WHAT IS A SPECIAL TRAY?

A special tray is a custom made device prepared for a particular

patient which is used to carry, confine and
control an impression material while making an impression.
 

Ideal Requirement
 It should be well adapted to the primary cast.
 It should be dimensionally stable on the cast and in the mouth.
 The tissue surface should be free of voids or projections.
 It should be at least 2 mm thick in the palatal area and
lingual flange for adequate rigidity.
 It should be rigid even in thin sections.
 It should not bind to the cast.
 It should be easy to remove.
 It should not react with the impression material.
 It should have a contrasting colour to make its margins appear
prominent when placed in the patient’s mouth.
 It should have 2 mm relief near the sulcus so that green stick
compound can be used to do border moulding.
 
Customized tray materials
 Light-cure resins.
 Auto polymerizing acrylic resin.
 Vacuum-form poly vinyl.
 Thermoplastic materials.
 
WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING AN IMPRESSION TRAY
AND MATERIAL?
In selection of an impression tray and material, the primary
considerations are the amount of undercut present and whether any
areas of the mucosa are mobile or unsupported.
 
 

Types of Special Tray Design

1. Close-fitting special tray.
2. Spaced special tray.
3. Windowed special tray.
 

 
A) Close-fitting trays
 Where the majority of the denture-bearing area is free from large
undercuts, closefitting trays should be used.
 They allow pressure to be exerted on the denture-bearing area
during the impression-taking procedure.
 Usually used with impression materials that are non elastic or
rigid once set, typically zinc oxide eugenol paste.
 Where these are unavailable, a medium-bodied silicone material
may be used.
 The handles for close-fitting trays are best designed to be
intraoral.
 

WHAT IS AN INTRAORAL HANDLE?

It supports the lip in a natural manner. Avoiding distortion of the
labial sulcus. The height of the handle should be such that it is level
with the top of the lip and  should extend distally around the ridge to
the premolar region. This allows the clinician’s fingers to exert
pressure on the base plate evenly along the entire impression tray
after seating the impression.
 
B) Spaced trays

 Large undercut areas prohibit the use of close-fitting trays as

removal from the mouth without causing distortion would be
difficult and removal from the cast model would cause fracture of
the cast.
 This type of custom tray can be used with alginate, elastomeric
and impression plaster impression materials.
 The spacing between the tray and the tissues should be increased
according to the depth of undercut, tear strength and elastic limit
of the impression material.
 Alginate has low tear strength and requires adequate bulk to
remain intact on removal.
 Trays for alginate are perforated to allow mechanical retention to
retain alginate in the tray
 It is important not to place the perforations too close to the edge of
the tray. If the clinician needs to adjust any overextension of the
tray they may grind into the perforations.
 An extraoral handle is placed anteriorly and includes a step to
ensure that it exits the mouth between the lips without displacing
them.

Space requirement for impression materials

 
C) Windowed trays
  There are occasions when a close-fitting custom tray would be
desirable, but is contraindicated by the presence of a fibrous ridge.
 The problem can be overcome by the use of a close-fitting tray
with a window cut in the tray around the fibrous ridge area.
 In these cases, tray handles are placed across the centre of the
palate for maxillary cases, allowing the anterior region to be left
open.
 For mandibular trays, finger stops are placed where they will not
interfere with the window.
 

 
Making the Special tray
Step 1 – Identifying the peripheral extension
 An approximation of the peripheral extension may be made using
the primary model.
 Identify the deepest part of the sulcus, then draw the proposed
periphery relative to this.
 Draw the extent of the tray 2 mm toward the alveolar ridge from
the deepest part of the sulcus.
 The tray periphery should be made slightly short of the required
denture extension to allow room for the border molding and the
impression material being used.

Maxilla extension identification:

 identify the junction between the hard and soft palate (fovea
palatinae) and use this landmark as the periphery of the tray
 ensuring that the entire tuberosities are included
 the distal extension of maxillary impression trays
should extend to the fovea palatine and extend beyond the
tuberosities to the hamular notches
Mandible extension identification:
 include the retromolar pad
 extend into the lingual sulcus such that the periphery is just short
of the mylohyoid ridge
 buccally to be just short of the external oblique ridge
 
Step 2 – Prescription information
 The type of impression material that will be used for the working
impression.
 The type of tray required.
 The amount of spacer wax required.
 Any special features required (outline window tray positions and
whether a variable thickness of spacer wax is required).
  Type of handle required (intraoral, extraoral, finger stops, stepped
or not and where the handle for a windowed tray should be
placed).
 The borders of the special tray should be marked using a pencil.

 
Step 3 – Model preparation
 The cast should be soaked in slurry water.
 For close-fitting custom trays, any undercuts should be filled with
modeling wax. This ensures that the tray can be removed from
the model after casting without fracture of the study
model.

 The relief areas should also be marked in the cast. Some areas

are routinely relieved (e.g. incisive papilla, mid-palatine
raphe in the maxilla and lingual to the crest of the ridge
in the mandible).
  If the tray is to be spaced, adapt the appropriate thickness of
modeling wax to the model and trim short of the required
extension of the tray.

 
Step 4 – Adapting the Spacer
 The spacer should be about 1.5-2 mm thick.
 Spacers should be cut out in 2-4 places so that the special tray
touches the ridge in these areas.

