Solubility of Dental Ceramics in Electric Fields

Combining dental ceramics with other prosthetic metallic restorations might release metal ions, thus affecting the oral tissues of the patients. In this study, we evaluated the electrochemical solubility of various dental ceramics in a galvanic experimental setup in vitro. Smooth and rough feldspathic and zirconium dioxide ceramics (at pH 5.5 and pH 3.0) were exposed to an electric field. Calcium, barium, and zirconium were selected as parameters to determine the solubility of both types of ceramic materials. Among all test groups, feldspathic ceramics were more soluble than zirconium dioxide ceramics at low pH. The results indicated that the solubility of zirconium dioxide was not significantly affected by the presence of an electric field, although the solubility was higher when the pH was relatively lower. The feldspathic material had a higher sensitivity to acids and electrogalvanic processes. We found that the galvanic process increases the solubility of feldspathic ceramics. The surface quality is important in an acidic medium, especially for feldspathic ceramics. Zirconium dioxide ceramics are more resistant to an acidic medium and exposure to a clinically relevant electric field.