“Forgiving” Physical Properties of Take 1™ Advanced™ Help Overcome Impression Challenges
Although digital impression-taking is gaining popularity, many dentists may still prefer the physical properties of impression material, says Ara Nazarian, DDS. He points specifically to the physical properties of a high-quality impression material such as Kerr’s Take 1™, which allow the material to not just record the margins as they appear, but to actually displace the tissue. In doing so, even in the presence of a small amount of blood that would otherwise obscure margins photographed digitally, the critical information can be captured in the material.
Nazarian, a private practitioner in Troy, Michigan, has depended upon the Kerr Take 1—and now Take 1™ Advanced™—line of vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) impression material for the past decade to enable him to predictably create impressions that are the basis of well-fitting restorations. “When taking impressions digitally,” he explains, “you must make sure the preparations are totally cleared; whereas due to the physical component of an impression material, it is actually touching the tissue, displacing it, and filling the crevices that can’t been seen by the naked human eye or camera lens.”
Nazarian says he finds the quality, variety, and value that best support his practice in Kerr’s suite of impression products. Noting that many dentists “mix and match”—eg, using a light-body material from one company and a heavy-body material from another—he says, “I’d rather have one family of impression materials that I can use for a variety of procedures, including crown and bridge, implants, and removable dentistry. For the most part, for me, all the bases are covered in the Take 1 Advanced line of materials.”
Take 1 Advanced comprehensively offers the attributes Nazarian seeks in an impression material, he says, noting that its physical properties are very “forgiving,” making it easy to work with. “Because the material has excellent tear strength and dimensional stability, the impression can be very flexible. It won’t distort due to dimensional change or temporary deformation, and it stretches around the undercuts without tearing or distortion,” he explains. “Also, because the wash material is especially hydrophilic, it is able to capture a great amount of detail.”
Available in three viscosities—wash, tray, and monophase—the versatile Take 1 Advanced impression material comes in a variety of setting times, including regular, fast, and superfast. It is available in cartridges; Volume™ for use in automatic mixing machines; and an all-in-one Unidose syringe, which is smaller than a traditional cartridge and allows the clinician to have more control and better access because he or she is closer to the preparation.
The different viscosities come in different colors. Nazarian says he generally uses fast set, depending on the procedure. “This gives me a minute of work time and total set time of 2.5 minutes, which I find is ample time to do whatever task I need to do—whether it’s a single unit or a full arch.” Describing his own approach, he remarks, “If I’m doing a bridge, my assistant is filling the tray material while I’m putting the light-body on the preparations. Then, when I’m done with the preparations, she has tray material filled and I’ll just go ahead and transfer that to the mouth.” However, he adds, “I’ve been doing this for many years using fast set, but clinicians who feel they need more or less time to work with the material have those other set time options.”
The Take 1 Advanced products have earned Nazarian’s loyalty over the years, he insists, because they meet the needs of his practice, which generates around 40 units of crown and bridge per month. Further, he says, this high-quality material is not only consistent, it is also very cost-effective. “I’ve been using Take 1 for more than a decade, and I feel Kerr has gotten the formulation down quite well and at a good price.”
Kerr Corporation
1717 West Collins
Orange, CA 92867
800-537-7123
kerrdental.com