The part of the special tray that extends into the cut out of the

spacer is called stopper.
–4 stoppers are placed
–two on the canine eminences on either side and two on the posterior
parts of the ridge
–stabilize the tray during impression making
–The stopper can be a 2 mm square, a 2 by 4 mm rectangle over the
crest of the ridge
 
Step 5 – Application of Separating Medium
 The separating medium is applied to avoid the special tray from
binding to the cast.
 The spacer is removed carefully without any distortion.
 After applying the separating medium on the cast the spacer
should be placed back on the cast carefully.
 The spacer should also be coated with a separating medium.
 A surface tension reducing agent can be applied over the spacer to
increase the wettability of the separating medium.
 Commonly used separating media are Cold mould seal, tin foil,
Starch, Vaseline (Petrolatum), Cellulose acetate, etc.
 
Step 6 – Tray base construction
Using Light cure acrylic material

1.Adapt the light-curing blank to the model, or over the wax spacer,
taking care to avoid thinning the material.
2.Trim the excess material with a wax knife to the required peripheral
extension.
3.the material is cured by placing in an ultraviolet (UV) light box.
4.The curing process usually takes approximately 2 minutes; however
the light source may not cure the full depth of the material,
particularly underneath the handle. Therefore it should be removed
carefully and the curing cycle repeated with the tray inverted and any
wax removed.
5.The final extension can be ground using a tungsten carbide bur and
micromotor.
 
Using Cold cure Acrylic – Dough Technique
 The powder and liquid should be mixed in a mixing jar in the ratio
of 3:1 by volume.
 If this ratio is not maintained and insufficient monomer is used
will result in excessive shrinkage, porosities and granularity may
occur.
 
1.Wet sandy stage, where the polymer is soaked in monomer.
2.Early stringy stage – where if the material is touched, fine
filaments are seen sticking to the finger.
3.Late stringy stage – where long strings are present. During the
end of the late stringy stage the manipulation should be started.
4.Dough stage – In this stage, the material is very workable.
5.Rubbery stage – where the material cannot be manipulated any
more. Trying to manipulate the material in this stage will result in
excessive warpage of the tray.
6.Stiff stage – The material loses its elasticity and becomes more
plastic. After the stiff stage, the polymerization is almost complete.

Procedure
  Manipulation is done in the late stringy and the dough
stages. The material is kneaded in the hand, to achieve a

homogenous mix.
 Then the material is shaped into a 2 mm thick sheet. Flattening
the dough can be done using a roller or a plaster mould or by
pressing the material between two glass slabs.
 Separating medium should be applied over the roller or the
glass slabs to avoid stickiness.
 The rolled sheet of acrylic is adapted over the cast from the
center to the periphery. This prevents the formation of
wrinkles.
 Care should be taken not to apply excessive pressure on the
ridge areas as it might lead to the thinning of the tray.
 The excess material should be cut out with a wax knife before
the material sets.
 The set material is then trimmed to obtain a smooth
surface with smooth margins.
 
Step 7 – Handle construction
Using Light cure acrylic material
Intraoral: for use with close-fitting custom trays
  Form a rectangular shape approximately 2 × 6 cm and 3–4 mm
thick.
 Adapt this to fit over the crest of the anterior
ridge, extending to the premolar region. The anterior
section of the handle should replicate the contour of the missing
anterior teeth.
 Press the handle material firmly against the base to blend the
material. Vaseline is useful to smooth the join between hard
and soft material.
 Trim to create a curved handle that guides the fingers to the
centre of the tray, allowing even pressure to be exerted over the
entire tray base during impression taking.
 
Extraoral: for use with spaced custom trays

 Form a rectangle approximately 5 × 2.5 cm and 3–4 mm thick.

Adapt one end to the anterior ridge across the mid-line and blend
into the base
 Make a right-angled bend approximately 1.5 cm from the
tray base to form a step in the handle to ensure that the handle
exits between the lips and does not distort the commissure of the
lips during impression taking.
 
Intraoral: for use with windowed trays
  For maxillary trays, attach a rectangle of material 3 × 4 cm and 3–
4 mm thick across the palate in the premolar region.
 For mandibular trays, place finger stops away from any fibrous
ridge sites.
 
Using Cold cure Acrylic
 The handle is fabricated using the excess dough material.
 The placement of handles depends upon each case requisite.
 Grooves should be made on the site where the handle is to be
placed to enhance mechanical bonding.
 Drops of monomer should be sprayed on the grooves and
the handle in order to enhance chemical bonding.
 The handle is compressed against the grooves for bonding.
 
Step 8 – Finishing the tray
 Final smoothing may be achieved using a sandpaper mandrel
and sandpaper strips.
 Extra grip on the handle can be provided by grinding retention
grooves across the handle using a small tungsten carbide bur.
 Custom trays that have been smoothed with sandpaper can
sometimes look a little rough.
The appearance of light cure acrylic tray can be improved by:

–rubbing Vaseline into the surface of the tray and then light-curing
in the UV light box.
–Hot water or a solvent should then be used to remove any
excess Vaseline.
–Alternatively, commercially produced light-curing varnishes can
also be purchased and applied.