Denture Impression Process

If you have denture or ever had to undergo any other type of serious dental work, you probably had to have a dental impression done. Dental impressions are used to make dentures. They are also useful when making mouth guards, retainers, whitening trays and veneers. Impressions are an imprint of your teeth. With an imprint, a general dentist or prosthodontist can fabricate an accurate, custom-made denture to fit your mouth.

To take an impression, dentists place molding material into plastic or metal trays to fit over your teeth. Depending on your needs, the tray can be molded for the bottom teeth, top teeth or both. However, taking accurate impressions is not as simple as it sounds. It is a technique that takes many years of practice. When mistakes are made, the process to retake an impression can be tedious for everyone involved.

Denture impression techniques

When taking impressions for dentures, there are a few techniques a general dentist may try. For starters, there are mucocompressive and mucostatic impressions. Both types of impressions are made using an impression tray. When taking mucosa impressions, a dentist will make sure the patient’s mucosa is in a resting position. In most cases, these types of impressions result in a denture that fits well while a patient is resting. However, the denture may be more prone to pivoting around a little while a patient is chewing.

Mucocompressive impressions, on the other hand, is when a dentist takes an impression when the patient’s mucosa is compressed. This is a good option if the goal is to have a denture that is stable while chewing, but not stable during rest. Because dentures are in a state of rest most of the time, some dentists and patients argue that mucostatic impressions result in better dentures.

Additional methods

Selective pressure is another technique a general dentist may attempt while making a denture impression. During this technique, a dentist applies pressure to certain areas, primarily stress-bearing areas, and relieves stress relief areas. The result is a denture that has benefits of both the mucocompressive and mucostatic techniques. In addition to this technique, there are the following others a dentist may try:

• Wash impression: a technique using a thin layer of impression material to gather the fine details of a patient’s mouth. This technique is performed in the second stage of impressions
• Neutral zone impression
• Functional impression
• Window technique
• Altered cast technique
• Applegate technique

Once the proper impressions of a patient’s mouth are taken, the actual denture fabrication process can begin. Some dentist’s offices have dental labs on-site. Other times the impressions have to be sent to an off-site laboratory so a prosthodontist can fabricate the dentures. When the dentures are made, the patient will meet with their dentist to ensure the denture fits. If it is still loose, an adjustment may be needed.

Get your denture impression today

If you need dentures, consult with a general dentist about the process involved. Oftentimes, the process is easy and will involve denture impressions. Denture impressions serve as the mold from which dentures are made. Depending on your mouth and the type of dentures you are getting, your dentist may try one of several impression techniques.

Request an appointment here: https://davisanddingle.com or call Davis & Dingle Family Dentistry at (803) 567-1804 for an appointment in our Columbia office.

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