Corrosion in the oral cavity--potential local and systemic effects

The main current-generating corrosion cells in the oral cavity are the bimetallic cell and the concentration cell, the latter mainly occurring due to differences in access to oxygen in the various parts of the metallic material. Corrosion resistance is not an intrinsic property of a metal or an alloy for it depends on an interaction with the environment. Thus, the contents of the oral cavity, have a decisive influence. This implies that corrosion tests in vitro are of limited value in predicting the clinical corrosion behaviour of a metallic material. Results from a series of clinical studies concerning a possible relationship between galvanic currents and certain oral and other symptoms in a group of patients who had been referred to the Faculty of Odontology, University of Umeå, are briefly presented. The possibility of local and systemic effects of intra-oral galvanic cells is discussed.