Galvanic corrosion of selected dental alloys

Samples prepared from three different amalgam brands were coupled to two gold alloys and orthodontic brackets. In the resulting galvanic cells, the amalgam coupled to gold were anodic, exhibiting galvanic current densities about one order of magnitude higher than the uncoupled corrosion current densities of 0.2-0.5 microA. Coupling amalgams to orthodontic brackets resulted in galvanic current densities of the same magnitude as the uncoupled samples. Corrosion current densities at the anode were found to be up to six times higher than the measured galvanic current densities. Brushing caused transient increases in galvanic current densities that decayed within 100 s to the previous steady state levels. Brushing of amalgam/bracket couples, caused an anodic peak followed by brief polarization reversal during which the brackets were anodic.