Making the dental impression is the primary and possibly the most important step in the process for fabricating a dental appliance. Now in the age of do-it-yourself dentistry, it is imperative to make an accurate impression because all the other steps that follow will be based on it. The dental impression is used to create an exact replica of your teeth and oral tissues, over which the appliance will be built.
Once you have placed an order for your custom caps, please wait for your impression Kit to arrive which will come with a job sheet and further instructions (shipped in 2-3 working day).
The points below will help you take a good teeth impression that we can work with.
Be seated & have a flat surface to work on.
Be comfortable. Have no distractions
Time restrictions will be shown in bold.
Tips are what our customers find helpful.
Please remove all mouth, tongue and lip piercings.
Do not move whilst taking your impression.
What your teeth impression should look like
(A) This is the area above where your teeth are. This is required on the impression to ensure that your caps does not come into contact with your gums as this can cause irritation.
(B) This is the outline of your teeth where your tooth hits your gums. These should always be a clear rounded shape at the top. Without clear margins, the technicians will not know the full shape of your teeth and your caps may not fully cover your teeth.
(C) The impression putty must be one solid colour with no white streaks. If white streaks are visible, the putty will not be fully set. This then allows the putty to shrink and we will not have a full representation of your teeth.
(D) Good depth comes in the form of A & B being visible in your impression. Again, without good depth, the impression is not a true representation of your mouth.
Drag/Movement
This means that you are likely to have moved your teeth while taking the impression, causing your teeth to drag through the putty resulting in an unclear mould of your teeth.
Lack of Depth
This means that you have probably taken too long from the mixing stage to taking the impression and the putty has already started to set.
Teeth aligned incorrectly
This means that you have taken your impression with your teeth too close to the edges of the tray. You may need a different sized tray.
Undermixed Putty
This means that you have not mixed the putty well enough and there are still visible white streaks, meaning the putty will not set correctly.
Over mixed Putty
This means that you have mixed the putty for too long, exceeding the 40 seconds we recommend, and this has caused cracks and tears in the impression.
All orders include a free mould kit and in the event of an incorrect impression being taken you will be required to pay for any replacement mould kits. You should also return your impressions to the return address provided. Please return your job sheet with your impressions to make it easier to process your order. Your new custom-made set will be processed within 14-21 working days from when we receive your package.