Sometimes it's the little things that save time and aggravation and you wonder what took you so long to think of it.

I always use the open tray technique when impressing implant sites for final restorations. I used to spend time marking where I thought the impression abutment would emerge through the tray, make an opening, try it on and adjust accordingly until I had it where I wanted it. In retrospect this was not the best approach because I could never really see where the implant abutment sat within the tray.

Clear impression trays have been available forever; however, since I didn't use them in my ordinary impression armamentarium I continued to use the tray I used for my conventional CB.

But how much easier and faster it is to use a clear tray when impressing abutments. Not sure why I hadn't thought of that sooner but it's just too simple and easy a change to make if any of you are doing what I used to.

Most tray manufacturers make a clear version and the pricing is about the same.

Mary Anne Salcetti, DDS, PC, Spear Education Visiting Faculty. [ www.maryannesalcettidds.com ]


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