Dentistry
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American Elements produces several metals, alloys and chemicals for the dental profession and dental materials manufacturers used to produce dental implants and ceramic composites. We developed in cooperation with the DenMat Corporation a unique and now ubiquitous dense fluoride powder which allows the new ceramic composites replacing metallic amalgams to be visible on X-ray.
Innovation Case Study #5: American Elements Invents Additive for X-Ray Imaging of Dental Amalgams
#5: American Elements Invents Additive for X-Ray Imaging of Dental Amalgams
The Challenge
A visit to the dentist typically includes a dental X-ray. The X-ray allows the dentist to diagnose cavities and study the integrity of existing fillings. When the dental industry moved from metallic to ceramic amalgams two decades ago, patients loved the white material that mimicked the look of natural enamel, but dentists could no longer see the fillings on an X-ray.
The Innovation
American Elements worked on this problem with DenMat, a highly respected manufacturer of professional dental products. Since the material is a ceramic, metallic materials were not an option. American Elements reached to extremely dense fluorides for a solution. American Elements proposed a high purity form of ytterbium fluoride as an additive to the ceramic. Ytterbium fluoride is an extremely heavy dense material that would mimic a metallic on X-ray.
The Result
Today dental patients can have the natural look of ceramic amalgams and dentists can see the filling on X-ray due to ytterbium fluoride containing amalgams. The approach is now a standard in the dental industry.
Below is merely a selection of the full catalog of Dentistry products that American Elements manufactures. If you do not see a material you're looking for listed, please search the website or contact customerservice@americanelements.com.
Selected Products Supplied to the Dentistry Industry
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American Elements Dentistry Industry Customers Include:
