Mercury and dental alloys

Metal alloys used for fixed or removable prostheses are designed not to harm the human body. Yet, although they are very close to this goal, they still have not fully achieved it.
These alloys are gold-based in combination with other metal components such as palladium, indium, iridium, gallium, silver and copper which release oxides during the alloy melting process. These oxides, on coming into contact with the saliva and the tissues that surround the teeth, release metal ions which can have a toxic effect on the body, at both a local and a wider scale.
Indeed, metal ions are responsible for disorders such as: gum bleeding, aphtha, stomatitis, tongue reddening, taste alterations, gingival hyperplasia associated with chronic paradontitis and excessive production of plaque.
Systemic effects can however occur in the form of allergies, eczemas, ophthalmic disorders, neurological disorders, gastroenteric diseases, rhinitis, pharyngitis and tinnitus.

However, we need to remember that no material exists that is inert and not subject to corrosion in the oral cavity: indeed, each metal put into contact with another metal in a humid environment causes an oxidation-reduction reaction.

Nevertheless, gold-based alloys are those which, thanks to a given heat treatment that is applied in our studio by general rule, can be stabilised so as to prevent the formation of oxides.