New Dental Implants Made from Strong Metallic Glass Won’t Be Cheap

The new glass is made up of palladium and silver with small fractions of metalloids. The release also said that owing to its superior damage tolerance, the present palladium glass can be thought of as a superior alternative to conventional palladium dental alloys.

A glass that has the strength and toughness of steel has been developed by Caltech and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs.

The release also said that owing to its superior damage tolerance, the present palladium glass can be thought of as a superior alternative to conventional palladium dental alloys.

The metallic glass, detailed in this week’s issue of Nature Materials, is actually a micro-alloy made from a combination of palladium, a small fraction of silver, and a mixture of other metalloids. The researchers claim the material has shown itself in tests to have a combination of strength and toughness not previously seen in any other material.

Despite its name, the material is not transparent.

The new glass is made up of palladium and silver with small fractions of metalloids. Marios Demetriou, a senior research fellow at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) lead a team of researchers that included William Johnson, Caltech’s Ruben F. and Donna Mettler Professor of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues in developing this material.

“Our study demonstrates for the first time that this class of materials, the metallic glasses, has the capacity to become the toughest and strongest ever known,” Demetriou said in a statement released by Caltech.

However palladium is a costly material and their implants could prove durable, but would also be expensive.

The study is reported in the recent issue of the journal Nature Materials.

Source: MedIndia.net, cnet.com