The rector of UIC Barcelona, Dr Xavier Gil, and Dr Lluis Giner, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, are two of the principal investigators involved in the study entitled “Corrosion Resistance and Ion Release of Dental Prosthesis of CoCr Obtained by CAD-CAM Milling, Casting and Laser Sintering”. The research has been published recently in the journal Metals and demonstrates how dental prostheses made using computer-aided design methods obtain better results in terms of corrosion resistance and ion release than those made using traditional casting methods.   

 

“The casted and laser sintered samples have shown the presence of defects such as pores, internal contraction and micro-segregations in the form of precipitates, among others”, the study explains, adding that “these defects could eventually lead to the appearance of micro-galvanic corrosion mechanisms”.

 

In order to conduct the study, the researchers have assessed corrosion resistance and ion release behaviour in thirty dental restoration samples obtained by three different manufacturing systems: computer-aided design and manufacturing, traditional casting and laser sintering.

 

Alongside UIC Barcelona, researchers from the Barcelona Dental Institute, the Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering group (BBT) from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the UPC and the Porto Dental Institute, have also participated in the study.