Dentistry
The healthcare field treating teeth and the oral cavity. Palladium alloys, prized for holding up to years of contact with saliva without corroding, have long been used in crowns, bridges and fillings.
Covered in 1 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence article, most recently on August 25, 2026.
Overview
Dentistry is the branch of healthcare focused on the teeth, gums and oral cavity — diagnosis, restoration and prevention. Restorative work (crowns, bridges, fillings, inlays) has relied on metal alloys for over a century because metal can be cast or milled to a precise fit, machined thin without fracturing, and resist the slow corrosive effect of saliva, food acids and temperature swings better than most other materials of the era.
Metals It Depends On
Palladium became a mainstay of crown-and-bridge alloys from the late 1970s onward, initially adopted as a lower-cost substitute for platinum and to stretch gold content further in "white" alloys, and it has stayed in use since because palladium-silver alloys hold up for years of continuous saliva contact without corroding or discolouring.
