Effect of galvanic coupling between titanium alloy and stainless steel on behavior of corrosion of dental implants

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in dental implant manufacturing due its favorable properties, such as, biocompatibility, high mechanical strength and high corrosion resistance. This last one, is a result of the ability of titanium to form an oxide film (TiO2) in contact with oxygen. However, a several factors can accelerate the corrosion process of implants in contact with the oral environment, such as, acidification of the medium, differential aeration, inflammatory conditions, presence of protein and the junction of diferent metals. The goals of this research is to investigate the corrosion effect of galvanic coupling between titanium alloy (grade V) and stainless steel 316L. The investigative technique adopted was the scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) in phosphate buffer solution simulating inflammatory conditions. The results showed detrimental effects of acidity of the environment, induced by inflammatory conditions, accelerate the oxidation of Ti-6Al-4V. SVET maps and SEM images for the junction of the different metals showed that the region with the highest electrochemical activity it is at the interface between the metals, mostly concentrated on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, depending on the conditions of the medium.