Protocol for Final Impression

Creating an accurate Final Impression for a Full Mouth Restoration is key for preventing costly reworks and ensuring the long-term success for a final restoration. Poor impressions can lead to failed implants, refabricating costly restorations and loss of patient confidence. This email outlines the protocol for a successful impression.

Step 1: Remove the restoration and review the implants and abutments. Review any potential movement or abutment loosening. Also ensure no soft tissue is covering the mating surfaces of the abutments.

Step 2: Place Impression Copings onto the implant abutments. Ensure the impression copings are fully engaging the mating surface of the abutments and there is no movement.

Step 3: Begin applying a light cured material to lute the impression copings together. Perform this step in sections and use your finger to keep the patient's tongue away from the light curing material. Luting the impression copings together fixates their orientation to one another in the impression and ensures for an accurate impression.

Step 4: Review the fit of your modified or custom tray to ensure all impression copings are accessible and the tray fits over the ridge.

Step 5: Apply the impression material around and under the light cured material and load your modified/custom tray. Impress the patient's impression copings and be sure to help stabilize the impression tray as the impression material sets.

Step 6: Remove the Impression Tray and check for movement and accuracy of the impression. Wax can be added to small voids before pouring up the impression, but if there are larger voids, movement of the impression copings or large defects, it is recommended to reperform the impression.

We hope this protocol is helpful and please feel free to respond to this email with any questions regarding this process. We look forward to continuing sharing our protocols and insights on how best to treat full mouth cases.

If you have a patient or case that you'd like to review or refer to our doctors, please contact us at 901-390-4811.

We hope you and your staff have a great summer!