Evaluation of alternative alloys to precious ceramic alloys. 1. Mechanical properties.

In the first part of this study, the microstructures and the mechanical properties of precious, semi-precious, and nonprecious dental casting alloys for the porcelain-baked-to-metal technique have been determined. The semi-precious alloys contained only 50% gold, and palladium, silver, and some base metals. The nonprecious alloys were of the nickel-chromium type. Discs and miniaturized tensile bars have been cast and tested either in the as cast condition, or after a simulation of the various porcelain bakes. Proof stress, ultimate tensile strength, elongation, and plastic stiffness have been measured and results compared by use of analyses of variance. The microstructure examination shows that the simulation of the porcelain bakes improves the homogeneity of the precious and semi-precious alloys. Simultaneously, the mechanical properties of the same alloys are also improved. One semi-precious alloy, still under development at the time of these tests, has its mechanical characteristics markedly downgraded by the thermal treatments. The nickel-chromium alloys exhibit the best range of mechanical properties for the porcelain-baked-to-metal technique, when considering the three most relevant properties: proof stress, plastic stiffness, and modulus of elasticity.