Elemental Release from Ni-Cr Dental Alloy in Artificial Saliva and Saline Solution

Abstract

The aims of this study were to quantify the elements released from a Ni-Cr dental alloy in artificial saliva and saline solution and to test whether immersion time and different immersion media are factors influencing elemental release from a nickel-based dental alloy. Standard sized Ni-Cr alloy castings were put into different immersion media (saline solution or artificial saliva) randomly. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) was used to test the elemental release of the alloy at 1, 3, 7, 30 and 82 days. The surfaces of alloy were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It has been found that except Ni in the artificial saliva, all the other elements remained unchanged statistically in the first week after initial release. The accumulative elemental release showed Cr in both media and Ni in the artificial saliva increased statistically in 30-day period and Ni, Cr, Be, Al, Co increased significantly in 82 days, while Mo in both media and Co in artificial saliva were not yet detected. The total mass of elements released in saline solution was greater than that in artificial saliva. Conclusion: With the immersion time increasing，more kinds of elements were released and more amount of elements released was detected in solutions. The alloy was prone to corrosion in saline solution than in artificial Saliva.