Dental alloys for direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) are available on the market today, but there is little scientific evidence reported on their characteristics. One of them is the release of ions, as an indicator of the corrosion characteristics of a dental alloy. Within this research, the difference in the elution of metals from DMLS and cast (CM) samples of Co-Cr-Mo dental alloy in saliva-like medium of three different pH was examined by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The obtained results show that the metal elution in artificial saliva from the DMLS alloy was lower than the elution from the CM alloy. The release of all investigated metal ions was influenced by the acidity, both from the DMLS and CM alloy, throughout the investigated period of 30 days. The change in acidity from a pH of 6.8 to a pH of 2.3 for the cast alloy led to a higher increase of the elution of Co, Cr and Mo from CM than from the DMLS alloy. The greatest release out of Co, Cr and Mo was for Co for both tested alloys. Further, the greatest release of all ions was measured at pH 2.3. In saliva of pH 2.3 and pH 4.5, the longer the investigated period, the higher the difference between the total metal ion release from the CM and DMLS alloys. Both alloys showed a safe level of elution according to the ISO definition in all investigated acidic environments.
Key advantages of Poly(methyl methacrylate)—PMMA for denture application are related to aesthetics and biocompatibility, while its main deficiency is related to mechanical properties. To address this issue, SiO2 nanoparticle reinforcement was proposed, containing 0 to 5% nanosilica, to form nanocomposite materials. Flexural strengths and elastic moduli were determined and correlated to nominal nanoparticle content and zeta potential of the liquid phase nanoparticle solutions. Another issue is the biocompatibility, which was determined in terms of cytotoxicity, using L929 and MRC5 cell lines. The addition of nanoparticle was proved to be beneficial for increasing flexural strength and modulus, causing a significant increase in both strength and moduli. On the other hand, the formation of agglomerates was noted, particularly at higher nanoparticle loadings, affecting mechanical properties. The addition of nanosilica had an adverse effect on the cytotoxicity, increasing it above the level present in unmodified specimens. Cytotoxic potential was on the acceptable level for specimens with up to 2% nanosilica. Consequently, nanosilica proved to be an effective and biocompatible means of increasing the resistance of dental materials.