Dental Impression Trays Key Terms

Learn the basic key terms to guide you in your dental impression tray search

Dental impression trays are used in a wide variety of ways in the office including modeling, bleaching and for the fabrication for crown work or bridges. The dental impression tray can be reusable or disposable. Trays come in many styles and sizes made of different materials, including plastic and metal.

The dental impression process is easier to understand when you start with the basic terms. Learning the key terms associated with dental impression trays can help in your search for the right trays for your office.

 

Autoclaving

After each use, a reusable dental impression tray must be sterilized in some manner. The sterilization of the impression tray is called autoclaving. It is important to make sure any trays you plan to reuse are capable of autoclaving. Disposable trays are often referred to as nonautoclavable trays because they can't be sterilized for additional uses.
Try: Doctor NDTV defines the autoclaving process as it relates to both the dental and medical field. Examples and more descriptions of autoclaving impression trays are available at Impression Trays.

Dentulous

The dentulous impression tray is used to cast a mold of the current, or actual, teeth in a patient's mouth. Dentulous trays have deep inserts with sides so the molding material can easily fill in around the teeth being cast. The dentulous tray is the most common impression tray used in the office.
Try: Use the resources provided with the Border Lock disposable dental tray line to get a better understanding of the dentulous and edentulous trays.

Edentulous

The edentulous tray is used for casting an accurate molding of the gum area usually used for denture construction or prosthetic building. Trays used for edentulous molding are usually not as deep as those used in impression for teeth.
Try: Clinicians Choice explains the important steps needed in using edentulous trays.

Perforated

Trays with perforation have small holes, or perforations, around the impression tray to hold the molding material in place. Trays that do not have perforation are used to carry non-rigid impression materials such as alginate.
Try: The Junior Dentist gives a good overview of the dental impression tray and how perforated and non-perforated trays compare and work differently.

Alginate

Alginate is the typical material used by dentists to take impressions of teeth and gums for many different uses from building crowns or bridges to casting forms to use in restructuring.
Try: The Journal of American Dental Association has several articles that explain and compare alginate materials. The FX Supply website includes a definition of alginate for dental and other casting uses.

Double-arch impression

The double-arch impression is an impression of the upper and lower bites at the same time. It is usually used to compare the bites together and can be done in one step just like a single bite.
Try: Dental Ventures of America provides an overview of the double-arch impressions tray system. It includes tips on use and maintenance, plus a product demonstration.

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