Progress in Corrosion Studies of Non-noble Dental Alloys

Abstract

The corrosion behaviour of metals plays a decisive role in evaluating the use of metal alloys as biomaterials; thus, the in vitro evaluation of metallic material corrosion resistance represents an important stage in the process of developing new biomaterials. Dental alloys used in oral rehabilitation are to be kept in contact with the patient saliva for several years, thus they need to be resistant to corrosion in the presence of the oral cavity fluid. During the corrosion process, ions that may have adverse effects for the human health may be released. A potential difference of a few or various mV may be established as well as galvanic currents flowing through the saliva and the metallic contacts with metallic ions release. Another aspect is the development of cheap and anticorrosive dental material. The high costs of noble dental alloys have led to the development of various alloy materials, which are more economical. Cr–based alloys are among the most common materials applied in dentistry and in implants. The evaluation results of the corrosion resistance of two Cr-based non-noble alloys will be presented and discussed.