Dental Impressions are one of the ways a dentists can create a model of your teeth. These models used to create a better understanding of your mouth, so as to create a treatment plan for you. These can be helpful to create surgical guides as well for complex cases. But the most important and common use is to create crowns and bridges, Dental impressions can be a physical measurements or even a digital one! Surprise Surprise!
A dental impression is a negative imprint of hard (teeth) and soft tissues in the mouth from which a positive reproduction (cast or model) can be formed. It is made by placing an appropriate material in a stock or custom dental impression tray which is designed to roughly fit over the dental arches.
Having wondered what are the guey and sticky materials which the dentist insert in your mouth so as to make a model of your teeth?
Dental Impressions.
Why are dental impressions taken?
Dentists take digital impressions for dentures, crowns and bridges, veneers, and other restorations. This is taken so as to aid in new restoration looks and final fit of your new teeth set. Digital impressions take less time than physical molds.
Do impressions make you gag?
Sometimes. Don’t swallow. No doubt about it, having an impression tray in your mouth will cause you to salivate. You may be tempted to swallow the excess saliva, but that may trigger your gag reflex. Request your dentist to keep the suction tip near your tongue.
How are digital impressions used in dentistry?
A digital impression is a digital scan that creates a map of your teeth which allows you and your dentist to view your teeth on a computer screen. This file is scanned with the help of a scanner (Medit scanner is places at Royal Dental Clinics). This is much better than trying to use a mirror to look into your mouth or just looking at an X-ray.
What are advantages of digital impressions?
When used correctly, digital impressions can increase productivity and efficiency and provide a high degree of accuracy. They are extremely convenient, particularly because the impression can be emailed to the dental laboratory rather than sent, as a conventional impression would be, by courier or by mail.
How the Dental Impressions Made?
Physical dental impressions are still the gold standard in dentistry. It is a normally a painless procedure. It takes about 10 mins for the complete process.
Here the common steps to be taken care while making physical dental impressions:
1: Choosing the right tray size
The first and the most important step is to choose the size of the impression tray. They can be metallic or also in plastic. They punched or smooth. The metallic ones sterilized in an autoclave. The impression trays should not hurt your gums. After this step the impression material loaded onto the tray.
2: Which impression material would the dentist use
Certainly there’re many types of dental materials which used not very important as a patient to know which material being used. Just beware that sometimes these impression materials can overflow into the throat. Because It may cause a gag reflex. Hence, don’t have embarrassed about the same. Your dentist trained to handle these situations.
Use of local anesthesia numbing agent.
Cold water gargle.
Making impressions in a sitting position.
Use of rubber base impression material or dental impressions
Use of a custom made tray or a lower impression tray for upper as well.
3: The actual dental impression
The tray with the impression material then inserted into the mouth and seated over the teeth. Once they seated in place held in position for a few minutes. Once set the impression snapped out. It is a completely painless procedure. After this step the dentist will sterilize the impression and then create a cast or a model.
Some tips for the patient during dental impression:
- Take deep breath and count down from Z to A or 50 to 0 incase you feel like gagging.
- Concentrate on your tongue position or keep moving your toes incase you gag.
- Think about a song which calms you down!
So the idea is to distract yourself during the impression making.
Digital Impressions for crowns and bridges
With the advent of digital workflow in dentistry the impressions making as also become digital. Also, the only drawback is that the digital impressions have not evolved yet. Also, Implants and full mouth cases cannot be effectively recorded by this method. Hence a lot of dentists may not use this yet.
Dental Impressions are one of the ways a dentists can create a model of your teeth. very good