Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr Simonn Mansley, Ottaway Dental, Launceston, TAS
Imprint 4 is a polyvinyl siloxane impression material I use for crown and bridgework when taking impressions. I was prompted to try it because I couldn’t get hold of the material I was using at the time. I was just looking for an alternative and found this to be a better option.
What’s good about it
While some of the other PVS materials take four minutes to set, Imprint 4 has a two-minute intraoral set time. I’ve also found it to be extremely accurate. Since I’ve started using it, indirect restorations have been fitting very well with little to no need to send work back to the lab. Ill-fitting crowns require another impression that has to be sent to the lab again so this is a real time-saver. Imprint 4 picks up all the fine details very accurately.
I have had no issues at all with triggering gag reflexes in my patients. I use triple trays when taking impressions and that definitely helps people with a delicate gag response. The material has a minty taste, and to date I’ve had no complaints in that regard.
I also like the colour contrast between the blue heavy body and the pink light body material. The colour contrast makes it easy to ascertain that you’ve picked up all the information you need in the impression.
I haven’t had a lot of experience or access to digital scanning so that’s why I’m sticking with analogue impressions at the moment. I plan to do digital and manual impressions for now and compare the accuracy of the two methods. If scanning is superior, I’ll gently transition to digital.
What’s not so good
Imprint 4 is quite viscous and tends to be a little messy. I can live with that because the end result is great and the accuracy is outstanding.
