gold color is so strong that gold-colored
semiprecious and nonprecious alloys are commercially available,
even though their other physical and chemical properties fall far short
of those of even the cheapest white alloys. In some countries, yellow
alloys of copper and nickel are currently quite popular.
If an alloy is gold colored, it must contain copper, gold, or both.
However, an alloy can contain substantial amounts of gold or copper
without appearing yellow. Good examples of this apparent
contradiction are jewelers' white gold and some popular gold alloys
for PFM restorations (such as Degudent U, Degussa; SMG-3, Ney).
The latter products contain more than 80% gold, yet no yellow color
is seen because of the strong whitening effects of palladium and
platinum.
Color can be a misleading indicator of composition; dentists should
consider other physical and chemical properties as more important
than color when a casting alloy is selected.
Some important physical and chemical properties to consider when
choosing a cast alloy are:
1. Noble metal content: the weight (or better, the atomic) percentage
of the seven noble metals contained in an alloy
2. Hardness: the Vickers hardness number (VHN), a measure of
resistance to indentation
3. Yield strength: a measure of the stress required to cause permanent
deformation under tension
4. Elongation: the amount of permanent deformation a metal
undergoes when loaded to its fracture point
5. Fusion temperature: the approximate temperature at which an alloy
separates under its own weight from partial melting
All of these characteristics have clinical significance. The noble metal
content determines, to a large extent, the corrosion resistance and
inert properties of the alloy. Hardness is important in relation to
occlusal wear resistance and finishing and affects polishing
properties. Yield strength is necessary in determining load-bearing
ability, especially in fixed partial dentures. Elongation relates to
margin-finishing properties, especially important in partial veneer
crowns and abutments. It is important to remember that the elongation
value for an alloy may be clinically irrelevant if the yield strength is
high. To use the potential elongation, stresses exceeding the yield
strength must be applied to move the metal. Within each group of
alloys, yield strength generally increases with increasing hardness.
Fusion temperature is important in relation to solder melting ranges
and correlates with sag resistance.
Porcelain-Metal Compatibility
Thermal expansion, bond strength, and composition are also
important properties to consider when choosing among alloys for
PFM restorations. These characteristics determine porcelain-metal
compatibility.
Thermal expansion is important because a state of zero residual stress
is desirable for porcelain in the final restoration. Such a state is
achieved when the total expansions and contractions of the porcelain
and metal are matched between the porcelain firing temperature and
room temperature.
Porcelain-to-metal bond strength ensures retention of porcelain both
in the oral environment and during thermal processing, when the
induced thermal stresses can be quite high.
Composition is a key factor in porcelain-metal compatibility because
some components of an alloy can affect the color of the porcelain,
perhaps compromising the esthetics of a restoration. Among the
alternative alloys, those containing silver are often associated with
porcelain color changes and can cause "greening" of some brands of
porcelain. The mechanism for this porcelain discoloration is an
exchange between silver from the alloy and sodium from the
porcelain. The exchange process requires an oxidizing atmosphere,
but a subsequent reducing atmosphere is required to produce the
colloidal precipitate responsible for color changes in the porcelain.
Other Properties
Because the cross-sectional area of metal used in PFM restorations is
usually smaller than that of all-metal restorations, physical properties
such as yield strength of the alloy are crucial in design. Stress in turn
controls the minimum allowable dimensions of critical areas like
connectors. The elastic modulus is equally important because it
determines the flexibility of the metal framework. Flexibility is
inversely proportional to elastic modulus; an alloy with a high elastic
modulus will flex less under load than an alloy of low elastic
modulus.
Chemical properties are important because they affect tarnish
resistance, corrosion resistance, and thermal stability. Thermal
properties are critical in alloys for PFM restorations because the alloy
must have a sufficiently elevated melting temperature range to
provide dimensional stability during the porcelain firing cycle.
Thermal creep results in distortions such as sag in fixed partial
denture frameworks and margin opening during the porcelain firing
cycles.
Casting accuracy must, of course, be sufficient to provide clinically
acceptable castings. In addition to dimensional accuracy (a strong
function of technique), the mold-filling ability also contributes to
casting accuracy.
Biocompatibility includes a number of factors, among them
cytotoxicity and tissue
irritation. Potential biologic hazards from the base metal alloys,
particularly nickel and beryllium, are controversial. These potential
hazards may affect not only the patient but also the dentist or
technician who makes the restoration. The lack of data and long-term
clinical experience suggests caution in using base metal alloys,
particularly for people with known sensitivity to base metals. To date,
however, neither experimental data nor clinical experience
unequivocally contraindicate the use of alloys containing these
potentially toxic elements, even in patients known to be sensitive to
them.
The following discussion of each alloy group is intended to be general
and not necessarily specific to the proprietary products. The product
examples were chosen based on their status as the historical
forerunners of each alloy group. Table 14-3 lists properties of alloys
used in dentistry for crowns and copings.

Table 14-3 Typical properties of alloys for PFM restoration

Group Vickers Elastic Yield strength Specific
hardness modulus psi (MPa) gravity
number psi x
6
10
(Gpa)
High gold 182 13 (90) 65,000 (448) 18.3
Gold-palladium (no 220 18 (124) 83,000 (572) 13.5
silver)
Gold-palladium-
silver 218 16 (110) 63,600 (439) 13.8

Palladium-copper 425 14 (96) 166,000 10.6

(1,145)
Palladium-silver 242 20 (138) 77,000 (531) 11.1

Nickel-chromium 257 29 (207) 58,000 (400) 8.7

Nickel-chromium- 357 31 (213) 116,000 (800) 7.8

beryllium

High-Gold Alloys
Porcelain-fused-to-metal technology was introduced to the dental
profession introduction of Ceramco No. 1 alloy in 1958. The alloy
was a forerunner of the improved high-gold alloys that remain on the
market today, such as Jelenko O (Jelenko).
The high-gold alloys are composed principally of gold and platinum
group metals. Gold content in these alloys varies from 78% to 87% by
weight, and total noble metal content is about 97%. Small amounts of
tin, indium, and iron are added for strength and to promote a good
porcelain bond to metal oxide. Because of their high nobility, these
alloys tend to be costly, both in terms of their cost per ounce and their
high density, resulting in heavy castings.
High-gold alloys are usually light yellow in color, although some are
white. Some are very yellow, apparently in response to the gold
mystique previously discussed. The properties of the very yellow
alloys are usually inferior to other products in the group, and their low
tensile strength in particular makes them a questionable choice for
fixed