Title

Comparative metal ion release after silver soldering and spot welding: An in vitro study

Authors

Apurva Chavan¹, Amit Handa¹, Nikita Hemant Bhagwan¹, Shraddha Jadhav¹, Shailesh Kulkarni¹,* & Sakshi Vasekar²

Affiliation

¹Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Aditya Dental College, Beed, Maharashtra, India;²Department of Pedodontics, Kalinga Institute of Dental Sciences, Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, India; *Corresponding author

Email

Apurva Chavan - E-mail: drapurvachavan@gmail.com
Amit Handa -E-mail: handaamit1986@gmail.com
Nikita Hemant Bhagwan - E-mail: drnikitabhagwan@gmail.com
Shraddha Jadhav - E-mail: jadhavshraddhamanoj@gmail.com
Shailesh Kulkarni - E-mail: shaileshkulkarni000@gmail.com
Sakshi Vaseka - E-mail: sakshisvasekar@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received September 1, 2026; Revised September 30, 2026; Accepted September 30, 2026, Published September 30, 2026

Abstract

Corrosion of orthodontic appliances releases metal ions, but the effects of joining methods under common oral exposures remain unclear. Therefore, it is of interest to compare the nickel, chromium, copper and iron release from 90 silver-soldered and spot-welded stainless steel molar bands immersed in artificial saliva, mouthwashes and a carbonated drink. Metal ion release was quantified using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and surface changes were evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy. Silver soldered bands released significantly more metal ions than spot-welded bands in all media (p<0.001), with maximum release in fluoride–alcohol mouthwash and minimum release in chlorhexidine. These findings identify the joining method as the primary determinant of corrosion and support spot welding with chlorhexidine as a more biocompatible clinical approach.

Keywords

Chlorhexidine, chromium, copper, corrosion, dietary drinks, fluoride mouthwash, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), iron, nickel, orthodontic bands, silver soldering, spot welding

Citation

Chavan et al. Bioinformation 22(9): 5786-5790 (2026)

Edited by

Ritik Kashwani

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.