The development of new dental alloy with high Au-content

This project would focus on studying a production technique for a new gold dental alloy for the porcelain technique and, consequently the alloy metals properties in regard to the future roles of this alloy in restorative and preventative dentistry. The inert nature of gold and its pliability make it a natural material for the dental environment. Because pure gold is very soft (HV 25), has a very low 0,2% proof stress (30 MPa), and a large elongation (45%) it must, for the above mentioned usage be alloyed to the right metal elements. The proposed new gold dental alloy would be composed of more than 75 wt. % of Au and Pt – group metals (high carat dental casting alloy), and would contain three or more alloying elements. The general procedure for dental material selection would be done in the following steps: extensive analysis of dental material requirements (mechanical, physical and chemical properties, according to metallurgical and processing considerations), development of alternative solutions to the problem of material selection, evolution of different solutions and candidates for dental material, decision on the optimum content of Au dental material.

Research results enable the broadening of fundamental knowledge in the fields of: - the development of a new product and production technology: the production of a new Au dental alloy – new products with known technology (declaration of SLO patent), - a new scientific law: physical model of optimal strengthening mechanism for high carat Au dental material; - a new scientific knowledge: Determination of the important properties and biocompatibility of Au- dental alloys, physical metallurgy of dental alloy crystallisation, correlations between the processing, microstructure and properties of dental alloys, determination of wettability between basic Au dental alloy and porcelain.

Industry: (directly): Zlatarna Celje d.d.- Dental For Slovenian technological development: - To create fundamentals for the future production of Au dental alloys with special and improved properties, as well as the transfer of know-how to industrial praxis; - Development of advanced technologies (production of Au dental alloys, that can be used for the production of other advanced materials); - Development of methods for testing biocompatibility of high nobel Au- dental alloys - The possibility of transferring the developed and experimentally-verified physical models of studied technological processes (technologies) on other research problems.