What are the three noble metals used in dentistry?

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Answer 1 · 2016-02-28T00:50:49

The three noble metals used in dentistry are gold, platinum, and palladium.

The pure metals are never used in dentistry, because their alloys have superior properties.

There are three basic categories of dental alloys.

High noble alloys

These must contain over 60 % noble metal (#"Au, Pd, Pt"#) and more than 40 % must be gold.

A typical alloy contains 77% #"Au"#, 13% #"Ag"#, 8.5% #"Cu"#, 1.0% #"Pd"#, and less than 1% #"In, Ir"#, and #"Zn"#.

Noble alloys

These must have at least 25 % noble metal content.

A common alloy contains 40 % #"Ag"#, 20 % #"Au"#, 20 % #"Pd"#, 18 % #"In"#, 2 % #"Zn"#, and less than 1 % #"Ir"#.

Non-noble alloys

These alloys have a noble metal content less than 25 % (it may even be 0 %).

They often contain large percentages of #"Ni, Co, Cr"#, and #"Be"#.

A typical alloy contains 61 % #"Co"#, 27 % #"Cr"#, 6 % #"Mo"#, 5 % #"W"#, 1 %#"Si"#, and less than 1 % #"Mn, Fe"#, and #"C"#.