The issue of using remelted CoCrMo alloys in dental prosthetics

The most popular prosthetic restorations are skeletal dentures. Clinical failures in the case of these prostheses are associated primarily with the accuracy and precision of the design, and laboratory procedures such as: melting and casting technique as well as the quantity of the once remelted alloy used for the batch. This article analyzes the impact of the amount of recycled material on the mechanical properties and structure of dental alloy CoCrMo. Vacuum casting method has been applied and alloys remelted with output compositions of 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of fine material. The static tensile test, microstructural analysis and SEM observation as well as macrohardness test have been conducted. It was observed that the mechanical strength of all remelted alloys is worse than the strength of the fine alloy. A heterogeneity increase in the structure of alloys with more recycled material was noticeable. Moreover, the occurrence of precipitates of various types of carbides and the presence of intermetallic phases which have a determining effect on the mechanical properties of received castings were noted.