play dough modelI don’t know about you, but I really hate it when I get excess stone in the tongue space on a lower model. Not only does it look terrible, this excess stone often keeps you from visualizing and accessing the linguals of the posterior teeth on the model.

In this article, I will discuss two options to easily solve this issue. While the work flow is different for each, they both work well and it’s just up to you to decide which one you like the best and of course if you have a method you like, please feel free to share it below by leaving a comment or by creating a new thread on Spear TALK.

Method 1: Use some impression material to fill in the tongue space of the impression before it is poured. For this method to be the most efficient you need to take your lower impression first. When taking your second impression, simply mix a little extra material to provide some left over that you or your assistant (whoever it not holding the upper impression in place) can add into the tongue space on the already completed lower impression.

The biggest downside to this method is the fact that you need two people when taking your impressions – unless you want to mix three batches of impression material which, of course, is a bit inefficient.

Method 2: Use Play Dough to fill in the tongue space. The great thing about this method is the fact that you only need one set of hands and you have all the working time you want. Simply take both impressions, and then fill in the tongue space on the lower model at your leisure on the lab before you pour them.

You may be thinking why would I even want to think about using the first method? There are some clear downsides to this method as well. The first is you have something else you have to buy and keep on hand- the Play Dough. While this may be trivial for many, it’s a fact and a pain for some. The other, and in my opinion, the bigger downside is the fact that the Play Dough tends to leave some residue on the model that you will have to clean off if you want the best looking model.

John R. Carson, DDS, PC, Spear Visiting Faculty and Contributing Author [ www.johncarsondds.com ]


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Comments

Commenter's Profile Image Kevin Huff
July 9th, 2014
I prefer the Play-Dough method that Dr. Carson discusses here. Play-Dough is also fantastic to box and pour denture impressions for quality, defined land areas. Using an Almore magnetic boxing strip and a 4X4 ceramic wall tile as the floor, I make a "bowl". Then make a thin base layer with Play-Dough and sink the inverted impression into the Play-Dough. Simply pack more Play-Dough around the vestibules to develop a negative of the anticipated land area and tongue space. Then, pour.
Commenter's Profile Image Clint
September 6th, 2014
пишет:I’m impressed, I have to admit. Rarely do I come acorss a blog that’s both equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you've hit the nail on the head. The issue is something that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I'm very happy that I came acorss this during my hunt for something concerning this.
Commenter's Profile Image John Carson
September 6th, 2014
Clint, I am glad you enjoyed this article. Thanks for the kind words! John