Perfect digital impression of natural abutment teeth without using retraction cords

Area of Science:

• Digital Dentistry
• Prosthodontics
• Impression Techniques

Background:

• Intraoral scanners are increasingly used for dental impressions.
• Retraction cords are often necessary for accurate digital impressions, but can be cumbersome.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an innovative technique for digital impressions of natural tooth abutments.
• To eliminate the need for retraction cords during the impression process.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing interim restorations relined with impression material.
• Employing computer-aided design (CAD) in the laboratory.
• Segmenting the internal surface of the interim restoration to simulate the abutment for intraoral scanning.

Main Results:

• Accurate digital impressions of natural tooth preparations were obtained.
• The technique provided detailed information of both supragingival and intrasulcular preparation surfaces.
• Eliminated the requirement for traditional retraction cords.

Conclusions:

• This novel technique offers an effective alternative to retraction cords for digital impressions.
• It improves the accuracy and detail of digital scans for prosthetic preparations.
• Facilitates more precise fabrication of dental restorations.