The effect of matrix phase morphology on the structure of Ag-Cu-Pd dispersed phase dental amalgam.

The effect of an Ag-Cu-Pd dispersant alloy on the structure of amalgams fabricated with two different particle types of low-copper amalgam matrices was investigated. In amalgams L and L (0), a low-copper lathe-cut amalgam Aristalloy was used as the matrix. In amalgams S and S(0), the matrix used was Spheralloy, a low-copper spherical amalgam. X-ray diffraction was used to analyse the relative content of the phases in the amalgams. The presence of Pd in the dispersant of amalgams L and S resulted in a decrease in the amount of eta' (Cu6Sn5) and an increase in the amount of unreacted particles when compared to the controls L(0) and S(0). Amalgams fabricated with a spherical alloy matrix (S and S(0)) showed a greater effect than amalgams fabricated with a lathe-cut matrix alloy (L and L(0)).