| 摘要 |
A preform consisting of a planar section of a thermoplastic having a glass transition temperature a few degrees above body temperature and a softening point below about 160 DEG F. is used to form custom, quadrant, dental impression trays. The preform is of uniform thickness except for a raised ridge, extending across both sides of the sheet, terminating in an elongated handle at one end, and dividing the preform into a pair of asymmetrical sections shaped to fit the buccal and the lingual musculature along a dental arch. The tray may be heated above its softening point and the side sections bent in a common direction about the central ridge so that their ends extend substantially parallel with one another to form a trough having a U-shaped cross-section. If the sections are bent in a first direction about the ridge a tray useful for the maxillary left or the mandibular right quadrants results; if the sections are bent in the opposite direction a tray useful for the maxillary right or the mandibular left is formed. The heat-softened preform may be placed in the patient's mouth, over a quadrant of the dental arch, and allowed to harden in the mouth to provide a custom impression tray.
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