THE EFFECT OF ADDING TiO۲ NANOPARTICLES ON DENTAL AMALGAM PROPERTIES

Abstract:In recent years, there have been many attempts to improve the properties of dental amalgam. The aim of the present investigation was fabrication and characterization of dental amalgams containing TiO۲ nanoparticles and evaluation of their compressive strength, antibacterial and corrosion behavior. In this experimental research, TiO۲ nanoparticles (TiO۲ NPs) were added to reference amalgam alloy powder and then, dental amalgam was prepared. In order to investigate the effect of TiO۲ NPs on properties of dental amalgam, ۰, ۰.۵, ۱, ۲ and ۳ wt. % of TiO۲ NPs were added to amalgam alloy powder and the prepared composite powder was triturated by a given percent of mercury. Xray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) techniques were used to characterize the prepared specimens. Potentiodynamic polarization corrosion tests were performed in the Normal Saline (۰.۹ wt. % NaCl) Solutions as electrolytes at ۳۷°C. The results showed that the corrosion behavior of the dental amalgam with ۰.۵ or ۱ wt. % TiO۲ NPs is similar to the corrosion behavior of the reference amalgam, while with increasing the weight percent of TiO۲ NPs, the corrosion rate increases. Also, the results of this investigation indicated that adding TiO۲ NPs in amounts of up to ۱ wt. % to amalgam alloy powder improve compressive strength of dental amalgam and has no destructive influence on its corrosion behavior. As well as, according to antibacterial results, TiO۲ NPs can increase the biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of dental amalgam. The results of present study suggest that amalgam/ TiO۲ NPs nanocomposite with ۱% of TiO۲ NPs could be regarded as a biocompatible and bioactive dental material that provide better characters for dental applications.

Keywords:

Dental amalgam , TiO۲ nanoparticles , corrosion behavior , antibacterial properties , compressive strength