Correlation of corrosion resistance of dental alloy restorations with oral lichen planus pathology

In this article, the corrosion processes that occur in metallic fixed dental restorations from a group of patients with oral lichen planus are investigated throughout electrochemical characterizations. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a non‐infectious, chronic, autoimmune disorder, of unknown aetiology, which involves the oral mucosa and sometimes, it has a malignant transformation. The presence of oral metals is incriminated as a trigger factor in the pathology of OLP. In order to emphasise this influence, the alloys recovered after the removal of some old metal restorations in OLP patients were analysed. Their composition was determined by energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. Open circuit potential measurements, Tafel analysis and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were also carried out. The studied alloys were high copper alloys and chromium–nickel base alloys with different electrochemical behaviour. The results suggested a correlation between corrosion process in the oral environment and oral lichen planus pathology. The corrosion processes that occur in metallic fixed dental restorations from a group of patients with oral lichen planus are investigated throughout electrochemical characterizations. The results suggested a correlation between corrosion process in the oral environment and oral lichen planus pathology.