IMPRESSION

MATERIAL
Dr Thulfiqar
Dental Material
Block 4
 CONTENT
1) General requirement
2) Purpose of impression material
3) Indication
4) Classification
i. Hydrocolloids
ii. Elastomerics – Polysulfides,
Polyethers
iii. Condensation silicone
iv. Addition silicone
 GENERAL REQUIREMENT

The material should:

1) Have adequate shelf life
2) A pleasant taste, odor & acceptable color
3) Be mixed & manipulated easily
4) Be free of any toxic or irritant material
5) Have adequate working time with satisfactory
consistency and texture to adapt to the narrow
spaces of the oral tissues
6) Set in a reasonable period of time
7) Remain dimensionally stable at least until the
cast can be poured
8) Not distort or tear when removed from the
mouth
9) Compatible
10)Reasonable cost
 PURPOSE OF IMPRESSION MATERIAL
Main purpose
To make an accurate replica of the hard & soft tissue
(eg. Alginate, ZOE, Impression compound)

Other purpose
1) To duplicate a cast that has been formed when
more than one positive reproduction is required
(eg. Agar)
2) To corrective impression material
(eg. Waxes)
 INDICATION
1) Diagnostic cast – preliminary & opposing
2) Indirect reconstruction – fixed & removable
3) Bite registration
4) Correction – wax
5) Duplication – agar-agar
 CLASSIFICATION OF IMPRESSION
MATERIALS
Non-Elastic
1) Reversible – waxes, impression compound
2) Irreversible – ZOE, impression plaster

Elastic
1) Aqueous (hydrocolloids) – alginate irreversible &
agar reversible
2) Non-aqueous
i. Polysulfides
ii. Polyether
iii. Condensation-polymerizing silicone
iv. Addition-polymerizing silicone
 Impression
Material

Synthetic
Non elastic Hydrocolloids
elastomers

Impression
Polysulfides Reversible
plaster

Impression
Polyether Irreversible
compound

Impression
Silicone
waxes
 HYDROCOLLOIDS
Colloid
A glue-like material composed of 2 or more substances
in which one of substance does not go into solution but
is suspended within another substance

Hydrocolloid
A water-based colloid that function as elastic impression
materials
The hydrocolloid are elastic impression materials
- Agar reversible hydrocolloid
- Agar irreversible hydrocolloid
 Cool to 43 C
Agar hydrocolloid (hot) Agar hydrocolloid (cold)
SOLUTION Heat to 100 C GEL
Agar Reversible Hydrocolloids
• Agar is derived from an extract of seaweed called
agar-agar. The impression material is made of
reversible agar gel
• This gel is composed of
 12-15% agar
 1% potassium sulphate – to ensure proper set
 0.2% borax – as strengthener for the gel
 0.1% alkyl benzoate – antifungal during storage
 85% water
• Clinical application
 Need specific equipment for its use
 The impression trays are stock trays (called water-
cooled trays) with tubing running through them
that connects to a water line rubber hoses to
circulate tap water through the tray
 The water cools the impression materials so that it
gels within a reasonable period of time (about 5
minutes)
 To prepare the material for making an impression,
a special heating unit (hydrocolloid conditioner) is
used.
 It has 3 water bath chambers, each with different
set of temperature
• Manipulation:
3 chamber conditioning unit
1) Liquefy at 100 C for 10 minutes
– convert gel to solution
2) Store at 65 C – place in tray
3) Temper at 46 C for 3 minutes – seat tray, cool
with water at 13 C for 3 minutes
- convert solution to gel
• Advantages
1) Dimensionally accurate
2) Inexpensive – after initial equipment
3) No custom tray / adhesive
4) Pleasant & No mixing required
• Disadvantages
1) Initial exposure – special equipment
2) Material prepared in advance
3) Tears easily
4) Dimensionally unstable – immediate pour &
single cast
5) Difficult to disinfect
Agar (Alginate) Irreversible Hydrocolloids
• It is made of derivatives from seaweed
• Composition:
 15-20% Potassium or sodium alginate (main
active ingredient of powder) – salt of alginic
acid, mucous extraction of seaweed [algae]
 14-20% Calcium sulphate dihydrate - reactor
 10% Potassium sulphate
 2% Tri-sodium phosphate
 Sodium phosphate – as retarder
 Potassium fluoride – improves gypsum surface
• Manipulation:
 Weight powder
 Powder added to water (rubber bowl, vacuum mixer)
 Mixed for 45 sec to 1 min
 Place tray
 Remove 2 – 3 minutes: after gelation (loss of
tackiness)
• How to control setting time of alginate:
1) Controlling W/P ratio – will affect properties of gel;
tear, strength & elasticity
2) Amount of retarders – added during manufacturing
3) Use cold water – to increase working & setting time
• Properties
1) Good surface details
2) Elastic enough to be drawn over the undercut areas
3) Working time is
 1-2 minutes (for the fast set alginate)
 4-5 minutes (for regular set alginate)
4) Setting time is 1-3 minutes (can be modified)
5) Non-toxic & non-irritant
6) Subject to dimensional changes as a result of
imbibition & syneresus
7) Compatible with most gypsum products
• Advantages
1) Easy to use
2) Inexpensive
3) Can just use stock trays

