Measurement of oxide adherence to PFM alloys

A method has been reported for evaluating adherence of an oxide to its substrate metal to a maximum value of about 40 MPa. Oxidized alloy plates were cemented between two aluminum cylinders with a high-strength cyanoacrylate cement and loaded in tension until failure occurred either at the oxide/metal interface, within the oxide layer, or in the cement itself. Significant differences were found among the oxide adherence values obtained from different PFM alloys. The oxides formed on five of the alloys exhibited adherence strengths in excess of the published value for cohesive strength of dental opaque porcelain, indicating that they possess sufficient adherence to act as the transition zone between the porcelain and the alloy. In addition, a correspondence was found between the quality of porcelain bond for a given alloy and its oxide adherence strength. These results remove the principal objection to the oxide-layer theory of porcelain bonding in dental alloy systems and emphasize the importance of oxide adherence in the establishment of a bond. It is therefore suggested that future work devoted to porcelain-metal bonding should seek to elucidate the mechanism of oxide adherence to PFM alloys and explore the development of new alloys which form adherent oxides.