Abstract

Impressions in implant dentistry aim to accurately relate an analogue of the implant or implant abutment to the other structures in the dental arch. The impression material, impression technique, implant angulation, and the number of implants, all affect the accuracy.

In the case of implant-supported fixed complete dentures (ISFCDs) traditional impression techniques require the doctor to accurately capture multiple units in one step. Doctors often encounter cases where one unit is not captured properly while another is perfect, so they take another impression only to find that they captured the problematic unit, but the impression of the previously perfect unit is no longer acceptable.

Recent data suggests that intra-oral digital impressions may be considered a reliable alternative to conventional impression materials for ISFCDs. The ability to “segment” the impression process of large restorations and scan different segments individually eliminates much of the uncertainty that is part of taking a multi-unit conventional impression. It also ensures that units are scanned at the appropriate time, when in an ideal soft tissue condition.