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Improved digital impressions of edentulous areas

Ju-Hyoung Lee, DDSa

Intraoral scanners (IOSs) are widely used in the fabri- PROCEDURE

cation of fixed dental prostheses, in that their accuracy
compares well with traditional impression making.1
Recently, IOSs have been successfully used in the fabri-
cation of removable dental prostheses.2-5 Digital
impressions are useful for patients with a gag reflex and
sensitivity to impression materials.2-4 Moreover, IOSs
can register excessively movable tissue in a passive state
to achieve a mucostatic impression.2,3,6,7 However,
scanning edentulous area with IOSs may be difficult and
time-consuming, because edentulous sites are smooth
and devoid of features.8 The stitching process may be
faulty, especially in the palatal area.8 This article
introduces a time-saving technique that easily captures
tissues, prevents incorrect data processing, and uses
common and inexpensive materials.
1. Mix pressure-indicating paste (Pressure Indicator
Paste; Mizzy Inc) and interim zinc oxide-eugenol
cement (Temp-Bond; Kerr Corp).9
2. While retracting the vestibules (Fig. 1), dry the
edentulous area and draw irregular shapes on the
residual ridges with the mixture and the dental
microapplicator (Microbrush; Microbrush Intl).
Connect the shapes with lines toward the center of
the palate (Fig. 2).
3. Scan the edentulous area with the IOS (TRIOS
Color Pod; 3Shape Inc) (Fig. 3). If incorrect stitching
is noted, rescan from the drawn area to the inac-
curately stitched area. After the scan procedure,
soak a piece of gauze in the removal liquid (PIP

Figure 1. Occlusal view of maxillary arch with anterior movable tissue. Figure 2. Irregular shapes and lines drawn with mixture of pressure-
indicating paste and zinc oxide-eugenol cement.

a
Assistant Professor, Department of Dentistry, Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine, Daegu, Republic of Korea; and Graduate student, Department of
Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.

448 THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY

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2. Kattadiyil MT, Mursic Z, AlRumaih H, Goodacre CJ. Intraoral scanning of hard

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for an implant-supported, removable complete dental prosthesis. J Prosthet
Dent 2015;113:509-15.
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rator from a 3D cast with a chairside digital scanner for a patient with severe
gag reflex: a clinical report. J Prosthet Dent 2015;114:735-8.
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tooth-supported partial removable dental prostheses: a clinical report.
J Prosthodont 2016;25:495-7.
6. Page HL. Mucostatics. Ticonium Contacts 1946;4:7.
7. Bindhoo YA, Thirumurthy VR, Kurien A. Complete mucostatic impression: a
new attempt. J Prosthodont 2012;21:209-14.
8. Patzelt SB, Vonau S, Stampf S, Att W. Assessing the feasibility and accuracy of
digitizing edentulous jaws. J Am Dent Assoc 2013;114:914-20.
9. Kaku T, Ogino Y, Matsushita Y, Koyano K. Technique for identifying kerati-
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Figure 3. Software view of mucostatic impression of maxillary arch.

Corresponding author:
Remover; Mizzy Inc) and clean the edentulous area Dr Ju-Hyoung Lee
with it. Catholic University of Daegu School of Medicine
Daegu
REPUBLIC OF KOREA
Email: jus2u@cu.ac.kr
REFERENCES
Acknowledgments
1. Chochlidakis KM, Papaspyridakos P, Geminiani A, Chen CJ, Feng IJ, Ercoli C. The author thanks Hye-Jung Yun for technical assistance.
Digital versus conventional impressions for fixed prosthodontics: a systematic
review and meta-analysis. J Prosthet Dent 2016;116:184-90. Copyright © 2016 by the Editorial Council for The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.

Lee THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY