IMPRESSION TECHNIQUES

FOR COMPLETE
DENTURES
 In order to design dentures appropriately, it is
necessary to obtain cast's that represent the
whole of the potential denture bearing area.
 EXTENT OF MAXILLARY
IMPRESSION

 Residual ridges, tuberosities and hamular

notch functional width and depth of the labial
and buccal sulci including frena.
 Hard palate and its junction with the soft
palate
 EXTENT OF MANDIBULAR
IMPRESSION

 Residual ridges and retromolar pads,

functional labial and buccal sulci including
frena and external oblique ridges.
 Lingual sulci, lingual frenum, mylohyiod
ridges and retromylohyoid areas.
 Before the proceedure
 The patient should be comfortably seated in a
position where you can control the flow and
position of the impression.
 The head and neck of the patient should be in
line with the trunk.
 Bib or towel to protect his/her clothing
 Flavored mouthwash to wash remains of
impression material
 Reassure the patient eg for patients with an
exaggerated gagg reflex, modification of the
conventional treatment may be considered eg
sedation.
 IMPRESSION TRAYS

 These are rigid containers for carrying the

impression material into the mouth, for
maintaining it in position during setting or
hardening and supporting it during removal
from the mouth and when pouring the cast.
 A wide selection of stock trays are
available for use.

 Metal - unperforated, perforated, and rim lock

 Plastic - perforated and unperforated (usually
meant to be disposable)
 For unperforated trays use tray adhesives
 Variations in size and shape of the
jaw are such that it is difficult to find
one that fits the edentulous mouth
with the desired accuracy.

 Too much space may exist between the tray

and teeth
 Flanges of the tray may impinge on the ridge
or sulcus or may be under extended
 To produce a satisfactory impression and to
avoid variations in transmitted pressure, there
must be a reasonable even thickness of
impression material over the entire fitting
surface and the flanges of the tray must almost
reach the functional position of the sulcus and
frena without displacing them.
 It is unusual for a stock tray to fulfill all these
requirements, and thus individual or custom
made trays should be constructed for each
individual patient.
 Thus the need for preliminary impressions and
definitive impressions.
The preliminary impression
 The purpose of the preliminary impression is
to record sufficient information for a special
tray to be made in which to record the
secondary/ definitive/ master impression.
 IMPRESSION MATERIAL
 The material selected should allow the use of a
simple and quick technique which is capable of
displacing tissues sufficiently to permit recording of
the entire denture bearing area while at the same time
minimising patient discomfort.
EXAMPLES OF MATERIALS INCLUDE
 Irreversible hydrocolloid (Alginate)

 Impression Compound

 Silicon putty
 Once the tray and material have been chosen
practice or try the tray in the mouth before
loading it.
 Material should be sufficient,

excess - patient discomfort (retching)

insufficient material - under extension
 Mandibular impression prefered first to gain

patients confidence
 Alternatively if the current dentures are
percieved to have acceptable fit of the
impression surfaces, this surface of the denture
may be recorded in polyvinyl siloxane putty
and this would serve as a primary cast.
 MANDIBULAR IMPRESSION
 Stand in front and to the right side of the
patient. The loaded tray should be centered
over the ridge and seated so that the
impression material extends beyond the
periphery of the tray to fill the functional
width of the sulcus.
 MAXILLARY IMPRESSION
 Stand behind the patient.
 This allows the patient’s head to be leaned
forward should they experience nausea or
retch during the procedure.
 Once made, the impressions should be
decontaminated before being sent to the lab.
Rinse off saliva
Immerse in disinfectant (note properties of
impression materials)
-package and send to the lab for pouring
immediately.
DEFINITIVE IMPRESSIONS
 The aim of the definitive impression is to
record the maximum denture bearing area and
develop an effective border seal.
 Custom / individual trays

Materials used for individual trays include

 Shellac or Similar thermoplastic material

 Acrylic resin (either heat or cold cured.)

 Thermo formed or swaged polymer sheet.

 The amount of space left for the material
depends of the material used.
 ZOE - 0.5mm
 Elastomers - 0.5 - 1.5 mm (depending on the
viscosity)
 Impression Plaster - 2mm
 Alginate - 3mm
 For trays with >1mm space, stops should be
placed to aid in positioning.
 The handles should be positioned and framed
so as to avoid encroaching on the surrounding
tissues.
The special tray should be modified
by

 Reducing any over extension

 Peripheries adapted with green stick
compound. (border moulding)
 Border moulding is the process by which the
shape of the border of the tray is made to
conform accurately to the contours of the
buccal and labial vestibules.
 Some circumstances may require
modifications e.g
 Displaceable (flabby) maxillary ridge
 Fibrous mandibular ridge that has not been
utilised for support (unemployed ridge)
 Functional impressions
 Copy dentures
 Reline impressions.
 DISPLACEABLE (FLABBY)
MAXILLARY RIDGE
 This technique aims to utilise the firmer
tissues which are more likely to be capable of
denture support while reducing the pressure on
the more displaceable ridge areas (Selective
pressure technique)
 The tray is border moulded as above and the
impression is made with firm pressure. When
removed, a window of impression material and
tray is removed in the region of the
displaceable tissue. The impression is then
replaced in the mouth, and a low viscosity
impression material is then placed over the
tissue exposed through the window in the tray.
 UNEMPLOYED MANDIBULAR
RIDGE

 Narrow thread like residual ridge that is easily

displaced in a lateral direction on palpation.
 The aim is to use the peripheral tissues
especially the buccal shelves for support while
reducing the pressure on the ridge tissues that
are less capable of accepting load.
 The tray is loaded entirely with green stick
impression compound and the impression made and
modified as follows.
 Impression Compound is removed from the tray in
those areas overlying the fibrous tissue using either
heated instrument or a slowly rotating bur. The tray is
then perforated over the ridge crest and loaded with a
fluid impression material e.g. a low viscosity
elastomer or ZOE paste is used to complete the
impression.
 FUNCTIONAL IMPRESSIONS
 Functional Reline: Aim is to record the
denture-supporting tissue in a state of
functional stress.
 The neutral zone
 Impression technique