Corrosion of weldments in orthodontic appliances

Abstract

The study of corrosion-related problems of dental materials has undergone a considerable development in recent years in order to avoid the use of materials with insufficient corrosion resistance in patients' mouth. The subject of the present work was to study a particular type of corrosion: galvanic corrosion. One of the most common case of galvanic couples in patients' mouth are the orthodontic appliances. The materials studied in the present work were stainless steel strips and silver-copper wires, isolated and welded between them. The electrochemical tests were performed in a NaCl 0.1M and Lactic Acid 0.1M solution (pH 2.3), and after test, the specimens were observed using the optical and scanning electron microscope. The results show that when stainless steel is coupled with a silver solder, the last is the anode of the galvanic couple. As a consequence of this, the silver solder undergone a severe attack. Stainless steel orthodontic appliances with silver solder are feasibly destroyed due to a severe attack on the filler metal disjoining the welded parts.