Make a Good Impression: Choosing the Best Impression Materials for Your Practice

When choosing dental impression materials, consider these factors to ensure you select the most suitable option for your practice and patients:
 
Accuracy: The material should provide accurate replication of the oral tissues to ensure precise fitting of dental restorations.
 
Dimensional Stability/Setting Time: Materials should maintain their shape and dimensions throughout the impression-taking process and during transportation to the dental lab. Dentists may require materials with varying setting times to accommodate the specific needs of each procedure.
 
Ease of Use/Compatibility: Materials should be easy to handle and manipulate, allowing for smooth and efficient impression-taking procedures. Make sure the impression material is compatible with dental materials such as gypsum products used in stone models.
 
Patient Comfort/Safety: Choose materials that are nontoxic and biocompatible and that minimize patients’ discomfort and potential gag reflex. 
 
Clinical Applications: Different impression materials may be better suited for specific clinical applications, such as crown and bridge work, implants, or orthodontic procedures. 
 
By carefully evaluating these factors, dentists can purchase impression materials that meet the unique requirements of their practice and provide optimal outcomes for their patients.