Impregum Penta Impression Material has a unique snap-set behavior meaning that the material continues flowing during the entire working time. A classic polyether with a longer working time will allow you more freedom in ensuring the correct seating position of the tray. If you have multiple implants that will be splinted, an open tray technique will be more accurate and should be used. In my experience, this technique helps to standardize the procedure, to simplify and help you reduce the variability of the outcome, errors and cost. Having taken hundreds of impressions with a 100% successful fit, the closed tray technique with 3M™ Impregum™ Penta™ Impression Material used in a monophase technique is a very reliable combination. In this state, you can focus on the simple task of syringing around the coping only – that’s it! The material in the syringe exhibits what we call shear thinning, making it behave like a light body wash. These photos show the same material being used as a tray material and for syringing abutments.

Using such a material gives me confidence: its high rigidity secures the implant coping position and using a single material consistency in a monophase technique keeps the procedure simple.Ī monophase polyether is very versatile in its use. This becomes a predictable technique, especially when used in combination with a super rigid, simple to use material such as polyether from the 3M™ Impregum™ Impression Material family.

What do I use? I routinely use the closed tray simply because of its ease of use. The literature points to the open tray technique being more accurate.1,2 In my opinion, there is little difference between closed and open tray impressions when it comes to single-unit restorations as long as you use the right material.

Closed tray impression coping