Influence of the heat treatment of commercial amalgam alloys on the phase composition of the alloys and the creep of the resulting amalgams.

The influence of heat treatment of dental alloys at several temperatures on the phases present in the alloy and the creep of the resulting amalgam as well as the correlation between phase changes and the creep was investigated. A dependence of the creep on the temperature of the heat treatment of the alloy was established. Substantial phase changes were observed after the different heat treatments. No correlation was detected between the creep rate and the changes in phases present in the dental alloys. A thermodynamically oriented explanation of the relation between the creep of the amalgam and the state of (non-) equilibrium of the corresponding amalgam alloy was proposed and discussed.