Partial Denture Preparation

1st appointment: preliminary impression (why do we need to take this type of impression?  What will doctor do after office is close?)

  1. Take upper and lower alginate impression using stock trays
  2. Check patient’s mouth for size.  Get trays (two sizes) from lab and try in them. If there are models, try trays on the models
  3. Take impression if doctor is busy, opposing first
  4. Pour model with yellow stone: x2 for working arch, x1 for opposing arch
  5. Sometimes face bow transfer: bite fork in pouch, green stick, Bensen-burner

 2nd appointment: final impression with PVS (why do we have to take the second impression?)

  1. What type of gloves should we wear?
  2. Get a box from lab (on shelf or bench): containing models, custom tray and base plate and occlusal rim
  3. Apply PVS adhesive over custom tray (not base plate and occlusal rim): inner surface and 1-2 mm over border, twice: one day before and one more time immediately before impression
  4. Prep: high-speed handpiece with bur block; take out a note and model from the box so that the doctor knows how and where to prepare the teeth.  There is a design in the model.
  5. Polish with medium pumice: prepare disposable dapen-dish
  6. Block undercut between teeth with soft wax (for ortho), why?
  7. PVS impression (medium body/monophase and light body)
  8. Bite registration with base plate and occlusal rim, prepare Bensen-burner and pink wax in case we need to add more wax on occlusal rim and also prepare wax curet in case we need to take away wax from occlusal rim
  9. Choose shade, ask doctor for which lab sheet we should use (usually Bayshore or called New Image Creation), fill out basic information

 3rd appointment: try in framework and wax set-up (why do we need this appointment?  When can we jump directly to the next, final appointment?)

  1. Get the case from lab
  2. Occasionally, we need horse-shoed articulating paper, acrylic bur, Bensen-burner from lab (double check Ethanol level), lighter, pink wax and wax spatula
  3. If doctor is busy, remove temporary partial from model and let patient try in. “Please bite gently.”  Remove it from mouth shortly and place it in tray.  Otherwise, the wax will melt and denture teeth may come out and loose

 4th appointment: final try in

  1. Sometimes there is no 3rd appointment as mentioned above.  Instead we jump to the final step
  2. Get the case from lab
  3. Occasionally, we need horse-shoed articulating paper, acrylic bur, PIP/q-tip, and Thompson’s marker
  4. If you are busy, place the q-tip over PIP bottle, a piece of Thompson’s marker over its bottle so that the doctor can pick up any one of them if necessary
  5. If doctor is busy, remove partial from model and let patient try in
  6. Return to Assistant Page

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 06/09/2011, last revision 06/09/2011