Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influencing factors of metal and alloy corrosion resistance in the oral cavity, and to improve its corrosion resistance.
METHODS: By using “corrosive, corrosion resistance, dental alloys, prosthodontics, dental materials” as Chinese keywords and “Corrosive, Corrosion resistance, Dental alloys, Prosthodontics, Dental Materials” as English keywords, a computer search was performed on PubMed database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed) and VIP Database (http://www.cqvip.com/) between January 1993 and October 2009. Articles related to the corrosion of dental metal and alloy materials were included; repeated study or Meta analysis articles were excluded. Fifteen articles mainly focus on the impact factor on the corrosion resistance of dental metals and alloys.
RESULTS: The corrosion of metals and alloys mainly is various forms of electrochemical corrosion, the main impact factors include alloy composition, pH value, medium composition and dissimilar metals. There are many studies regarding the improvement of metal and alloy corrosion resistance, mainly by changing the composition and surface modification of dental alloys. Noble metals, inert elements, and active metal elements easy to form dense oxide film all have good corrosion resistance, so these elements are suggested to add more to enhance corrosion resistance when dental alloys are used. Deep cryogenic technology can improve many mechanical properties of materials, stabilize chemical composition, improve corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, and get a good dimensional stability. To prevent galvanic corrosion, we should choose the same kind of materials or choose the metals or alloys which are similar to steady electric potential in the galvanic series for dental materials.
CONCLUSION: The performance of metal and alloy materials still needs improvement, more researches are deserved to improve the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of dental alloys, thus minimizing the impact on the human body.