OBJECTIVES OF IMPRESSION

MAKING IN COMPLETE
DENTURE
An impression should be made with the purpose of obtaining the following characteristics in the
dentures to be fabricated.
• Retention.
• Stability.
• Support.
• Aesthetics.
• Preservation of remaining structures.
RETENTION
It is the quality inherent in the dental prosthesis acting to resist the forces of dislodgment along
the path of placement. – GPT 9

Retention is the ability of the denture to with- stand displacement against its path of insertion.
The factors that affect retention can be classified as:
• Anatomical factors.
• Physiological factors.
• Physical factors.
• Mechanical factors.
• Muscular factors.
Anatomical Factors
The various anatomical factors that affect retention, are:
• Size of the denture-bearing area.
• Quality of the denture-bearing area.
• Quality of the denture-bearing area The displace- ability of the tissues influences the
retention of the denture. Tissues displaced during impression making will lead to tissue
rebound during denture use, leading to loss of retention.
Physiological Factors
• Saliva The viscosity of saliva determines retention. Thick and ropy saliva gets accumulated
bet- ween the tissue surface of the denture and the palate leading to loss of retention. Thin
and watery saliva can also lead to compromised retention
Physical Factors
The various physical factors which affect retention, are:
• Adhesion.
• Cohesion.
• Interfacial surface tension.
• Capillarity or capillary attraction.
• Atmospheric pressure and peripheral seal.
• Adhesion :
It is defined as “The physical attraction of unlike molecules to one
another.”- GPT. The role of saliva is very important for adhesion. Saliva
wets the tissue surface of the denture and the mucosa. A thin film of
saliva is formed between the denture and the tissue surface. This thin
film helps to hold the denture to the mucosa. The amount of adhesion
present is proportional to the denture base area.
In patients with xerostomia, adhesion does not play a major role.
• Cohesion :
It is defined as “ The physical attraction of like molecules for each
other”.
The cohesive forces act within the thin film of saliva. The effectiveness
of these forces increase with increase in denture-bearing area. Watery
serous saliva can form a thinner film and is more cohesive than thick
mucous saliva.
• Interfacial surface tension :
It is defined as “ The tension or resistance to separation possessed by the film of liquid between two
well-adapted surfaces”
• Capillarity or capillary attraction :
It is defined as, “That quality or state, because of surface tension causes elevation or depression of the
surface of a liquid that is in contact with a solid”-GPT.
A liquid tends to rise in a capillary tube by maximizing its contact along the walls of the tube at the
interface between the liquid and glass. When there is close adaptation between the denture and the
mucosa, the thin film of saliva tends to flow and increase its surface contact thereby increasing the
retention.
Factors that aid to improve capillary attraction:
• Closeness of adaptation of denture base to soft tissue.
• Greater surface of the denture-bearing area.
• Thin film of saliva should be present.
• Atmospheric pressure and peripheral seal :
Peripheral seal is the area of contact bet- ween the peripheral borders of the denture and the
resilient-limiting structures. This peripheral seal prevents air entry between the denture surface
and the soft tissue. Hence, a low pressure is maintained within the space
between the denture and the soft tissues.
Mechanical Factors
The various mechanical factors, which aid in retention, are:
• Undercuts.
• Retentive springs.
• Magnetic forces.
• Denture adhesives.
• Suction chambers and suction discs.
Undercuts
Unilateral undercuts aid in retention while bilateral undercuts
will interfere with denture insertion and require surgical
correction .
Magnetic forces
Intramucosal magnets aid in increasing retention of highly-
resorbed ridges.
• Denture adhesives
They are available as creams or gels or powders. They
should be coated on the tissue surface before wearing
the denture.
• Suction chambers and suction discs
In the past suction chambers in the maxillary
dentures were used to aid in retention. The suction
chamber creates an area of negative pressure, which
increases retention. They are avoided now due to
their potency for creating palatal hyperplasia
STABILITY
Stability is defined as, “The quality of a denture to be firm, steady, or constant, to resist
displacement by functional stresses and not to be subject to change of position when forces are
applied” - GPT.
Stability is the ability of the denture to with- stand horizontal forces. The various factors
affecting stability are:
• Vertical height of the residual ridge.
• Quality of soft tissue covering the ridge. • Quality of the impression.
• Occlusal rims.
• Arrangement of teeth.
• Contour of the polished surfaces.
• Vertical Height of the Residual Ridge
The residual ridge should have sufficient vertical height to obtain
good stability. Highly resorbed ridges offer the least stability
• Quality of Soft Tissue Covering the Ridge
The ridge should provide a firm soft tissue base with adequate
submucosa to offer good stability. Flabby tissues with excessive
submucosa offer poor stability.
• Quality of the Impression
An impression should be as accurate as possible.
The impression surface should be smooth and duplicate all the details accurately.
It should be devoid of voids and any rough surfaces.
The impression should not warp on removal.
The impression should be dimensionally stable and the cast should be poured as soon as possible.
• Occlusal Plane
The occlusal plane should be oriented parallel to the ridge. If the occlusal plane is inclined, then the sliding
forces may act on the denture, reduce its stability. The occlusal plane should divide the interarch space
equally
• Teeth Arrangement (balanced occlusion and neutral
zone)
The position of the teeth and their occlusion play an
important role in the stability of the denture. Balanced
occlusion facilitates the even distribution of forces across the
denture. Absence of balanced occlusion may produce
unbalanced, lever type forces on any one side of the denture
leading to loss of stability (ref. balanced occlusion).
The teeth in the denture should be arranged in the neutral
zone. The neutral zone is defined as, “The potential space
between the lips and cheeks on one side and the tongue on
the other. Natural or artificial teeth in this zone are subject
to equal and opposite forces from the surrounding
musculature” - GPT.
• Contour of the Polished Surface
The polished surfaces of the denture should be harmonious with the oral structures. They
should not interfere with the action of the oral muscu- lature.
SUPPORT
Support is defined as, “The resistance to vertical forces of mastication, occlusal forces and other
forces applied in a direction towards the denture-bearing area.”
In order to provide good support, the denture base should cover as much denture-bearing area as
possible. This helps to distribute forces over a wide area. This ability of the denture to distribute
forces over wide areas due to an increase in the denture-base area is termed the “snowshoe” effect .
Thus the force per unit area is reduced.
Confining the occlusal forces to stress-bearing areas and reliving the nonstress-bearing areas will aid
to improve support.
AESTHETICS

Aesthetics is one of the prime concerns of the patient in the complete denture treatment.
The thickness of the denture flanges is one of the important factors that govern aesthetics.
Thicker denture flanges are preferred in long-term edentulous patients to give the required
mouth fullness.
Impression should perfectly reproduce the width and height of the entire sulcus for the proper
fabrication of the flanges.
PRESERVATION OF REMAINING
STRUCTURES
• Muller De Van (1952) stated that, “the preservation of that which remains is of utmost
importance and not the meticulous replacement of that which has been lost.”
• Impressions should record the details of the basal seat and the peripheral structures in an
appropriate form to prevent injury to the oral tissues. E.g. the stress-bearing and nonstress-
bearing areas should be recorded under stress and relief respectively. This prevents the
damage of the oral structures due to the action of improperly distributed forces.
• The peripheral tissues should be recorded accurately to prevent over-extension of the
denture and tissue irritation.
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