ON THE BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF HIGH-PALLADIUM DENTAL ALLOYS

Many cases of contact dermatitis attributed to the high-palladium dent al alloys have been reported in recent years, with the increasing clin ical use of these alloys. Following a summary of published information about the biocompatibility of palladium and some palladium compounds, this review article discusses the current literature on the biocompat ibility of high-palladium dental alloys, with particular attention to certain metallurgical and microstructural factors which may have impor tant roles in vivo. Recent research on the immune system responses to foreign substances is then reviewed to provide fundamental information about the complex cellular mechanisms for the hypersensitivity to the se alloys and suggest future experiments in this area.