Dental impressions are imprints of your teeth, gums, and surrounding oral structures. They are used to make diagnostic models of your mouth as well as dental restorations, whitening, trays, retainers, mouth guards, and other dental products. Dental impressions can be made digitally or traditionally.

Dental impressions are used to make replicas of your mouth, also known as casts. These methods show your dentist the size and placement of your teeth and gums, as well as how your dental arches fit together. Dental impressions are used for a variety of oral appliances and dental restorations, such as:

• Dental crowns.


• Dental bridges.


• Dental implants.


• Porcelain veneers.


• Dentures.


• Clear aligners.


• Retainers.


• Teeth whitening trays.


• Sports mouth guards.

During this process, your healthcare professional fills plastic or metal trays with a putty-like dental impression material. The trays will then be placed over your teeth. The dental impression substance sets and hardens after a few seconds. Finally, the trays (as well as the impression material) are taken out of your mouth by your healthcare professional.

You next send your impressions to a dental laboratory. There, a professional will cast your mouth using the dental impressions you provided.

During this process, your healthcare expert takes hundreds of photos of your teeth and gums with a digital handheld wand. Images of your mouth will appear on a computer screen while your doctor moves the wand over your teeth. The software will then combine the photos to produce a computerised, three-dimensional model (3D) of your dental arches. Dental impressions taken digitally don’t require putty.

The dental lab will then receive your photo data via electronic transfer from your healthcare provider. An expert will start working on your case there.

Overall, impression-less dentistry greatly improves the experience of dental patients. Quicker response times, exact dental treatment, and improved provider coordination are all made possible.