At the dental clinic, we use impression trays for taking dental impressions.. They are one of the products we use most frequently, as they are necessary for many different treatments and specialties.
When looking for dental impression trays that suit the needs of our clinic, we find such a variety of materials that it can be difficult to choose. However, one of the advantages of impression trays is that they are adaptable to the impression material we are going to use. This means that the same tray can be used with alginate or silicone, for example, and for different types of treatments.
Therefore, in this article, we want to share some basic tips that can make your choice much easier and faster, as well as show you our favorite dental impression trays at Dentaltix. Ready? Let's begin!
What are the materials used in dental impression trays?
One of the advantages of impression trays is the variety of materials available. This allows us to adapt them to the needs of our work.
Among the materials used to manufacture dental impression trays, we find metal, plastic, Teflon, vinyl thermoplastic, light-cured acrylic, and self-cured acrylic. However, the most common are metal and plastic (reusable and sterilizable in an autoclave), as well as single-use trays.
Which dental impression tray is best suited for each specialty?
Having so much variety in shape and size can be a little confusing when choosing the right tray, although this is also a positive factor as it allows us to choose the one that best suits our needs.
Therefore, since we know that this variety can make the choice a bit more complicated, in this article we want to give you a quick and concise guide on which tray might be best suited for each specialty.
Dental Impression Trays for Implantology
For this specialty, we can find trays made of different materials, all of which are perfectly suitable for performing the work correctly. However, if we want greater ease of use, it is advisable to use plastic trays to allow for the necessary cuts to ensure the treatment is carried out perfectly.
For patients with dental implants that are very close together, we recommend considering where we are going to take the impression because, for the material to exhibit its elastic behavior during removal, there must be a minimum thickness of 2 mm.
Furthermore, if we are treating periodontal patients, it is advisable to block the spaces between the teeth with alginate or cotton pellets, otherwise we will encounter difficulties removing the tray without tearing or deforming the material.
At Dentaltix, we recommend several trays that are perfect for dental implantology, both for their value for money and for being the best rated by our customers. Here you can find them in plastic, and they can be either sterilizable or disposable.
Dental Impression Trays for Orthodontics
In the field of orthodontics, the choice of one tray over another is usually more focused on the dentist's preferences and tastes, since the material is a less decisive factor in this case.
Therefore, if you are unsure which tray will be the most suitable, our recommendation is to consider the cost.
For this reason, metal trays are the best, as they can be sterilized in an autoclave and reused without requiring a larger investment.
Perfect trays for dentures
Just like with orthodontics, for complete dentures, it can be more beneficial to use metal trays, since we won't need to make any modifications to them and we can reuse them.
For veneers, bridges, crowns, and inlays, we recommend partial trays, thus saving on materials and providing greater comfort for the patient, who doesn't have to wear a full tray in their mouth. In this case, the material will be determined by the specialist's personal preferences, although plastic trays may be easier to handle.
Dental Impression Trays for Pediatric Dentistry
In the field of pediatric dentistry, impression trays are used for diagnostic work, pre-orthodontics, fluoride application, removable appliances, or, as in the case of adults, specific cases.
The most important aspect to emphasize in this field is making sure we are choosing the correct size. Just as in adults, there are different sizes, but an adult size S is not a children's size S. Therefore, when choosing an impression tray, we must be sure that it is an instrument for pediatric dentistry.
While adult sizes are more standardized, in pediatric dentistry you can find sizes as small as XXS (extra extra small), XS (extra small), and S. Therefore, when buying, finding such small sizes likely indicates that they are specially designed for children.
On our website you can also find impression trays for children, in plastic, metal, and even for fluoride application.
Which size of dental impression tray is best for each patient?
Although the specialty for which we will use the dental tray is very important, the size should also be a factor we consider.
The first step is to determine whether we need a tray for the upper jaw or the lower jaw.
The next thing to consider is whether our patient is an adult or a child, and, if an adult, whether they are male or female. This is because men tend to have larger jaws than women. Therefore, it is always advisable to have at least one tray of each size for both children and adults in our office. The standard sizes for dental trays are S (small), M (medium), and L (large), but these are not the only sizes available.
To determine if a tray is suitable for our patient, when trying it on, we must check if it covers all the teeth, ensuring that the back teeth are also included within it; that is, that they are not left impacted on the material without any fixed support underneath.
If we find that the size of our tray doesn't allow it, we must move to the next size up (from size M to L, for example). However, sometimes the next size up is too large for the patient's mouth, so we have two options:
- Make a custom tray for the patient.
- Extend the tray with wax to adapt it to the specific patient.
Furthermore, we must ensure that the impression tray fits loosely when trying it on, so that there is space between the teeth and the sides of the tray that will be filled by the impression material.
Check out our best-selling impression trays:
Discover all our impression trays!
As we've seen, there's a wide variety of impression trays available, so the choice may depend on your personal preferences and the dental procedures you perform most frequently in your dental practice. We hope this article makes this task easier for you, allowing you to see the available materials and which ones are most commonly used in each specialty.
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