The Gripper Sideless Dual Arch Posterior Tray

Impressions for single posterior crowns have been made considerably less complex since the early 1980s. Today’s operator wields dual-caulking guns filled with berry-flavored, color-coordinated, fast-setting vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) impression material that pumps effortlessly into a quadrant tray. Such is the case with Discus Dental’s (Culver City, CA) Precision VPS impression material and the new Gripper Sideless Posterior tray.

The Precision VPS impression material comes in a variety of viscosities and setting times to satisfy all dental professionals. The light body flows easily around and below the margins of a preparation and the heavy body material for the bulk of the tray is thick and rigid. The colors and flavors are easy on the eyes and taste buds. The Gripper tray provides a lightweight yet rigid vehicle to hold the impression material, and the sideless feature eliminates gingival gouging that occurs in patients with narrow arches or bulging tori.

CASE REPORT

A woman in her fifties had a distally fractured lower right second molar with recurrent decay around an old mesial-occlusal amalgam. She agreed to a gold crown, and was anesthetized with local anesthetic. A three-quarter gold crown preparation was performed using coarse and medium diamonds in a high-speed handpiece. A retraction cord was placed below the mesial and distal margins because the buccal and lingual margins were left supragingival for easier cleaning and less plaque retention.

Light-body Precision VPS was syringed around the preparation with an intraoral tip attached to a standard impression gun and mixing tip while heavy-body material was loaded onto a Gripper Sideless Posterior tray. The loaded tray was gently placed in position and the patient was instructed to bite down (Figure 1). When set, the impression was gently pulled away from the mouth and inspected for tears or bubbles (Figure 2). The patient remarked that the Precision VPS had a fruity taste. The impression was sent to the laboratory and a temporary was made for the patient.

In summary, the Gripper Sideless Posterior tray coupled with Precision VPS consistently produces a detailed impression that enables the creation of excellent-fitting restorations.

For more information, contact:
Discus Dental
Phone: 800-422-9448
Web: www.discusdental.com

This article was written by Robert Koff, DMD. Dr. Koff is a general dentist with a private practice in Colorado Springs. He can be reached at bobkoff@hotmail.com.

DISCLAIMER

The preceding material was provided by the manufacturer. The statements and opinions contained therein are solely those of the manufacturer and not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dentistry. The preceding is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval for the aforementioned products or services or their effectiveness, quality, or safety on the part of Inside Dentistry or AEGIS Communications. The publisher disclaims responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas or products referred to in the preceding material.

Figure 1 The Gripper Sideless Posterior tray inserted for an impression.		Figure 2 Impression taken with Precision VPS on the Gripper Sideless Posterior tray.