Smith D L
Int Dent J. 1983 Mar;33(1):25-34.
In the USA, gold alloys have played a prominent role in oral health maintenance for more than 100 years. Recently, however, a marked trend toward substitution of palladium-silver and nickel-chromium based materials for the more costly gold alloys has been observed. It is estimated that 60-80 per cent of all permanent dental appliances (crowns and bridges) are now fabricated from non-gold alloys. For the most part, increased user demand for alloy products of relatively low intrinsic value has affected adversely the profitability of the larger USA casting alloy suppliers. The likelihood of a reversal of the trend occurring during the 1980s is not great. All major USA dental alloy manufacturers have found it necessary to market an ever increasing spectrum of low cost alloy products. Impetus for this production of a new generation of dental casting alloys has risen mainly from the perceived purchasing patterns of current and future customers. It is anticipated that the 'down-grading' of dental casting alloys will continue until plastics, mouldable ceramics or other inexpensive industrial materials replace metals in the fabrication of permanently cemented dental devices. Until then, it is likely that gold alloys will remain the ultimate prosthetic materials in the minds of dental academicians while technique-sensitive and unproved metallic products of low intrinsic value will continue to gain greater acceptance by practising dentists, laboratory technicians and patients.
在美国，金合金在口腔健康维护方面已发挥了100多年的重要作用。然而，最近出现了一种明显的趋势，即用钯银和镍铬基材料取代成本更高的金合金。据估计，现在所有永久性牙科修复体（牙冠和牙桥）中有60%至80%是由非金合金制成的。在很大程度上，用户对相对低内在价值合金产品需求的增加，对美国较大的铸造合金供应商的盈利能力产生了不利影响。20世纪80年代出现这种趋势逆转的可能性不大。美国所有主要牙科合金制造商都发现有必要销售越来越多的低成本合金产品。新一代牙科铸造合金生产的动力主要源于当前和未来客户的购买模式。预计牙科铸造合金的“降级”趋势将持续下去，直到塑料、可模塑陶瓷或其他廉价工业材料在永久性粘结牙科器械制造中取代金属。在此之前，金合金在牙科专业人士心目中可能仍将是终极修复材料，而技术敏感且未经充分验证、内在价值低的金属产品将继续得到执业牙医、实验室技术人员和患者更多的认可。
