Abstract
Recently, titanium and its alloy have been widely used in clinical applications such as denture bases, dental implants, crowns, or orthodontic wires, because they have high corrosion resistance, superior chemical stability, and biocompatibility. However, it was reported that the corrosion resistance of titanium and its alloy was decreased in fluoride containing solution, which is clinically used for the prevention of dental caries. But these reports were based on an in vitro study. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the corrosion resistance of titanium and its alloy in the presence of fluoride close to the clinical condition. Titanium and its alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) were immersed in fluoride prophylactic agents (NaF solution: NEO^<TM>, 9,000ppm F or F-rinse solution: Miranor^<TM>, 450ppm F) and then artificial saliva. After immersion, a differential colorimeter was used to assess the degree of corrosion. Morphological changes in the titanium surface were examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mean color change values (ΔE) were statistically analyzed by the west at a significance level of p=0.05. There were no significant differences in ΔE values between before and after immersion in F-rinse solution or NaF solution for titanium and Ti-6Al-4V. SEM images demonstrated similar surfaces before and after immersion in F-rinse solution as well as NaF solution for titanium and Ti-6Al-4V. These results indicate that there is no problem in the clinical dental practice whereby titanium and Ti-6Al-4V contact NaF solution or F-rinse solution.
