DENTAL CASTiNG OF TITANIUM

and porcelain-fused-to-metal restorations instead of gold or silver alloys. This tendency seems to be the same a]1 over the world, However, the expanded use of nickel-containing base metal alloys in dentistry has raised questions concerning their biological s fety, namely, carcinogenic and sensitivity risks.i) On the other hand, since pure titanium or titanium-based alloys have excellent biocompatibility, they have been applied as dental implants and bone screws or artificial joints in the orthopedic field. Titanium is considered to have following advantages over conventional dental casting alloys: (1) the specific gravity o'f titanium is about a half of nickelor cobalt-based alloys, (2) the corrosion or tarnish resistance of titanium is excellent, (3) the mechanical properties of pure titanium are nearly equal to those ofdental gold alloys, (4) although the price of titanium is about the same or a little higher than that of cobalt or