Soldering index for minimal coverage retainers

The soldering index serves to record the precise alignment of the separate parts of a fixed partial prosthesis as positioned on the abutments. The use of an all-acrylic resin index is not as accurate as a plaster index. When impression plaster is used alone, it is difficult to place minimal coverage retainers such as inlays back into the index. This article describes a simple method that may overcome the difficulty without sacrificing the dimensional accuracy inherent in a plaster index.