What is Alginate?
Alginate is a natural polysaccharide derived from brown algae and is commonly used in dentistry to make dental impressions. It is also used to make dental restorative materials such as dentures and crowns. It is a hydrocolloid material, which means it forms a gel when mixed with water.
Advantages of Alginate
Easy to manipulate
Comfortable for patient
Economical
Viscosity and setting time can be altered.
Hydrophilic nature allows small presence of water on the tissues without causing major inaccuracies in the impression.
Disadvantages of Alginate
Less accurate reproduction of details as compared with elastomeric impression materials (surface details and accuracies are poor)
Poor dimensional stability, and the retention of alginate to non-perforated trays is inadequate.
They are messy to work with
Distortion begins immediately after removal from the mouth.
Making an Alginate Impression
The dentist will first clean your teeth, remove any debris, and partially dry your mouth. Once that is done, they will mix the alginate powder with water to make it smooth and spreadable. The mixture is then spooned onto a U-shaped impression tray that will fit over your dental arch. The tray will be securely placed over your upper or lower teeth (depending on where the dental procedure is being done) and left for a few minutes until the material curing.
Taking dental impressions is an important part of restorative and orthodontic treatment. Accurate impressions help your dentist make custom, well-fitting aligners that avoid irritation or discomfort. If you are concerned about an active gag reflex, talk to your dentist. They will help you feel comfortable.
If you’re looking to purchase alginate material, pairaydental is a reliable and cost-effective dental supplier. Pairaydental provides Kerr Alginate Material: the color change of KromaFaze Dust-Free alginate offers a visual guide for consistent impression making. The strength and physical characteristics of KromaFaze helps to assure an easy to mix material that produces a surface of smoothness. We will help to keep your practice growing.