THE EFFECT OF MATRIX PHASE MORPHOLOGY ON THE STRUCTURE OF AG-CU-PD DISPERSED PHASE DENTAL AMALGAM

The effect of an Ag-Cu-Pd dispersant alloy on the structure of amalgam s fabricated with two different particle types of low-copper amalgam m atrices was investigated. In amalgams L and L(0), a low-copper lathe-c ut amalgam Aristalloy(R) was used as the matrix. In amalgams S and S(0 ), the matrix used was Spheralloy(R), a low-copper spherical amalgam. X-ray diffraction was used to analyse the relative content of the phas es in the amalgams. The presence of Pd in the dispersant of amalgams L and S resulted in a decrease in the amount of eta' (Cu6Sn5) and an in crease in the amount of unreacted particles when compared to the contr ols L(0) and S(0). Amalgams fabricated with a spherical alloy matrix ( S and S(0)) showed a greater effect than amalgams fabricated with a la the-cut matrix alloy (L and L(0)).