For as long as humans have been repairing teeth, precious metal alloys have played a fundamental role in the dental restoration industry. Whether it’s gold, silver, platinum, or more modern solutions like titanium, these minerals are the bedrock of modern (and historic) dentistry. Thanks to their compatibility and ease of use in ceramometal bonding, these alloys continue to stock the shelves of dentists worldwide.

Sterngold has been a pioneer in the dental restoration business since the 1890s, when gold was the name of the game. In fact, Sterngold fashioned the first consistently formulated and alloyed dental casting golds! As the company’s manufacturing capacity grew, it continued to devote its efforts to the production of fine precious metal products, including attachments, STERN golds, and solders.

While gold ruled in the Gilded Age, other metals have since found their way into the business. Silver, platinum, palladium, titanium, and other metal alloys now find applications across modern dentistry.

Why Do Dentists Use Precious Metals?

Putting precious metals in your mouth is nothing new. In fact, evidence for metal alloys like gold in dental applications dates as far back as the Etruscans in Bronze Age Italy. Artifacts unearthed seem to suggest that the Etruscans fashioned gold bands to serve as retainers, stabilizers for loose teeth, or anchors for replacements. Across the Mediterranean, from Italy to Egypt, gold seems to have been a standard dental restoration alloy.

Ancient Mediterranean dentistry turned to precious metals for the same reasons we do now: their ease of manipulation, non-reactive nature, and biocompatibility. Nonferrous or “noble” metals (such as gold, platinum, palladium, and iridium) interact with oral environments, food, air, and water without wearing or rusting.

Just like our ancestors, we use these noble metals today for restorative applications such as inlays, onlays, crowns, and bridges by lost-wax investment castings. However, we’ve since discovered that combining metals can create a product that plays to each metal’s strengths. For example, pure gold is soft and malleable, which is not the most suitable texture for crowns. But mixing in just 10% copper can increase tensile strength and hardness fourfold! For this reason, most metals employed in dentistry today are alloys.

dental alloys

Gold and Silver in Dentistry

Gold alloys dominated the dental precious metals market until the late 1960s. The deregulation of open market gold prices then scrambled the long-running situation; the next three decades saw an abundance of alloys introduced as lower-cost substitutes for gold alloys.

Thanks to the proliferation of these new metals, the use of pure gold is not particularly common in modern dentistry. Gold typically finds use in mixtures nowadays, as part of dental alloy that often contains silver, copper, zinc, and other metals; due to cost, pure gold is generally only used for small cavities.

Gold-based alloy, however, remains popular for dental crowns, since it seals well. Gold is highly resistant to corrosion and wear and is very biocompatible, requiring minimal removal of healthy tooth tissue in comparison to other metals. For all these reasons, gold has persisted since the earliest days of dentistry to the present. Even as cheaper, stronger metals proliferate, gold remains an integral part of the industry.

Despite past uses and current assumptions, silver in its purest form does not have a place in modern dentistry. While a precious metal, silver is not a “noble” metal—it can and will tarnish over time. As such, substantial use of silver in oral applications can cause tooth discoloration and irritation. However, silver compounds are still used in the industry to a limited degree, as they are effective in preventing and impeding dental caries. Silver’s antibacterial properties makes it useful in small amounts in alloys.

Other Precious Metals in Dental Alloys

While the primary driver for a switch to other metals might have been the rising cost of gold, that’s not the only reason. These other base metal alloys (think nickel, zinc, chromium, beryllium, and copper) have also become popular due to their higher resiliency.

Today, stainless steel alloy mostly sees use in short-term crowns. Medical-grade stainless steel is also very tissue-friendly, another plus. However, since these replacements see large-scale production with a limited number of shapes, they don’t necessarily allow sufficient customization for a long-term restorative seal.

Cobalt chromium is another popular alternative, due to its strength, durability, corrosion-resistant properties, and low cost. It bonds well to porcelain, which makes it a common choice for porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) crowns. Extended biocompatibility is still in research, but it seems a promising option for long-term installation.

Although nickel-chromium alloys are famously strong, they have also been linked to hypersensitivity. Ongoing studies to assess toxicity when the alloy is presented in large quantities have thus raised new biocompatibility concerns.

The Present and the Future: Titanium in Dental Products

While various newer metal alloys and metal-free alternatives have all had their moment in the sun, titanium is rising above as a superior implant material for restorative dentistry.

Noble metal alloys are expensive, while some base metal alloys pose potential health risks. Meanwhile, all-porcelain applications chip and fracture easily, and thus are not suitable for long-term solutions. In comes titanium. Extremely resilient, yet lighter than gold alloy, titanium in both pure and alloy form is quickly rising to preferred status for dental prostheses and oral implants. Titanium also has a very high success rate, providing a comfortable and secure dental restoration. Surface activation of titanium also allows for faster healing and shorter treatment, further improving implant therapy and biological integrity.

Although titanium has been used in dentistry for five decades now, there is still room for improvement. However, titanium’s clear advantages make it the likely next step in dental restoration advancement.

Restorative Dentistry That Stands the Test of Time

Sterngold knows a thing or two about dental history, having been in the industry for over 125 years. From the golden days, through the tests of alternative alloys, and into the titanium shift, we’ve been at the helm of restorative dentistry every step of the way.

Today, Sterngold continues to provide dental alloy products, such as gold for alloying and platinum foil, while using titanium for its dental implants. Contact Sterngold today for dental restoration materials that stands the test of time.