Coltene AFFINIS Materials Make Traditional Impression-Taking “Hassle-Free”
Christopher Pescatore, DMD
Impressions and impression techniques are the mainstay of many a dental practice, suggests Christopher Pescatore, DMD, a private practitioner and past Clinical Director and featured speaker of the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies.
"Having used digital impression systems in my office since 2005, one would assume I think digital impressions are the only way to go," Pescatore says. "This is actually not so. Yes, digital impressions are here to stay and will continue to grow in popularity, but conventional impression material is not going away either. The argument that digital is so much more accurate is like saying, ‘I bought the best top-of-the-line handpiece and now my preps will be better.' If you couldn't prepare teeth well before, that handpiece is not going to matter. It's the same with impressions: If you can't take a good traditional impression, digital equipment is not going to help."
Pescatore, whose Danville, California, practice focuses on restorative and cosmetic dentistry, says that although he regularly uses digital impressions, he takes a traditional impression as well. "Anything computer-aided has the potential for crashing and corruption, so we need a backup," he explains. "When I do a single-visit restoration, I always take a traditional impression as my backup, and I even have the impression poured up and the restoration fitted to the model so I do not waste one second adjusting anything in the mouth chairside."
Pescatore works closely with MicroDental Laboratories and Eric Hill, the National Digital Workflow Manager. Hill says there are challenges to correctly controlling tissue for digital impressions. "With impression material, the material itself mechanically exposes the margins, essentially clarifying the margins usually without having to pack cord," Hill says. "When using an intraoral scanner, there is no impression material to help expose the margins so the clinician has to use such tools as cord or a laser to achieve full exposure."
Having tried "countless impression materials" over the years, Pescatore has grown to prefer the Coltene AFFINIS® line of products, he says. Besides offering excellent flow properties, AFFINIS impression materials provide ideal working time, optimal intraoral setting time, and superb readability. In addition, AFFINIS impressions are autoclavable, according to the manufacturer.
While Pescatore typically utilizes an AFFINIS heavy body/light body combination impression, he finds that the medium-viscosity material flows "just about as well as the light body, so I end up using an AFFINIS heavy body/medium body combination quite often." This, he says, allows for a very strong, durable material capturing the critical margin area. AFFINIS, he adds, has also proved valuable for taking implant impressions.
"Coltene AFFINIS impression materials make for a hassle-free experience clinically," Pescatore exclaims. "They have made taking traditional impressions fun again!"
Coltene Whaledent Inc.
800-221-3046
coltene.com
About the Author
Christopher Pescatore, DMD
Private Practice,
Danville, California
