In dentistry, impression materials, or imprint measurements, are used to take an imprint of your teeth. The imprint material is not toxic and flavorings are used to increase patient comfort. Every imprint material is subject to change in volume during the hardening, thus the setting time in the mouth is important. The requirements for impression materials are good fluidity and moisture tolerance. This allows for exact borders of the replica structures. Exact borders are important in order to achieve an exact denture fit. Furthermore, the material needs to harden quickly at a certain point in time, but must remain malleable long enough to be worked on. The most common materials are alginates, silicon, and polyether amongst others. Learn more about this topic in the videos about impression, setting time and impression spoon.

Produced: 01/2011

Source	Version	Author	Publisher
Principles of prosthodontics	2006	Eva Pieslinger	UNIVERSIMED