• Disadvantages
1) Tears easily
2) Dimensionally unstable – immediate pour & only for
single cast
3) Low detail reproduction – unacceptable for fixed
prosthodontics
4) High permanent deformation
5) Difficult to disinfect
 ELATOMERIC IMPRESSION MATERIALS

• Used when a high degree of accuracy is needed,

especially in crown & bridge work.
• They are mainly hydrophobic rubber base materials
and available in different viscosities ranging from low
to high
• Advantage:
1) Good tear resistance
2) Dimensional stability
Polysulfides
• Composition:
 polysulfide polymer (multifunctional mercaptan)
– main component
 Lead dioxide – oxidizing agent for initiate
polymerization, gives brown color
• Available in form of 2 paste:
1) Base paste – polysulfide polymer, filler, plasticizer
& sulphur
2) Catalyst/accelerator paste – lead dioxide, filler,
plasticizer & retarder
Mercaptan + lead dioxide → Polysulfide + Water
• Manipulation
 Adhesive to tray, uniform layer – custom tray
 Equal length of paste
 Mix thoroughly (within one minutes)
 Setting time: 8 – 12 minutes
 Pour within 1 hour
• Advantages
1) Lower cost – compared to silicone & polyethers
2) Long working time
3) High tear strength & flexibility
4) Good detail reproduction
• Disadvantages
1) Poor dimensional stability – water by product,
pour within one hour & only single pour
2) Need custom trays
3) Messy – paste-paste mix, bad odor & may stain
clothing
4) Long setting time
Polyethers
• 2 types of polyether impression material
• 1st type:
 Based on ring-opening polymerization aziridine
rings (which is an end branch of polyether
molecule)
 Initiator (aromatic sulfonate ester) – promote
cross linking & setting
 2 paste:
1) Base – polyether polymer, filler (colloidal
silica) & plasticizer (glycol ether & phthalate)
2) Accelerator – alkyl aromatic sulfonate, filler &
plasticizer
• 2nd type:
 Based on acid-catalysed condensation
polymerization of polyether prepolymer with
alkoxy-silane terminal groups
 The mechanism having low-molecular weight
alcohols by products
 Often called a hybrid
 Behave very much like the 1st type of polyether
impression materials

Polyether tubes
The base is a moderately low-molecular weight
polyether, containing ethylene imine terminal group
Polyether + sulfonic ester → Cross linked rubber

• Indication:
 Crown & bridge
 Bite registration
• Manipulation
 Adhesion to tray – stock / custom tray; very stiff
 Paste-paste mix
 Auto-mixing; (hand-held → low viscosity)
(mechanical dispenser → high viscosity)
• Advantages
 Highly accurate & Multiple casts
 Good dimension stability & surface details
 Stock or dual-arch trays
 Pour within one week – kept dry
 Good wettability
• Disadvantages
 Expensive
 Short working time
 Rigid – difficult to remove from undercut
 Bitter taste
 Low tear strength
Dynamic mechanical mixing
 CONDENSATION SILICONE
• Composition:
 Polydimethylsiloxane – low-molecular weight
silicone in base paste
 Silica (Reinforcing agent) – to give consistency to
the paste & stiffness to the set material
 Tin organic ester (accelerator paste)

• Type of setting reaction is a condensation

polymerization
• Indication:
1) Complete dentures
2) Crown & bridges
• Manipulation
 Mix thoroughly – paste-paste, paste-liquid
 Putty wash technique
 Reduces effect of polymerization shrinkage
 Stock tray; putty placed, thin plastic sheet spacer,
preliminary impression for intraoral custom tray, inject
wash material

• Type of setting reaction is a condensation

polymerization
• Indication:
1) Complete dentures
2) Crown & bridges
• Advantages
1) Better elastic properties
2) Clean, Pleasant, Ease of use, Accurate
3) Stock tray, putty wash
4) Good working & setting time
5) Can be used on sever undercuts

• Disadvantages
1) Poor dimensional stability
– high shrinkage; polymerization, evaporation of
ethanol
- Pour immediately: within 30 minutes
2) Hydrophobic – poor wettability
3) Liquid component may cause irritation
• Properties
1) Hydrophobic
2) Hydrogen gas evolution on setting
3) Moderate shelf life & tear strength
4) Good surface details
5) Non toxic
6) Very elastic
 ADDITION SILICONE
• Called polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) or vinyl polysiloxane
(VPS) impression material
• Based on addition polymerization between diVPS &
polymethylhydrosiloxane with a platinum salt as the
catalyst
• Composition:
 Polydimethylsiloxane & diVPS – in base paste
 DiVPS & Platinum salt
– in catalyst/accelerator paste
 Both paste contain fillers
• Manipulation
 Adhesive to tray
 Double mix; custom tray (heavy body), light body
to prep
 Putty-wash – stock tray

• Advantages
1) High accuracy
2) High dimensional stability – pour up to one week
3) Stock or custom trays
4) Multiple casts
5) Easy to mix
6) Pleasant odor
• Disadvantages
1) Expensive
2) Sulfur inhibits set (glove latex, ferric & Al sulfate
retraction solution)
3) Pumice teeth before impressing
4) Short working time
5) Lower tear strength
6) Possible hydrogen release – bubble on die;
palladium added to absorb
• Properties
1) Dimensionally stable
2) Moderate tear strength
3) Very fine surface details
4) No gas evolution
5) Non toxic & non irritant
6) Good shelf life