"Galvanic reactions and non-precious alloys
Whenever two dissimilar metals are in contact with each other an electrical current is
generated. The consequence of the current is dependent upon the materials and
environment. Multiple studiesii,iii,iv have been conducted on the effects of alloys in contact
with titanium implants. Interestingly the studies have been conducted independent of each
other but the results are quite consistent.

Do not use non-precious alloys in conjunction with implants.

Nickel or cobalt based alloys will corrode when in contact with titanium. Table 1 shows the
electrochemical potential for the different alloy systems as determined by the studies. For
any two alloys, the alloy higher on the list will corrode the lower one."

i Special thanks to Pittman Dental Laboratory for their astute observation of this phenomenon.
ii “Study of Galvanic Corrosion between Dental Alloys”, Dr. Zurcher, in “Biocompatibility ,allergies and resistance
to corrosion: a global scientific approach”, pp 43-53 1993, METALOR.
iii “Galvanic corrosion behavior of titanium implants coupled to dental alloys”, M. Cortada, et al, Journal of Materials
Science:Materials in Medicine,pp 287-293 Vol11,No5, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
iv “Galvanic corrosion behavior of implant suprastructure dental alloys”, N.M. Taher and A.S. Al Jabab, Dental
Materials, pg 54-59,Vol 19, No 1 , Elsevier Science, 2004.