Dental alloys for porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations

Abstract

A dental alloy for use in porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations including palladium, cobalt, gallium, gold, aluminum, copper, zinc and ruthenium or rhenium. The cobalt controls the coefficient of thermal expansion of the alloy to permit the use of the alloy with commercially available porcelains having a variety of thermal coefficients. The zinc serves as a scavenger during formation and casting of the alloy. The aluminum protects the alloy from absorbing gases during torch melting and during the porcelain firing process. The ruthenium or rhenium provides grain refining for the alloy to increase its elongation, tensile strength, and thus toughness. The alloy with ruthenium or rhenium as a grain refining agent must be made in a protective environment to avoid the formation of bubbles in the porcelain during the porcelain firing process.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.